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ARTIGO
Recebido em: 16 de março de 2023
Aceito em: 22 de abril de 2023
DOI: 10.26512/les.v24i2.47609
Democracy as a disputed
‘message’ in brazil’s 2022
elections: tracing echoes of
trumpism and (de)naturalisation
of violence across media spaces
Democracia como ‘mensagem’ em disputa nas
eleições brasileiras de 2022: rastreando ecos
do trumpismo e a (des)naturalização da
violência em espaços midiáticos
Democracia como ‘mensaje’ en disputa en las
elecciones brasileñas de 2022: rastreando
ecos del trumpismo y la (des) naturalización de
la violencia en los espacios mediáticos
RESUMO
Influenciado pelo Trumpismo, Jair Bolsonaro, presidente do Brasil,
vem fazendo afirmações sem comprovação sobre a existência de
supostas vulnerabilidades no sistema de votação local durante a
disputa presidencial de 2022. À medida que Bolsonaro dá
visibilidade a essas afirmações, tal sistema (e consequentemente
a democracia) podem se tornar performativamente (ou
‘produtivamente’) desacreditadas ou alvos através da circulação
digital e da violencia textual. Esta pesquisa recorre a construtos
foucaultianos e a perspectivas trandisciplinares para rastrear
diferentes espaços midiáticos. Eles apontam para como disputas e
dinâmicas de (des)naturalização da violência se tornam (in)visíveis
no contexto eleitoral discutido.
Palavras-chave: crise da democracia; trumpismo e sistema de
votação; Análise do Discurso; transmidiatiazação e tradução;
linguagem e (des)naturalização da violência.
Jaime de Souza Júnior
souzajuniorprof@gmail.com
https://orcid.org/0000-0002-4257-2440
Federal University of Rio de Janeiro (UFRJ), Rio
de Janeiro, RJ, Brazil
Cadernos de Linguagem e Sociedade, Brasília, v. 24, n. 2, p. 101-120, jul./dez. 2023
Página | 102
ABSTRACT
Influenced by Trumpism, Jair Bolsonaro, the president of Brazil,
has been presenting unsubstantiated claims about the existence of
purported vulnerabilities in the local electronic voting system during
the 2022 presidential race. As Bolsonaro gives visibility to such
claims, that system (and consequently democracy) can be
performatively (or ‘productively’) discredited and targeted through
digital circulation and textual violence. This research resorts to
Foucauldian constructs and transdisciplinary perspectives to trace
different media spaces. These point to how disputes and dynamics
of (de)naturalisation of violence become (in)visible in Brazil’s 2022
electoral context.
Keywords: democracy crisis; trumpism and voting system.
Discourse Analysis; transmediatisation and translation; language
and (de)naturalisation of violence.
RESUMEN
Influenciado por el Trumpismo, Jair Bolsonaro, presidente de
Brasil, viene haciendo afirmaciones sin comprobación sobre la
existencia de supuestas vulnerabilidades en el sistema de votación
local durante la disputa presidencial de 2022. A medida que
Bolsonaro da visibilidad a tales afirmaciones, tal sistema ( y
consecuentemente la democracia) pueden volverse
performativamente (o 'productivamente') desacreditadas y blanco
a través de la circulación digital y la violencia textual. Esta
investigación recurre a constructos foucaultianos y a perspectivas
transdisciplinarias para rastrear diferentes espacios mediáticos.
Señalan cómo las disputas y dinámicas de (des)naturalización de
la violencia se vuelven (in)visibles en el contexto electoral
discutido.
Palabras clave: crisis de la democracia; trumpismo y sistema de
votación; Análisis del Discurso; transmediatización y traducción;
lenguaje y (des) naturalización de la violencia.
Como citar:
SOUZA JÚNIOR, Jaime de. Democracy as a disputed ‘message’ in brazil’s 2022 elections: tracing echoes of trumpism and (de)naturalisation of
violence across media spaces. Cadernos de Linguagem e Sociedade, Brasília, v. 24, n. 2, p. 101-120, jul./dez. 2023. DOI:
10.26512/les.v24i2.47609. Disponível em: . Acesso em: XXX.
Correspondência:
Nome por extenso do autor principal
Rua XXX, número XXX, Bairro XXX, Cidade, Estado, País.
Direito autoral:
Este artigo está licenciado sob os termos da Licença Creative Commons-Atribuição 4.0 Internacional.
Cadernos de Linguagem e Sociedade, Brasília, v. 24, n. 2, p. 101-120, jul./dez. 2023
Página | 103
INTRODUCTION: ECHOES OF THE INTERNATIONAL FAR-RIGHT IN BRAZIL’S 2022
PRESIDENTIAL RACE
Steve Bannon, former Donald Trump’s political strategist, has stated that the 2022
presidential election in Brazil would be “the most important of all time in South America
1
”. Bannon’s
statement points to interconnexions between Jair Bolsonaro and the international far-right. Amongst
such interconnexions, the domain of communicational and (geo)
2
political strategies in particular
reaffirms the influence of Trumpism over Bolsonaro’s administration.
Through a process of politicization of digital technology, Trumpism may interconnect different
types of online/offline violence against democracy, generating a hybrid stratagem of ‘government’
For instance, an interconnexion involving neoliberalism, militarisation, religious discourse (e.g.
neopentecostalism) and Trumpism can be perceived in different contexts. In the U.S.
3
, with Trump;
and in Bolivia
4
, with Jeanine Añez
5
.
In Brazil, this interconnexion points to two relevant aspects: (i) the neoliberal echoes of the
international far-right that resonate through Bolsonaro’s Pinochetian ideals
6
; and (ii) the
instrumentalisation of religious and military discourses and how Bolsonaro mobilises these to
(somehow) reunite
7
the State and the church, projecting a process of de-calendarisation (i.e. a sense
of calendar disorientation or civilisational disruption). Since such discourses can relatively control
through dogmas and condition through discipline/obedience, when associated, locally, they
contribute to the dissemination of beliefs or the peremptory repetition of claims through techno-
preacherism (SOUZA JÚNIOR, 2021, p. 14).
During the presidential race, preliminary poll results showed Bolsonaro behind
8
his
main opponent, former president Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva (Workers’ Party/PT). As a
reaction, Bolsonaro began mobilising a script or a communicational repertoire of
interpretation that was, to some extent, associated with Trumpism in the U.S. 2020
presidential election. Jair Bolsonaro’s re-election campaign has been investing
considerable time and effort in forging a belief that is expected to turn into a claim. In his
1
See: https://www.ft.com/content/4f150c07-41d7-4021-a911-a70ecacacb08. Accessed on: 22 Aug 2022.
2
In this paper, I use the parentheses in ways that might not be described in traditional grammar books/manuals. The
parentheses will be frequently mobilised in order to: (i) indicate two possibilities of reading a term, like in (geo)political;
and (ii) present actions or effects that point to a dispute, such as in: (in)visible dynamics.
3
Cf.: https://www.nbcnews.com/news/us-news/live-blog/2020-06-01-nationwide-protests-over-george-floyd-death-live-
n1220761/ncrd1221511#blogHeader Accessed on: 29 Aug 2022.
4
Cf.: https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2019-11-11/bolivia-faces-power-vacuum-and-more-chaos-after-morales-
quits. Accessed on: 29 Aug 2022.
5
Cf.: https://www.riotimesonline.com/brazil-news/brazil/brazil-could-offer-asylum-to-jeanine-anez-convicted-of-coup-in-
bolivia-newspaper/ . Accessed on: 16 Sep 2022.
6
In Brazil, the influence of Pinochetian neoliberalism is currently promoted by Bolsonaro’s Ministry of Economy, Paulo
Guedes – locally framed as a ‘Chicago boy’.
7
It is observed even when the Constitutional principle of secular state repels that.
8
Cf.: https://www.as-coa.org/articles/poll-tracker-brazils-2022-presidential-election. Accessed on: 22 Aug 2022.
Cadernos de Linguagem e Sociedade, Brasília, v. 24, n. 2, p. 101-120, jul./dez. 2023
Página | 104
view, the system would be fraud
9
-prone. He has been sending mixed messages
10
, leading
many to believe that, if he loses, defeat will not be conceded
11
. This was Donald Trump’s
script/playbook for some time in the U.S. – what contributed to the emergence of the
egregious Capitol events on 6 January 2021
12
.
As Bolsonaro disseminates such claims and messages through different media spaces, not
only the voting system can be performatively (or ‘productively’) discredited and targeted through
textual violence (SOUZA JÚNIOR, 2022), but also democracy, as a Constitutional construct,
becomes a disputed ‘message’. Against this background of textual violence, a pro-democracy letter-
manifesto has been presented and promoted by the Faculty of Law of the University of São Paulo
(USP).
The digitalisation and dissemination of the manifesto generated a transdimensional and a
transmedia event (SOUZA JÚNIOR, 2021). The event became transdimensional, because it
interconnected the offline dimension of the University to the on-line domain of the internet. Moreover,
it can be framed as transmedia, because the manifesto and its message circulated across different
media spaces, pointing to digital traces, textual trajectories and on-line disputes.
I am interested in addressing that event and its on-line resonances. To do so, I resort to
Foucauldian constructs and transdisciplinary perspectives. Guided by the transdisciplinary lenses of
Discourse Studies and following recommendations from the domain of transdisciplinary studies
(LATOUR, 2005, p. 124; p. 182), the discussion that the paper develops is focussed strictly on the
unfolding of processes of (de)naturalisation of violence. As it stands, I simply try to understand how,
through these particular processes, interconnected trajectories, (in)visible dynamics and disputes
emerge.
In the final section, I present a final panorama regarding the context under discussion. This
includes the limitations and the potential contributions of this study.
1. THEORETICAL CONSTRUCTS: DEMOCRACY, DISCOURSE, DIGITAL CIRCULATION,
TEXTUAL DISPUTES AND (DE)NATURALISATION OF VIOLENCE
In different ways, several authors have been contributing to the study
13
of democracy. They
point to how it may be endangered/subverted or preserved and perfected.
9
Cf.:https://www1.folha.uol.com.br/internacional/en/brazil/2022/07/bolsonaro-lies-about-ballot-boxes-to-foreigners.shtml .
Accessed on: 29 Aug 2022.
10
See: https://www.msn.com/en-gb/news/world/bolsonaro-says-he-will-respect-brazil-election-result-if-clean-
transparent/ar-AA10XXPT. Accessed on: 03 Sep 2022.
11
Cf.: https://www.bbc.com/news/world-latin-america-58372754. Accessed on: 03 Sep 2022.
12
See: https://foreignpolicy.com/2022/03/15/bolsonaro-brazil-election-trump-gop-jan-6-insurrection/. Accessed on: 22 Aug
2022.
13
See, for example, Dahl (1989) for a more comprehensive discussion on aspects/principles that can be associated with
the constitution of democracy.
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Amongst such contributions, we find those that project what can be viewed as a structural
perspective. The thesis proposed by Fukuyama (1989) would provide a model through which this
perspective reverberates. Such studies may point to the existence of the following elements: (i)
juridical foundation; (ii) local Constitution and its principles (e.g. rule of law); (iii) three-fold nature
(which usually comprises the Executive, the Judiciary and the Legislative as independent powers);
(iv) institutions; and (v) a ‘toolkit’ of checks and balances.
This set of elements, which serves to exemplify some of the components and the
epistemological complexity of democracy, would allow us to see each of these as ‘a brick in the wall’.
The ‘wall’ would make visible the representation of a ‘final product’, whose ‘infrastructure’/bricks
would reflect liberal democracy’s Constitutional principles. Such principles would impose a kind of
order or normativity/positivity, whilst (de)regulating the functioning of democracy. The ‘image’ of the
erected and ‘effective wall’ as a ‘fortress’ would also contribute to configuring and sustaining what is
usually called indirect or representative democracy.
Alternatively, it is possible to examine democracy as a system of government by mobilising
what can be described as a relational perspective. The latter, succinctly, leads the researcher to
problematise at least two aspects. Firstly, the notion of ‘representation’ and its association with
democracy. Secondly, the centrality of structures/institutions/principles and their constitutive
hierarchical normativity. The assemblage of structures/institutions/principles would, on one hand,
sustain and protect democracy like a fortress or, on the other, open a pathway not only to
deregulation but also to exception, being the latter capable of endangering or subverting democracy
and the normativity/positivity that it forges.
Drawing on Foucault (1995, p. 217; p. 221), it is possible to argue that the structural viewpoint
and its (de)limitations contribute to understanding democracy in a rather idealised way. This
viewpoint appears to ignore (or neglect) that representative democracy is constitutive of a system of
government (or a domain of power-knowledge), whose positivity and trajectory are associated with
some sort of condensed historicity. Nevertheless, the historicity of that domain (as a stable/structured
form of ‘consciousness’/repertoire) and what it would ‘represent’ can be viewed as elements that are
not transparent (i.e. easy to access). For this, the positivity that constitutes such elements may be
misinterpreted (or not fully understood/accessed) by ‘ordinary citizens’.
The relational approach is also important for us to understand how circulated messages that
target democracy (paradoxically being guided by one of the latter’s basic principles: freedom) can
make visible performative changes in historicity. Such changes can put democracy’s institutions,
values and integrity to the test as a central event. Through this perspective, it is possible to examine
the performative/productive (de)construction of democracy “from the inside”, as Steven Levitsky and
Daniel Ziblatt (2018) put it in How democracies die
14
(2018).
14
See: https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/commentisfree/2018/jan/21/this-is-how-democracies-die.
Accessed on: 05 Sep 2022.
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Here, I focus more specifically on discussing actions and reactions as dynamics of power
and resistance, when Bolsonaro’s performances discursively catalyse and operationalise networked
violence. Developing this focus becomes possible because, as Foucault observes: “(…) we must
conceive discourse as a violence which we do to things, or in any case we impose on them”
(FOUCAULT [1970] 1981, p. 67). As it stands, networked violence, in the case at hand, involves
textual violence. Both give rise to textual disputes, through which the Brazilian electronic voting
system and democracy can be targeted.
Furthermore, if it is possible to address democracy from a discursive point of view, hence,
we can conceive democracy as a discursive construct, because both its representation and
‘message
15
’ need to be constantly reinforced and circulated in a transdimensional way. Nowadays,
if this ‘message’ fails to be reinforced, democratic values (as ‘the message’ itself) may no longer
circulate, nor influence the social sphere/citizens. This potential failure can generate a process of
(de)naturalisation of violence, through which democracy, haunted by perils and powers, becomes a
‘disputed message’. For this, democracy, as a complex or multilayered domain of power-knowledge,
can be (de)constructed during Brazil’s 2022 electoral process.
Democracy can be associated with perils and powers these days because, to some extent,
in the so-called Western societies (but not exclusively in these), the existence of this system of
government is becoming more and more dependent on media discourse and on the circulation of
texts. This dependence can be viewed as an effect of algorithmic
16
-multilayered influence of the so-
called big tech firms over (geo)politics or local partisan politics.
This influence can catalyse disputes (and violence). They may involve, for instance, these
kinds of textual manifestation: (i) national Constitutions; (ii) international treaties/agreements; (iii)
(written/spoken) speeches; (iv) demonstration placards (and in other contexts the bodies that
accompany those); (v) journalistic texts (e.g. news items); (vi) digitalised institutional manifestoes;
and vii) social media posts. The latter (materialised, for example, as comments, memetic constructs,
fake news, deepfake videos or live sessions) are capable of encapsulating, redistributing and
performatively (de)constructing the messages communicated by the abovementioned items.
Directing my focus towards this ‘textual dimension of democracy’ is of sheer relevance. It
allows me to discuss how this performative or productive dimension has an impact on the way
‘democracy as a message’ can be circulated, (mis)understood or (re)interpreted through textual
disputes. These can ‘translate’ and/or be ‘translated’ as performative processes of (de)naturalisation
of violence that derive from transmediatisation. The latter indicates a decentralised process of
production and circulation of texts across media spaces.
15
Message, for example, of perennial dialogue, which allows for the existence of internal contradictions.
16
According to a study from the Federal University of Rio de Janeiro (UFRJ/Netlab), Youtube’s algorithm contributed to
the uneven dissemination of pro-government content in Brazil’s 2022 presidential race:
https://uploads.strikinglycdn.com/files/b5e2b957-f8b0-4ce1-bee8-c89b30b58c15/Special%20Report%20-
%20Recommendations%20on%20Youtube%20the%20case%20of%20Jovem%20Pan.pdf. Accessed on: 15 Sep 2022.
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Página | 107
This characterisation of the process of circulation outlined above reflects aspects that are
related to the concept of transmedia order of discourse (SOUZA JÚNIOR, 2021, p. 2). Through it, I
am led to problematise discourses, media spaces (as domains of power-knowledge), participants
and texts that can (re)forge (de)stabilisation and struggles as performative processes. In the case at
hand, such struggles/disputes involve the performative circulation of discourses that may be
specialised/‘authorised’ (e.g. legal/journalistic) or non-specialised/‘non-authorised’ (e.g. social media
influencers’ or users’ dissemination of opinions/aspirations/beliefs).
2. CORPUS AND METHODOLOGICAL DECISIONS
The corpus of this study encompasses: (i) USP’s Faculty of Law pro-democracy letter-
manifesto, which was made available at their website; (ii) a tweet made public by Bolsonaro’s official
profile, through which he reacts to the circulation of the letter-manifesto; (iii) a news item from Folha
de São Paulo, which captures Bolsonaro’s ethos of recalcitrant commentator in relation to Brazil’s
2022 electoral process and also reports one of his relevant statements about USP’s manifesto; and
(iv) the so-called “people’s letter”, an alternative pro-democracy manifesto that has been proposed
and promoted by André Janones (a federal lawmaker).
The selection of such texts can be justified, first of all, in terms of their quantitative relevance.
Text (i) reached more than 1 million signatories from diverse segments of the so-called civil society
16 days after being released on-line, on 26 June 2022. Text (ii) was posted on 28 July 2022,
generating 22,000 retweets/ 6,892 comments/ 113,400 positive reactions (i.e. Twitter ‘hearts’). Text
(iii) was published on 9 August 2022, on Folha de São Paulo’s website – access average
17
24 million/
month. Lastly, text (iv) was released on 19 August 2022 and until 26 September 2022 it had attracted
the attention of those who identify as ‘the people’, making visible more than 110,110.000 signatories.
Additionally, this selection, which is never neutral, can be justified in terms of its: (i) balance
(since I take into consideration different stages and voices that give visibility to the event); and (ii)
qualitative relevance. In this regard, firstly, it becomes important to point to the aspect of semiotic
restriction and expansion. Whilst having an English version of these available, texts (i) and (iii) seem
to have been published to circulate farther. Texts (ii) and (iv) have been originally published in
Brazilian Portuguese. For this, I had to translate these into English. Secondly, I was led to take into
account aspects such as participants, discourses, kinds of texts, media spaces, trajectories and
resonances that these selected texts make visible, as indicated previously.
Hence, such texts are part of the corpus because they capture three key and interconnected
stages of Brazil’s 2022 electoral process, namely: (i) the emergence of USP’s letter-manifesto; (ii)
how Bolsonaro’s reactions to that latter resonate through different media spaces; and (iii) how André
17
Cf.:https://www1.folha.uol.com.br/poder/2021/04/dados-de-audiencia-do-1o-trimestre-reafirmam-lideranca-da-
folha.shtml . Accessed on: 26 Sep 2022.
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Janones, as an influencer, reacts to the circulation of USP’s manifesto, projecting a new letter and
his ethos. Janones gathers more than 12 million
18
followers on social media. On Twitter
19
, he plays
a very active role as a social media influencer, bringing into the spotlight an ethos that has been
engaged in confronting and ‘translating’ the far-right strategies of disinformation or the intricacies of
specialised discourses (including those circulated by the so-called leftists). Looking at how the
alternative manifesto makes the communication of such discourses less specialised (i.e. less
complicated) for the ‘ordinary citizen’ (or ‘the people’) matters.
Once these aspects, stages and resonances are traced, it is necessary, firstly, to reflect on
how the emergence of USP’s letter-manifesto pointed to a trajectory of actions and reactions. This
sense of trajectory leads me to highlight the importance of the genealogical perspective (FOUCAULT
[1970] 1981, pp. 70-71), which, succinctly, allows me to focus on how Discourse unfolds and
circulates. In other words, I take into consideration Discourse, its formation, discontinuities and
modulations, as these emerge across media spaces.
Through the critical perspective (Foucault [1970]1981, p. 73), it is equally important to take
into account how the alluded trajectory of actions and reactions pointed to the emergence of textual
and epistemic disputes that became visible as the event under discussion unfolded. I discuss
how/what/who these disputes (as dynamics of power and resistance) performatively include or
exclude, expose or invisibilise. More precisely, the critical perspective leads me to explore the
domain of the (un)said, by discussing how these disputes produced (in)visible dynamics, threats and
what/who is threatened.
3. DISCUSSION
3.1 Democracy in USP’s letter-manifesto and (de)naturalisation of violence
In this section, I discuss: (i) how the notion of democracy is mobilised; and (ii) what/who
USP’s manifesto performatively includes or excludes, whilst projecting processes of
(de)naturalisation of violence.
18
Cf.:https://congressoemfoco.uol.com.br/area/pais/proposta-por-janones-carta-do-povo-ja-tem-50-mil-assinaturas-
confira-a-integra/ . . Accessed on: 26 Sep 2022.
19
Cf.: https://twitter.com/AndreJanonesAdv . Accessed on: 26 Sep 2022.
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Figure 1: USP’s Faculty of Law pro-democracy letter-manifesto
Source: https://direito.usp.br/noticia/c26b69cbbd74-letter-to-brazilians-in-defence-of-the-democratic-rule-of-
law. Accessed on: 22 Sep 2022.
Preliminarily, Figure 1 exposes the layers of networked violence (cf. Section 1), which once
have effectively contributed to leading Brazil to a dictatorship (line: 10). Now, context-specific
elements of that network catalyse the emergence of USP’s manifesto. Regarding such elements or
layers, textual violence emerges explicitly in the following excerpts “(…) insinuations of contempt for
the results of the elections” (line: 35); Groundless attacks unaccompanied by evidence [which]
question the fairness of the electoral process and the democratic rule of law” (line: 36). These
occurrences expose the vulnerabilities of democracy, if we take into account its ‘textual dimension’
(cf. Section 1).
It is also possible to observe how Figure 1 exposes the performative potential of textual
violence. In other words: it makes visible what the repetition of such violent practices can actually
generate through textual manifestations: “Threats to other powers and sectors of the civil society
(…)” (line: 37). That potential can also give visibility to how these practices can be repeated and
discursively naturalised, affecting, therefore, democracy: “(…) [through] the incitement of violence
and the breakdown of the constitutional order (…)” (line: 38).
In addition, it becomes visible how the potential referred to can be expanded, become more
hybrid and disruptive/destructive, if misleading premises of ‘freedom’ (cf. Section 1) are adopted
locally in association with textual violence: “(…) authoritarian rants that have jeopardized secular
American democracy (…) attempts to destabilise and people’s confidence in the elections (…)”
(lines: 39-41).
At this point, it is necessary to look at how the letter-manifesto produces a performative
process of denaturalisation of that kind of violence. If violence unfolds in a networked way, it is
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possible that reaction or a dynamics of networked resistance towards that emerges. Here, this
dynamics/network can reveal a set of elements/layers, as indicated below.
The letter-manifesto itself is a form of textual manifestation (cf. Section 1) that can be viewed
as the primary instrument of textual reaction. In this document, a network of textual and traceable
‘instruments’ (e.g. Constitutional principles) becomes visible. These instruments can work in
association, whilst being capable of promoting textual reaction or denaturalisation of violence. In
Figure 1, the following traceable and textual elements appear to work together/embedded: “[the]
Letter to Brazilians (…) [which] called for the re-establishment of rule of law(…)” (lines: 9-11); “(…)
the Federal Constitution of 1988 (…)” (line: 17); “(…) political debate on projects for the country (…)”
(line: 18); “[a] call on Brazilians to be alert and in the defence of democracy and respect for the
electoral results” (lines: 44-45). In this context, whilst called for and call on indicate ways of producing
textual manifestation, re-establishment of rule of law, political debate and to be alert point to the
embedded democratic elements or dynamics that indicate processes of reaction, dynamics of
resistance and denaturalisation of violence.
A final dimension of the letter-manifesto can be explored. It projects specific constitutive
elements that may be read as ‘messages’. The latter seem to ‘translate’ and expand (moving beyond
the mere semiotic mobilisation of English) the social and political meanings of democracy (i.e. what
it would stand for in this context). These meanings and message project, then, expanded and indirect
conceptualisations of democracy. Such conceptualisations would reflect, as indicated below, the
cherished and the contradictory constitutive elements, which, in a relational way, co-exist and seem
to characterise democracy in the Brazilian scenario.
Amongst the cherished ones, the following can be singled out: “(…) the legitimacy of (…)
institutions (…) the democratic rule of law with the prevalence of respect for the individual rights.”
(lines: 13-14); “(…) the powers of the Republic, the Executive, the Legislative, the Judiciary, all
independent, autonomous, committed to ensuring compliance with the greater covenant, the Federal
Constitution.” (lines: 15-16); “(...) the dispute between the various political projects aimed at
convincing the electorate of the best proposals for the direction of the country (…)” (lines: 32-33);
“(…) respect for the electoral results” (lines: 44-45). When it comes to the contradictory and co-
existent ones, I highlight these: “(…) profound social inequalities, with deficits in essential public
services, such as health, education, housing and public safety (…). Demands for greater respect
and equality of conditions in terms of race, gender, sexual orientation” (lines: 32-33).
From a critical standpoint, it becomes relevant to highlight the following aspects that USP’s
letter-manifesto makes visible: (i) the targets of violence (e.g. democracy, its principles, powers,
institutions, the electronic voting system); (ii) the ways through which networked violence emerges
(e.g. through textual manifestation and textual violence); and (iii) the instruments through which
textual violence can be equally resisted (e.g. pro-democracy letter-manifesto and defence of the
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constitutional order and rule of law). In 4.2, we will see how such aspects can be related to the
discussion involving Figures 2 and 3.
3.2 Bolsonaro’s reactions towards USP’s letter-manifesto in the media: tracing (in)visible
dynamics and transmedia resonances
In this section, I address the process of transmediatisation of USP’s pro-democracy
manifesto regarding two different media spaces: Twitter and the news website Folha de São Paulo.
Figures 2 and 3, below, allow us to have access to such spaces:
Figure 2: On Twitter, Bolsonaro reacts to the digital circulation of USP’s letter-manifesto
Source: https://www1.folha.uol.com.br/internacional/en/brazil/2022/07/bolsonaro-says-he-doesnt-need-a-
letter-to-defend-democracy.shtml . Accessed on: 22 Sep 2022.
Figure 3: Bolsonaro’s second reaction to the digital circulation of USP’s letter-manifesto in the media
Source: https://www1.folha.uol.com.br/internacional/en/brazil/2022/08/bolsonaro-attacks-pro-democracy-
letter-again-in-meeting-with-bankers.shtml. Accessed on: 22 Sep 2022.
In Figure 2, Bolsonaro’s declaration could be viewed as an implicit dynamics of
vulnerabilisation, targeting democracy. The latter, through its textual dimension, little by little, seems
to ‘crack’ or become vulnerable with the emergence of networked and textual violence. The alluded
sense of vulnerabilisation gives visibility (in different ways) to a process naturalisation of violence.
In Figure 3, this sense becomes not only more visible, but also reinforced across media
spaces: “Bolsonaro attacks pro-democracy letter again (...)” (lines: 2-4). Moreover, this alluded
reinforcement develops further, when, as reported by the media outlet, Bolsonaro refers to the pro-
democracy manifesto as “(...) the little letter (...)” (line: 7). From a critical perspective, the mobilisation
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of little projects the emergence of textual violence. It recycles and expands a sense of
hierarchisation, which Bolsonaro’s declaration projects in Figure 2.
It is important to note that, from a genealogical perspective, Bolsonaro uses little frequently
– as a discursive resource, in order to construct himself as a ‘superior’ actor in contexts of
conflict/crisis. Little is commonly mobilised by Bolsonaro, when he is confronted with entities or
participants that may lead one to see him as inferior
20
in such contexts.
The recycling and expansion alluded to also contribute to making more explicit why the clash
between collective (e.g. manifestoes) and individualistic forms of pro-democracy textual
manifestation (e.g. tweets) should not be disregarded in Bolsonaro’s declaration. In Figure 3, we can
see his explicit refusal to adhere to USP’s manifesto, in case Lula became one of its signatories.
In sum, we can observe that the reported statements in Figure 3 (if understood as projecting
a ‘conversation’ with Bolsonaro’s individual tweet in Figure 2) give visibility to his explicit dynamics
of ratifying a perception of dispute for protagonism and legitimation in the face of the discursive
authority of USP’s manifesto as a collective pro-democracy textual manifestation. To understand
why USP’s manifesto becomes ‘authorised’ to circulate democratically two aspects need to be
observed. On one hand, the manifesto not only emerges from a domain of power-knowledge that is
specialised (i.e. a source of legal discourse), but also (and most importantly): the discourse projected
through the manifesto is a Constitutional one. On the other, Bolsonaro, as a recalcitrant
commentator, used his Twitter account in order to promote his own ‘letter’, which, according to the
message that he projected, would neither be compatible with the pro-democracy views of USP’s
“little letter”, nor with those of his opponent: Lula.
There is another implicit and relevant aspect in Bolsonaro’s dynamics. Bolsonaro’s explicit
textual dynamics makes use of two different media spaces to become amplified. It is necessary to
observe how this dynamics involves the media space of traditional journalism as its domain of
culmination. In this way, an additional dimension or layer of networked violence can be activated.
More precisely, in Figure 3, this suggested activation is connected with how the space of the news
item and, as a consequence, the democratic and Constitutional principle of freedom of press may
amplify a process of naturalisation. The latter can vulnerabilise democracy through textual violence.
This naturalisation is developed through an attempt to militarise the electoral process
21
,
which, according to the Brazilian Constitution, should be conducted by civilians
22
. Here, we can see
the rise of a militarising configuration or a military order of discourse (SOUZA JÚNIOR, 2022). This
order, as discussed elsewhere, connects military, political and media discourses, whilst opening a
20
During the Covid-19 pandemic in Brazil, Bolsonaro repeatedly disseminated a belief that the deadly Covid-
19 infection should be simply regarded as ‘a little flu’ (cf. SOUZA JÚNIOR, 2021, pp. 4-5).
21
Cf.: https://www.hrw.org/news/2022/04/29/brazil-armed-forces-should-not-count-votes . Accessed on: 9 Nov 2022.
22
It should be noted that, unlike the U.S., Brazil has in its Judiciary power a special segment, the Electoral Justice. For
more details, see: https://foreignpolicy.com/2022/03/15/bolsonaro-brazil-election-trump-gop-jan-6-insurrection/.
Accessed on: 08 Oct 2022.
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pathway to the performative production of textual violence and vulnerabilisation in/of democracies,
as a result of the activation of military interferences in civilian domains.
The attempt referred to allows for the amplification of Bolsonaro’s militarising ‘suggestion’,
which is reported (without any indication of democratic or Constitutional contestation) in the space
of journalism as follows: “If the Armed Forces were invited to participate in the Elections
Transparency Commission and presented suggestions, let the technical teams discuss. Maybe the
Armed Forces are wrong? But do not refuse this approach and this conversation.” (lines: 26-30).
If the relational perspective is considered (cf. Section 1), Bolsonaro’s reported statements in
Figure 3 suggest a sense of Constitutional deviation, which seems to be naturalised/trivialised in the
space of traditional journalism. This deviation would potentially promote relations of friction as
follows: (i) between State institutions (i.e. The Armed Forces/Brazilian Army and TSE - the Superior
Electoral Court); and (ii) between the Executive and the Judiciary powers. In this way, we would
have, ‘from the inside’ of democracy, rule of law giving rise to a configuration that would be capable
of legitimising and/or ratifying the naturalisation of traces of a state of exception as a manifestation
of networked violence.
In this context, exception would materialise through Bolsonaro’s ‘simple suggestion’.
However, this ‘suggestion’ ought to be read as a kind of textual violence, which, discursively, can
subvert and vulnerabilise the textual dimension of democracy. This ‘suggestion’ also exposes how
the Brazilian Army may be activated locally to take part as an actor in a context that projects an
atmosphere of crisis and competition between institutions. The military are expected to operate
through a domain of inter-institutional dynamics. The latter can lead the Army to take a pathway to
what can constitute a deviation from their Constitutional duties, at the expense of taxpayers, whilst
the military partake in a Commission whose Constitutional prerogatives of legitimation are civilian in
nature.
As an effect, this scenario can promote exception instead of the ratification of the
Constitutional order/normativity. The alluded senses of deviation/subversion, violence and
vulnerabilisation would become manifested if the dynamics of redirecting the Armed Forces to a
civilian domain (i.e. the Elections Transparency Commission) became a reality.
When examined through the genealogical lenses, it is possible to understand how a trajectory
of ‘conversation’ between Figures 1, 2 and 3 is projected; and how these can reveal additional
(in)visible layers and dynamics.
If critically observed, invisibilising (or not targeting explicitly) those who could be framed as a
threat to democracy can be viewed as one of the key dynamics in USP’s manifesto. When Bolsonaro
refuses to endorse the message of democracy that the manifesto projects and promotes his
individual tweet, it can be viewed as an attempt to ‘replace’ or compete with USP’s manifesto. This
dynamics seems to lead him to ‘take a bait’, which, in a sophisticated way, was ‘left hanging’ in the
manifesto. The interconnexions between Figures 1 and 2 show how, as he takes that ‘bait’, this may
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performatively contribute to projecting Bolsonaro as a source of violence or the potential ‘aggressor’,
whose dynamics the manifesto seemed to denounce, but did not explicitly mention.
To sum up, the interconnexions between Figures 1, 2 and 3 seem to amplify Bolsonaro’s
projected ethos of aggressor. One of the indirect effects of this alluded amplification points to how
Bolsonaro’s conspicuous refusal to adhere to USP’s pro-democracy manifesto promotes and
amplifies the image of Lula as his main opponent, whilst ratifying, through an invisible or indirect
dynamics, the latter as a pro-democracy candidate. Understanding this indirect amplification of Lula’s
image in that way becomes possible, since Figure 3 indicated that he was about to become a
signatory of USP’s manifesto.
3.3 Democracy, (re)interpretation and co-existent ‘messages’: a ‘conversation’ between
USP’s letter-manifesto and ‘the people’s letter’
In this section, we shall look at how the so-called people’s letter ‘converses’ with USP’s letter-
manifesto. Figure 4, below, allows us to explore dynamics of (re)interpretation and related (in)visible
dynamics that (de)naturalise networked violence:
Figure 4: The people’s letter
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Source: https://cartadopovo.com.br/. Accessed on: 23 Sep 2022.
In Figure 4, the people’s letter seems to propose and promote a dynamics that reinterprets,
‘translates’ and makes visible several aspects. The latter seemed invisibilised or gained less
attention in USP’s pro-democracy manifesto. In paragraph (1), the people’s letter appears to contest
the specialised way through which USP’s manifesto communicated the message of democracy.
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This epistemic contestation, however, does not seem to reject or defy the authority that legal
discourse (in accordance with the Constitution) confers to USP’s manifesto. The contestation makes
visible a dynamics of expansion, which addresses an often invisible (and very subtle) layer of
networked and textual violence.
This layer points to the repertoire or principles of democracy (e.g. rule of law) and their
constitutive legal complexity as a form of epistemological violence – a violence that democracy may
impose, for example, on the so-called ‘ordinary citizens’ (cf. Section 1). The following question is
indicative of that (violent) sense of complexity which triggers contestation: “Much has been said
about democracy. But, after all, what is democracy for us, the people?”
Additionally, the dynamics of expansion referred to makes visible a dispute that seeks to
expose epistemological complexity and overcome some sort of ‘communicational breakdown’ or
barrier between ‘the people’ and domains of specialised discourse like, for example, universities or
courts of justice.
At this point, it is important to stress how translation can contribute to overcoming this
communicational barrier. In the people’s letter, translation emerges as a visible communicational
and sociopolitical dynamics of democratisation or ‘palatability’, which can help ‘the people’ in their
task of understanding ‘encrypted’ or complex democracy principles, such as rule of law. Locally, the
strategy derived from this dynamics allows for more comprehensive and complex processes of
reinterpretation than those that have been mobilised by USP’s manifesto. The latter resorted to
different semiotic systems/resources (i.e. Brazilian Portuguese and other languages/signs) in order
to circulate its message of democracy, including the global sphere (cf. Figure 1).
In Figure 4, we can see how the translated and communicated meanings of democracy
expand it as a message. These meanings and message, firstly, point to traces of co-existence, which
emerge as transmedia resonances. Secondly, these resonances bring into the spotlight disputes
that gain visibility, as we explore additional paragraphs of the people’s letter. When we trace and
contrast these resonances, translated meanings and message(s) of democracy, it is possible to
perceive a ‘conversation’ between media spaces. As a consequence, in Figure 4, we can see some
sort of translanguaging being strategically developed as a derived form of ‘translation’.
Translanguaging, in this context, emerges as a dynamics that crosses discursive fields and
serves to make levels of discursive specialisation less complex (or more understandable), pointing
to how Constitutional principles of democracy, such as rule of law and secular state, resonate
through those levels. In Figure 4, these principles co-exist, being reaffirmed and communicated
through translanguaging, in a ‘less complicated’ way, as paragraph (2) shows: “Democracy means
that we have the right to vote, right to freedom of thought, right to profess our faith and creed.
Moreover, it means to live without [fearing] authoritarian threats (…)”. This co-existence, as an effect,
reinforces, firstly, the crafting of democracy as a continuous endeavour as well as a collective
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construct. Secondly, this suggests stark contrast with Bolsonaro’s individualistic dynamics of “pro-
democracy” textual manifestation, which projected networked and textual violence in Figure 2.
In Figure 1 (cf. lines 25-30), aspects related to social inequalities (i.e. “race, gender and
sexual orientation”) as well as deficits in essential public services (i.e. “health, education, housing
and public safety”) are presented or ‘translated’ as “challenges” that “the State is inefficient [to deal
with]”. In Figure 1, such aspects seemed to have been naturalised as attributes that are part of the
repertoire of liberal democracy. These “challenges” (a term that is often found in the liberal jargon)
did not seem to be understood as part and parcel of what liberal democracy as a regime of
government can also produce. If contrasted with Figure 4, this process of naturalisation, which
projects networked and textual violence in Figure 1, seems to focus on the defence of rule of law as
the cornerstone of democracy, whilst everything else (e.g. inequalities and deficits) appears to be
framed as ‘collateral’ effects.
In Figure 4, it is exactly this idea of regarding rule of law as ‘the real’ driving force of
democracy that projects a dispute. The latter leads us to see how democracy becomes a disputed
message. The message under dispute indicates that the constitution of this system of government
ought not to be viewed or defended solely from the point of view of legal discourse or political
liberalism (cf. Section 1). Undoubtedly, rule of law is central, for example, to the constitution of liberal
and representative democracy. Nevertheless, from a genealogical perspective, this cardinal principle
may also be activated or embraced in order to produce exceptions to the rule, as certain ‘democratic’
claims or ‘suggestions’ emerge, giving visibility to traces that point to dysfunctional democratic
panoramas (cf. Section 3.2, Fig. 3).
As it stands, in the people’s letter, this disputed message involves the principle of rule of law,
whilst the latter seems to be mobilised in order to expand democracy’s repertoire (cf. Section 1).
Through this alluded expansion, democracy’s repertoire and its associated legal
positivity/normativity are activated no longer to identify “challenges” that seem to be invisibilised or
framed as collateral effects. In turn, through this expansion, this disputed message gives visibility to
two notions of ‘justice’. In Figure 1, USP’s manifesto takes as central a notion of justice that is
specialised, being more oriented by the technicalities of the legal domain.
In Figure 4, this specialised notion of justice appears to be complemented and balanced,
making visible a(n) expanded/hybrid form of democratic consciousness/repertoire. The latter is not
simply restricted to/by the technical/legal domain. It becomes, to some extent, more sociopolitically
inclusive, projecting an emergent positivity or notion of social justice. Through this notion, the idea
of social democracy emanates and becomes interconnected with that emergent positivity/notion.
This interconnexion allows us to understand that, in the panorama under discussion, the notion of
social democracy and its historicity can be viewed as a more ‘productive’ discursive construct, when
we compare the repertoires of liberal democracy and social democracy, and the panoramas that
each of these notions can derive.
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For this, in Figure 4, the notion of social democracy and its productivity point to traces which
become central. These can no longer be framed as ‘collateral effects’ in democratic panoramas that
seem to be more robust, since they are influenced by two interconnected notions: democracy and
justice. As a result, two groups of traces that interconnect and are oriented by the notions of social
democracy and social justice can be highlighted in the people’s letter:
a) Components of relevance: (i) gender and/or sexual orientation (paragraphs: 3 and 10), (ii)
education (paragraphs: 4 and 7), (iii) race (paragraphs: 5 and 9), housing (11), health (paragraph:
14), public safety (paragraph: 16);
b) Expansions and aspirations: (i) infra-structure (paragraph: 13); (ii) employment and
citizenship (paragraph: 15); and (iii) culture and leisure (paragraphs: 6 and 17).
These invisibilised traces or less detailed dimensions in Figure 1 resonate from an expanded
notion of democracy, which gains visibility in Figure 4. This alluded expansion indicates the necessity
of amplifying liberal democracy’s repertoire in the context under discussion, whilst calling into
question Fukuyama’s thesis (cf. Section 1). These traces, dimensions and expanded notions lead
us to understand that the abovementioned repertoire/consciousness seems to be limited to
relationally cater for the contextual and current democratic aspirations of a considerable amount of
Brazilians.
As it stands, Figure 4 suggests that this limited repertoire, then, needs to be locally expanded,
by incorporating a relational and more comprehensive notion of citizenship, which can be sustained
and developed in tandem with an expanded notion of social justice. Otherwise, the erected wall of
democracy, if (de)limited to/by the notion of rule of law, may begin showing its ‘cracks’ or, in other
words, it may become dysfunctional, vulnerable to networked violence and/or disruptions. It is this
notion of citizenship, after all, that the co-existing traces listed in the people’s letter appear to dispute
and reflect upon. Indicative of this co-existence is what the message of democracy that the final
paragraph of the letter textually projects as a form of denaturalisation of violence whilst it envisages:
“Freedom, welfare, rights and opportunities”.
A FINAL PANORAMA
I have been arguing that violence can be performatively operated in a networked way,
through the domains of language and Discourse. The operationalisation of this kind of violence gave
visibility to textual violence and epistemic disputes. The latter have been ‘translated’ in this research
as dynamics of (de)naturalisation of violence. To some, the notion of textual violence should not be
conceived as ‘real’ violence. If this perspective is taken into account, one may argue that the focus
on this ‘subtle’ kind of violence could be viewed as one of the limitations of the present study.
Notwithstanding, I have sought to show that currently this ‘subtle’ type of violence ought not
to be framed as a ‘minor’, ‘less disruptive’ or ‘less destructive’. I contend that textual violence can
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lead us to identify the first signs of friction and/or fracture in the erected wall of rule of law – here,
translated as the central pillar of democracy. Textual violence can also open a pathway to the
activation of additional dimensions of the repertoire of networked violence in unpredictable ways.
When we reflect on Bolsonaro’s communicational strategies of techno-preacherism and de-
calendarisation (cf. Introduction), we can see that these have interconnected locally with the script
of Trumpism. Both the script and its related resonances appear to have contributed to Bolsonaro’s
defeat in the 2022 presidential race. In 2020, Trumpism generated a similar result in the U.S. With
Bolsonaro’s electoral defeat, a demand
23
which combines the domain of social justice with that of
rule of law as part of democracy’s expanding repertoire of checks and balances has re-emerged
locally. The alluded combination would pave the way to hold Bolsonaro accountable for the charges
that he faces – some including accusations of genocide against indigenous people. As discussed,
language and Discourse allow us to understand democracy as a discursive construct, which gives
visibility to the textual dimension of democracy and its related resonances. The latter lead us to look
at how digital circulation in connexion with digit(al)ised texts can disseminate and/or counter
violence.
Lastly, in what concerns the contributions of this study, I would highlight how, depending on
one’s theoretical and methodological perspectives, it invites, encourages or challenges researchers
from diverse areas and transcultural contexts to address and discuss democracy. Additionally, it
offers a perspective that takes as central the roles of language, Discourse and texts as common
(inter/trans)disciplinary elements. These elements, as primary sources of (in)visible traces, can tell
us a great deal about the democratic (?) contexts through which such traces emerge.
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DAHL, R. A. Democracy and its critics. New Haven: Yale University Press, 1989.
FOUCAULT, M. The order of things: an archaeology of the Human Sciences. New York: Vintage
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poststructuralist reader. Routledge and Kegan Paul, Boston, 1981.
FUKUYAMA, F. The end of history? The National Interest, 16, p. 3-18, 1989.
LATOUR, B. Reassembling the social: an introduction to Actor-Network- Theory. Oxford
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LEVITSKY, S. ; ZIBLATT, D. How democracies die. New York: Crown, 2018.
23
See: https://oglobo.globo.com/blogs/bernardo-mello-franco/coluna/2022/11/bolsonaro-precisa-ser-julgado-e-punido-
por-crimes-que-cometeu.ghtml [Available in Brazilian Portuguese]. Accessed on: 8 Nov 2022.
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NETLAB UFRJ. Recomendação no Youtube: o caso Jovem Pan. 5 de Setembro de 2022, Escola
de Comunicação da Universidade Federal do Rio de Janeiro, Brasil.
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O/A(S) AUTOR(ES/AS)
Jaime de Souza Júnior
Doctor in Interdisciplinary Applied Linguistics. Being currently associated to Núcleo de Estudos em Discurso
e Sociedade (Federal University of Rio de Janeiro Research Group), his current transdisciplinary research
interests include transmedia circulation and the multimodal communication of notions such as ‘fact’, ‘truth’,
‘fake’, 'belief' and ‘memes’. E-mail: souzajuniorprof@gmail.com
