[P2P-F] Fwd: From Ibase - Brazil - The “explosion” of citizenship on the streets / O "Estouro" da Cidadania nas ruas

Wed Jun 26 08:00:36 CEST 2013

---------- Forwarded message ----------
From: Nicolas Krausz <nicolas.krausz at fph.ch>
Date: Wed, Jun 26, 2013 at 2:16 AM
Subject: Fwd: From Ibase - Brazil - The “explosion” of citizenship on the
streets / O "Estouro" da Cidadania nas ruas

 From Candido, about the situation in Brazil.
Regards
Nicolas

-------- Mensagem original --------
  Assunto: Brazil - The “explosion” of citizenship on the streets  Data: Fri,
21 Jun 2013 17:00:52 -0300  De: antonia at ibase.br
<antonia at ibase.br><antonia at ibase.br>  CC:
secretariageral at ibase.br <secretariageral at ibase.br><secretariageral at ibase.br>

Dear Friends,

In this article, director of Ibase supports the protestings and affirms
that the reduction of public transport fares is the evidence that the
"streets" indeed set the public agenda. *

The “explosion” of citizenship on the streets*

*Cândido Grzybowski*
*Sociologist, director of Ibase*

Nothing better for democracy than streets and avenues taken by citizens
protesting. That is the evidence that the streets indeed set the public
agenda. What was deemed as unthinkable a little while ago has actually
happened: the mayors of São Paulo and Rio de Janeiro reduced public
transport fares. More than the immediate reasons, what really matters is
the symbolism of the protests and the signals that they convey to the
political arena. Once again it was up to the youth to open way for the
ressurgence of insatisfactions and claims, through a cacophony of voices,
some of them provocative in their own ways. I am not referring here to the
opportunist riots, which were also present at these occasions. The dominant
tone of the dispute for a new sense and direction of everyday Brazil is not
violent, as it should be in order to be strongly anchored in democracy.

I mention “explosion” of citizenship to remember that a diffuse
insatisfaction with the “emerging Brazil” (as the political and business
elites like to call) was choked. Back in 2004, I wrote an article called
“Cornered citizenship”, published in Ibase's magazine *Democracia Viva*.
Back then I reminded readers about the risk for democracy of silencing the
diversity of citizenship claims, through a government who indeed dialogues,
yes, but does not really listen or change anything. Thus the notion of
being cornered.

Much has happened since then. Social policies for minimum protection of the
poorest and excluded – Ibase itself through sociologist Betinho struggled
for this in many years –, economic growth, job generation to millions,
increase of minimum wage, expansion of access to universities and
facilitated financial credit, among other political initiatives, have
undoubtly brought much change. But no structural change that would
transform the base of a destructive development, which concentrates wealth
and generates deep inequality in society, with alarming social exclusion.

Many have argued, as myself, that the changes occurred in the short term
are needed and welcome, but do not ensure sustainability, because they
depend and rely on growth, on consummer inclusion, more than on citizenship
inclusion.

This scenario explains the lack of priority to transformative policies
towards the universalization of rights. To facilitate the purchase of a car
is to satisfy a need for individual consumption, but does not solve the
massive problem of urban mobility. On the contrary, it causes huge traffic
jams and makes transport even worse. To set priority to football arenas and
the transport to and from them is not to universalize rights. Even worse,
to spend public money on pharaonic enterprises – which afterwards are
privatized at bargain prices, like the famous Maracanã arena, which costed
US$ 540 million to taxpayers and shall be offered for private management
for 50 years at a price of around US$ 110 million to Odebrecht Corporation
and oil-tycoon Eike Batista – and not having money to other priorities can
only breed insatisfaction. To celebrate the acquisition of precarious
private health plans by a supposedly “new middle class” is not to implement
the universal public health system SUS. There are many other examples.
Large enterprises are justified by the need of growth and accumulation, but
instead of improving they may actually deteriorate the life quality of many
people. Such as the indigenous peoples, those affected by mining, those
expelled by force to give way to new football arenas and the “progress”,
among many others.

As a democracy activist, I have been looking for the “signals” on where
this cornered diffuse insatisfaction was likely to explode, in the cities
or in the fields, to show the contradictions that Brazilian democracy must
face, thus creating a new wave of substantial democracy. The only thing I
was sure was that this would explode. And it did, where no one expected.

Even under pression from media, I will not analyse the circumstances. There
is always a spark, a last drop. In the case of the recent protests, it was
probably the increase of public transport fares in a context of visible
quality deterioration. The disastrous and definitely anti-citizenship
attitude of the Military Police, expressing extreme intolerance against
protesters, only caused the irradiation of solidarity and mobilization
around the youth groups that protested. Finally, coming from youth groups
usually considered disorganized and unexperienced, the perfect choice of
timing with FIFA's Confederation Cup set the scenario to a gesture of
citizenship so deeply critic to representative institutions and elected
politicians. Another new feature of such mobilizations has been the use of
new technologies and social networks as a tool for democratic action.

We salute the protests, because the streets are the cradle of democracy. In
History, the streets are the place where struggles are born and end up not
only reaching the epicenter of political power, but also alternating the
arenas and political agendas, forcing everyone of us to revisit our
practices and proposals. On democratic regimes, only mobilized citizenship
has a constitutive power. It does not matter that citizenship is expressed
on a confused way, it is part of its essence. Citizenship casts light and
explodes contradictions; the subsequent public debate shall then settle the
agenda. We shall solve the contradictions through democratic action.
Solutions? Unpredictable, as the protests themselves. One never knows how
or when they begin, nor how or when they stop. Political will must be
created to face the contradictions turned visible. That is the secret of
the power of mobilizations as a disruption of the imaginary, of shifting
the ideas from the place where they were.

This moment is a cornerstone in democracy. We are seeing an uproar that
wants to see the whole society, with all the democracy forces of Brazil,
working towards reconnecting with a new social reality collectively
created. Behind a healthy utopic veil that covers the claims that come from
the streets, there is a society craving for more democracy.

*Rio de Janeiro, June 19th  2013.

*
Portuguese version
http://www.canalibase.org.br/o-estouro-da-cidadania/
http://www.ibase.br/pt/2013/06/nota-sobre-as-manifestacoes/

 Antonia Rodrigues
General Secretary
Tel. direto: 55 21 2178-9405
Skype: antoniarodrigues1499

Acesse www.ibase.br
“O Ibase, para ter sentido, precisa manter a dimensão do sonho.” (Betinho)

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