Democracy in Retreat: Challenges to Social Well-Being in Brazil

• In Event: Renovating and Reimagining Local Democracy amidst National Retrenchment

Abstract

Previous research shows that a mixture of investment in pro-poor social programs, citizen participation in policymaking through new democratic institutions, and policies that promote economic growth improve well-being. All three of these strategies expanded in Brazil during the Lula and Dilma administrations, but contracted under Presidents Temer and Bolsonaro, with partisan shifts in policy priorities, economic downturns, and the COVID-19 pandemic. In this article, we build on our 2019 book that assesses the relative contribution of each strategy above and chronicles the rise of rights-based social programs, public participation in policymaking, and subsequent improvements in social well-being. We extend our unique municipal dataset covering Brazil’s 5,570 municipalities to incorporate data through 2022. The analysis of our unusually large, deep dataset demonstrates resilience in social well-being based on local pathways that retained performance despite national budget cuts and rhetoric urging abandonment of participatory institutions and rights-based programs. The results reflect the long, slow foundation that subnational democracy can build for social well-being, as well as the resilience of capable institutions when challenged at the national level.

Authors

• Michael Touchton, University of Miami

• Natasha Borges Sugiyama, University of Wisconsin, Milwaukee

• Brian Wampler, Boise State University