Democratic Brazil: Actors, Institutions and Processes

Journal of Third World Studies, Spring 2005 by Gangopadhyay, Aparajita

Kingstone, Peter R. and Timothy J. Power, eds., Democratic Brazil: Actors, Institutions and Processes. Pittsburgh, PA: University of Pittsburgh Press, 2000.

The re-democratization of Brazil has been the subject matter of intense scholarly debate in the field of Latin American studies. The book under review adds to the ever-growing literature while examining and evaluating the progress made by democracy in Brazil. The contributors to the volume study the key actors, emerging players and processes in addition to the institutional factors that have helped shape democracy in Brazil since 1985. Parenthetically, they also present a critical assessment of the processes which facilitated the tortuous emergence of democratic Brazil from the womb of Brazil's military republic (1964-1985). While showing cautious optimism about the prospects of democracy in Brazil, various contributors map out the asymmetrical rates of social and political change and the attendant unevenness of democratic nation building in Brazil.

The book is divided into three parts. Part I deals with the institutional design of the New Republic and its influence on national policy making. Part II brings forth the new critical actors in the democratic transition and evaluates their role in the New Republic after 1985 whereas Part III traces the emerging social and political processes that have had a considerable impact on democracy in Brazil.

Brazil represents the most frequent outcome in the aftermath of transitions from authoritarian rule to democracy. Though the shortcomings of Brazil's formal democratic institutions and rules are glaring, politicians and social actors have found ways of working within these institutional settings. Consequently, important positive changes and movements have taken place at the national level, particularly since 1994, including major reforms in economic policy and enhancements of state autonomy and capacity. In a way, Brazilian democracy and Brazilian democrats have demonstrated outstanding capabilities in adapting to the changing times. At the same time, the challenges to democratic consolidation abound along with the all-pervasive fear of a possible return to the authoritarian rule. It is this relative pull between the democracy and authoritarianism that makes Brazil an exciting field of study for the analysts of democracy.

Based on his study of political institutions such as the electoral system, the party system, and the presidential system of government, Timothy Powers points out the institutional inadequacies of the nascent democracy in Brazil. The electoral system in Brazil has weakened the general accountability of parties and legislators and has also encouraged the influence of particularistic interests. He avers, "The lost decade of economic development may be over, but the lost decade of institutional development has gone into overtime" (p.35). Kurt Weyland focuses on the capabilities of the Brazilian state under Presidents Collor and Cardoso. Interestingly, both the leaders allowed the state to act independently of narrow, pluralistic interests but had to give in to clientalism, trading short-term political benefits for long-term improvements in state capacity. Nonetheless, under their tutelage the Brazilian state showed incremental improvement in its ability to manage short-term and long-term fiscal problems.

In his study of political decentralization Alfred Montero underlines piecemeal improvements in policy performance. However, decentralization remains a controversial issue in Brazil, especially with reference to fiscal and monetary control: "Divisions among state governments vying for investments and hoping to correct fiscal accounts ruined by clientalistic politics during the 198Os shifted bargaining leverage to reformist presidents in Brasilia during the 1990s, and as a result, central stage agencies were able to extract reform concessions from weakened and divided states" (p.59). The 'new federalism' has stalled effective governance especially in the field of social policy but the continuous adjustment at both the federal and subnational levels have led to limited effective performance.

Wendy Hunter delineates perceptible changes in the role of the armed forces since the re-emergence of democracy. The post-authoritarian civilian government has largely succeeded in keeping the military at bay and has brought about substantial cut in defence spending. Though the military no longer controls the levers of political power, its presence is too tangible to be simply written off in the hullabaloo about Brazilian democracy. It is probable, however, that in the long run the military may well retreat further into the background, especially if good civilian governance takes roots and spreads its reach and depth in Brazilian society.

William Nylen assesses the performance of the Worker's Party (PT) in relation to its contributions to the democratic consolidation. The party has managed to reach out to the marginalized voters and have tried to socialize the poor Brazilians into democratic politics by introducing them to the new channels of participation. Moreover, it has consistently criticized and exposed the undemocratic practises in the Brazilian political system: "The PT also contributes to the legitimation (and, therefore, consolidation) of democracy by actively opposing social exclusion-by placing popular concerns and interests on the public policy agenda...by promoting greater citizen involvement in democratic processes" (p. 142). Kenneth Serbin examines the emerging religious pluralism in Brazil and notes that the role of the Catholic Church has changed substantially since the 1970s. The Church has to respond to the internal conservative backlash and face the external challenge in the guise of the Pentecostal Protestantism, making it a weaker force for social justice. Kathryn Hochsteler charts out the evolution and genesis of the new social movements in Brazil. The new social movements in Brazil are, indeed, effective participants in the political process even when they continue to challenge the Brazilian concepts of democracy and citizenship. In her reading, "Social movements were unequivocally democratic pressures from below. They challenged the continuation of an authoritarian state, seeking to replace it with a democratic regime... social movements also functioned as incubators of democracy, introducing participants to democratic practices within the movements that could be exercised later in new arenas" (p. 165).