Democracy on a Tightrope : Politics and Bureaucracy in Brazil

Brazil has experienced a political crisis over the last decade, starting with massive street demonstrations in 2013and culminating with the invasion of the presidential palace in January 2023. The outcry against corruption became a call for policy without politics, politicians should be replaced by operators free of any ideology. The authors of this book review some of the major debates in Brazil’s recent past. They note that democracy is hostage to a serious conflict between the bureaucrats of the state's technocracy and the citizenry, represented by political animals, mainly parliamentarians, but also civil society activists. Abramovay and Lotta argue that the tension between a strong, independent bureaucracy and the natural conflicts of democracy - with the broad participation of students, workers, indigenous peoples and other forces that are the lifeblood of democracy - is the key to building a healthy and effective regime. If in 1979 it was about the fight against dictatorship, today, according to the book, it is about ensuring that the state achieves the goals of the constitution, such as building a free, fair and caring society. According to the two political scientists, this effort involves ceasing to demonize politics and realizing that civil servants are not necessarily the bearers of all virtues.