This post is a summary of two articles. The first with the title above, published on June, 21, 2013. At http://mediarelations.cornell.edu. The second, with the title of, " A new era of digital protest." Published on October, 15, 2013. Athttp://www.huffingtonpost.com/news/latin-america. Written by the researchers at Igarapé Institute, Robert Muggah and Gustavo Diniz.
Two Cornell University experts comment on the widespread, spontaneous protests that began in Brazil over an increase in bus fares. They are: Kenneth Roberts, professor of governance and Murillo Campello, Brazilian native, professor of management. The first to analyse is Campello, he said, " differents segments of society angry about a myriad of issues, marching together, and there are no specific, large cause bringing people together on the streets. There is no leadership to speak of. The manifestations are spontaneous, organized via web, and they are noisy, albeit peaceable. Brazilians may be showing that 'voting' can take place every day on the streets. The democratic process in the digital age may be much too dynamic to wait for years until the next elections." Roberts said, " the recent outbreak of social protests in Brazil has taken many people by surprise, since the country is recognized to be a rising power. In recent years the country has taken strides to stabilize democracy and address social needs, while maintaining economic growth. However, the protests clearly indicate that progress has been too slow for some people, and many are demanding a greater efficiency of public services."
The mass demonstrations convulsing Brazil since June 2013 are more than a raw display of people power. They confirm a new era of digitally enhanced protest. The recent clashes are just the latest iteration of a protest sweeping across the world. Its rapid spread is the ultimate expression of open empowerment, the emboldening of millions of wired young people worldwide to press for change. While protests occurring in Brazil, Bulgaria, Egypt are clearly distinct, there are nevertheless some common characteristics that unite them. Chief among these is the central role of educated youth in agitating for a new kind of politics. the early 21st century has given rise to a familiar agent of social change: middle-class youth with limited horizons, with decent education and rising expectations, but bleak employment prospects. In Brazil, as elsewhere, these young people have real grievances. They do not feel represented by their government or legislatures, yet they possess distinct advantages over their contemporaries from centuries past. They are tech savvy. In countries that are increasingly wired, some 40% of Brazilians are now online, forming the 2º largest block of facebook users in the world, they are a powerful constituency, They are highly networked and underwhelmed by conventional ideologies or top-down hierarchies. And while operating in highly decentralized networks, they have a sense of their capabilities. Not surprisingly, social nets are viewed with suspicion by the political establishment. Many government are finding difficult to control the public narrative in a world where information' is available in realtime, and on an unfathomable scale. Their responses vary from seeking to improve the efficiency of e-governance to police cyber-space. In most cases, including Brazil, they have resorted to new forms of social media surveillance and monitoring. But they do so at their peril. In brazil and elsewhere, the digital revolution needs to be complemented with a similar evolution in democratic governance and the creation of new channels of participation.
