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Date of Award
Spring 2020
Degree Name
Bachelor of Arts
Department
Historical & Political Studies; College of Arts & Sciences
First Advisor
Dr. Hilary Parsons-Dick
Abstract
On 28 October 2018 Jair Bolsonaro, an extreme-right candidate, won the presidential elections in Brazil with 55% of the vote, bringing Brazil into the surging ranks of populist, authoritarian and far-right international movements. Bolsonaro’s rise to power was made possible due to popular discontent with the Workers’ Party (PT), Brazil’s governing party from 2003-2016. This was reflected through Bolsonaro’s 2018 campaign, which centered on cleansing Brazil of the left-wing, a phrase strikingly similar to US President Donald Trump’s ‘drain the swamp’ rhetoric. Bolsonaro’s 2018 campaign strategically employed a similar rhetoric of hate and personal attacks about corruption, characterized by the use of depersonalization and offensive nicknames on Twitter and Whatsapp. Taking inspiration from the campaign rhetoric of US President Donald Trump, Bolsonaro framed his right-wing populism as relatable, authentic, and honest in contrast to his “corrupt, pro-establishment” opponents in the Workers’ Party (PT). By constructing his opponents as ontologically corrupt social types, Bolsonaro sought to intensify the polarization amongst Brazilians and capitalize upon anti-petista sentiments, and destroy any positive public image of the Workers’ Party. This discursive strategy of hate and personal attack on social media is representative of a broader pattern in right-wing populists’ campaign rhetoric. It is imperative to recognize these patterns, as they have been effective at generating success for right-wing populists, thereby furthering the normalization of far-right rhetoric on social media.
Recommended Citation
Specht, Heidi, "Nicknaming Corruption: Jair Bolsonaro's Populist Rhetoric in the Social Media Construction of Ontologically Corrupt Social Types" (2020). Capstone Showcase. 4.
https://scholarworks.arcadia.edu/showcase/2020/is/4
Nicknaming Corruption: Jair Bolsonaro's Populist Rhetoric in the Social Media Construction of Ontologically Corrupt Social Types
On 28 October 2018 Jair Bolsonaro, an extreme-right candidate, won the presidential elections in Brazil with 55% of the vote, bringing Brazil into the surging ranks of populist, authoritarian and far-right international movements. Bolsonaro’s rise to power was made possible due to popular discontent with the Workers’ Party (PT), Brazil’s governing party from 2003-2016. This was reflected through Bolsonaro’s 2018 campaign, which centered on cleansing Brazil of the left-wing, a phrase strikingly similar to US President Donald Trump’s ‘drain the swamp’ rhetoric. Bolsonaro’s 2018 campaign strategically employed a similar rhetoric of hate and personal attacks about corruption, characterized by the use of depersonalization and offensive nicknames on Twitter and Whatsapp. Taking inspiration from the campaign rhetoric of US President Donald Trump, Bolsonaro framed his right-wing populism as relatable, authentic, and honest in contrast to his “corrupt, pro-establishment” opponents in the Workers’ Party (PT). By constructing his opponents as ontologically corrupt social types, Bolsonaro sought to intensify the polarization amongst Brazilians and capitalize upon anti-petista sentiments, and destroy any positive public image of the Workers’ Party. This discursive strategy of hate and personal attack on social media is representative of a broader pattern in right-wing populists’ campaign rhetoric. It is imperative to recognize these patterns, as they have been effective at generating success for right-wing populists, thereby furthering the normalization of far-right rhetoric on social media.