num_pages: 280
description: How Brazil's long history of racism and authoritarian politics has led to the country's present crises and epidemic of violenceBrazil has long nurtured a cherished national myth one of a tolerant peaceful and racially harmonious society. A closer look at the nation's heritage however reveals a far more troubling story. In Brazilian Authoritarianism esteemed anthropologist and historian Lilia Schwarcz presents a provocative and panoramic overview of Brazilian culture and history to demonstrate how the nation has always been staunchly authoritarian. It has papered over centuries of racially motivated cruelty and exploitation--sources of the structural oppression experienced today by its Black and Indigenous population. Linking the country's violent past to its dire present Schwarcz shows why the social democratic left was defeated and how Jair Bolsonaro ascended to the presidency.Schwarcz travels through five hundred years of colonial history to consider Brazil's allegiance to slavery which made it the last country to abolish the system. She delves into eight elements that pervade Brazil's problematic culture: racism bossism patrimonialism corruption inequality violence gender issues and intolerance. But Schwarcz also argues that Brazil's future is not absolutely hopeless. History is not destiny and even as the nation experiences its worst crises ever--social political moral and environmental--it has the potential to overcome them.A stark revealing investigation into Brazil's difficult roots Brazilian Authoritarianism shines a light on how the country might imagine a more hopeful path forward.
language: Portuguese
title: Sobre o Autoritarismo Brasileiro
publisher: Companhia das Letras