The june protests and politics in contemporary Brazil: an invitation to a debate

Resumo

Scores of political manifestations drew millions to the streets in several Brazilian cities in June 2103. Their initial motivation was to protest against an increase in public transportation fares, but swiftly became broader and diversified. The magnitude of the protests caused astonishment. President Dilma Rousseff was quick to issue a statement declaring she had an ear turned to the voices from the streets. But what were these voices about? Journalists, intellectuals, politicians and militants entered the public debate trying to explain the phenomenon. Why were people mobilizing? What were their grievances? How would the wave of protests unfold? As ruas e a democracia [The Streets and Democracy] is a contribution to the debate. Political scientist Marco Aurélio Nogueira interprets the recent protests building upon an analysis of the conjuncture of Brazilian politics during the last decade, a period marked by the election of the Workers’ Party, the PT, to the presidency.1 A tenured Political Theory professor and the director of the Instituto de Políticas Públicas e Relações Internacionais [Institute of Public Policies and International Relations] at the São Paulo State University (UNESP), Marco Aurélio Nogueira mobilizes in his new books subjects he has been studying for years: politics, state reform, democracy, civil society, globalization and modernity. Although it focuses on recent events, the work reflects the results of a matured reflection on these subjects.