A relação entre autoritarismo de direita e apoio acrítico a líderes de extrema-direita: o caso do bolsonarismo no Brasil

• Ano de defesa: 2024
• Autor(a) principal: Sartori, João Eduardo Torrecillas
• Orientador(a): Braga, Maria do Socorro Sousa
• Tipo de documento: Tese
• Tipo de acesso: Acesso aberto
• Idioma: por
• Instituição de defesa: Universidade Federal de São Carlos; Câmpus São Carlos
• Programa de Pós-Graduação: Programa de Pós-Graduação em Ciência Política - PPGPol
• Palavras-chave em Português: Autoritarismo de direita; Bolsonarismo; Bolsonaro; Bolsonarista
• Palavras-chave em Inglês: Right-wing authoritarianism; Bolsonarism
• Palavras-chave em Espanhol: Autoritarismo de derecha; Bolsonarisme
• Área do conhecimento CNPq: CIENCIAS HUMANAS::CIENCIA POLITICA
• Link de acesso: https://repositorio.ufscar.br/handle/20.500.14289/21059

The issue addressed in this thesis involved two suppositions. Initially, the supposition that dividing Bolsonaro's supporters into two groups—uncritical (bolsonaristas) and strategic—would enable a more sophisticated understanding of bolsonarism (an authoritarian right-wing mass movement led by Bolsonaro) and, moreover, of the differences between this movement and its "surroundings." Although categories such as anti-PT sentiment were identified as decisive factors for voting for Bolsonaro in 2018, they would not necessarily have contributed to the establishment, among some of his most fervent voters (known as bolsonaristas), of a "bolsonarista attitude"—characterized by the uncritical mode of support for him. Possibly, certain socially relevant categories (such as right-wing ideology, anti-PT sentiment, pro-coup tendencies, etc.) might have been significantly involved in the adoption of a strategic mode of support for Bolsonaro, but not in his idealization—and vice versa. Furthermore, the supposition that among the most relevant determinants of the establishment of the bolsonarista attitude was a certain complex of right-wing authoritarian inclinations previously consolidated within a significant sector of the Brazilian electorate. While no author had yet focused their study on identifying the determinants of the bolsonarista attitude, findings from various studies suggested the importance of investigating the relationship between those inclinations and the establishment of such an attitude. In this thesis, we argue that: (i) right-wing authoritarianism was widely established in the years leading up to Bolsonaro's election but was "inactive"; (ii) its average level in those years was similar to its counterpart in 2018; and (iii) between late 2018 and early 2019, the bolsonarista attitude tended to result from right-wing authoritarianism as strongly as it did from other categories, with this authoritarianism being an extremely important element in the Brazilian context—its recent activation enabling the rise of bolsonarism (which, at the start of this study, was still a newly emerged political phenomenon on the national stage). Initially, we examined microdata from the AmericasBarometer and developed a novel psychometric instrument to measure right-wing authoritarianism: the AD-BR instrument—adapted to the nuances of this authoritarianism in contemporary Brazilian society. We then analyzed and compared the levels of right-wing authoritarianism in Brazilian society during years prior to the establishment of bolsonarism on a national level and in 2019. Subsequently, we investigated the relationship between right-wing authoritarianism and the bolsonarista attitude between 2018 and 2019. To this end, we compared the average levels of right-wing authoritarianism in 2018/2019 among different types of Bolsonaro supporters and non-supporters, and then between bolsonaristas and non-bolsonaristas. Here, we used the variable "level of confidence in Bolsonaro" to create two additional novel variables (related to the notion of the bolsonarista attitude). Finally, we built statistical regression models and compared, within this timeframe, the extent to which the bolsonarista attitude could be explained by right-wing authoritarianism versus other socially relevant categories. More broadly, this thesis contributed to identifying the determinants of the uncritical mode of support for far-right leaders in an international context marked by their recent empowerment.