Neoliberal adjustment against social democracy: the context of 2015-2016, in Brazil

Abstract

This article examines the political factors of a social liberalism supported by cash transfer programs and how they influence the legitimacy of governments and the subjectivity of the beneficiaries. It is based on the assumption that the current neoliberal attack acts upon the political cornerstones of the neoliberal ideology, causing a break with institutional ties, a social crisis and a crisis of confidence between citizens and the State. This recent attack, in Brazil, has been nourished by the parliamentary coup, the impeachment of the President with no constituted abuse of office, disrespecting the sovereignty of the vote. What followed was a process of institutional dismantlement of the social constitutional rights and the deregulation of public and natural assets in favor of national economic corporations by the new government, creating a “social fascism”, that according to Santos (2016), happens when the democratic regime deepens social exclusion.