7º Anniversary of the Protests of June of 2013

              Last 20th of June one of the biggest protests in Brazil history completed seven years. The reason why this protest is studied until now and others are not, it was its character totally spontaneous, unexpected and non-partisan. And this movement called by some as "June Revolution," must be always remembered. The Brazilian people realized that they deserve a better governance, a better return for so many taxes they pay. Besides, we want respect for our basic human rights and justice when they are violated. We want a fair and inclusive electoral and political systems. We want honesty, efficiency and accountability from our politicians and public service. In short, we want a governmental system that make the most of our human and material resources. And so Brazil can reach its true potential and let to be known as 'the eternal Country of the Future' and becomes really what its potential can make for its citizens. This post is a summary of the report published at   https://www.gold.ac.uk/media/documents-by-section/departments/anthropology/Revolutions.pdf

             The June Revolution that shook Brazil in 2013 took everybody by surprise. It started in São paulo as a small gathering protesting a looming rise in the cost of public transport, and in two weeks it spread across 400 cities and towns, bringing millions of people into the streets and forcing President Dilma Roussef to start a process of constitutional reform. For many political observers this "movement of movements" was a new form of working-class articulation of diverse social forces. Fighting for a freedom that encompassed both social and labor demands, slaves infused the labor movement with civic consciouness. But boundaries between freedom and slavery continue to be fluid in Brazil. As in past forms of slavery, the civil liberties of the Brazilian poor are heavily restricted. As a result, economic and civic struggles to struggle for recognition go hand and hand. The June revolution started when the Free Fare Movement led a demonstration against the rise in public transport fare. This small protest quickly escalated and this led to a second phase of the struggle, which reached its apex between June 17 and 20. By now the demands had widened and included health, education and opposition to PEC 37, which would restrict the attorney general's power to carry out independent investigations, de facto eliminating an importanr anticorruption tool. On June 20, one million people marched on Avenida Vargas in Rio. As in other contemporary mobilizations, the Brazilian movement relied heavily on social media to organize gatherings, flash mobs and direct actions across the city. When President Roussef reversed the transport fare increase and proposed a constituent assembly devoted to political reform, more stringent punishments for corruption and investments in transport, health and education, the movement was furiously repressed. As a result of the violence unleashed by the police, the protest entered into a third phase. demands became more dispersed across a wide range of issues including gay rights, legalization of drugs, abortion, lower inflation, public spending and privatization, traffic tolls, etc. For Saad Filho, the movement was now fragmented and captured by a strong anti-left middle class. Another view holds that this was a moment of convergence between the "old" and "new" left. But how did a brooding political discontent become a full-fledged urban revolution? Perhaps more than any other Brazilian cities, the "wondeful city" is an explosive mix of extreme wealth and deprivation, of drug gangs and finance barons, favelas and luxurious real estate, of ancient aristocracies and brutal police, infrastructural decay and stunning natural beauty. The protest was ignited by what was perceived as an unjust planning of major sport events, the World Cup and the Olympic Games, to be held in Rio between 2012 and 2016. Discontent started to rise when the newly formed Olympic Committee announced its plans of investments in the city. Transport and housing improvements focused mainly on Barra da Tijuca, a high-income area, while bus and low-cost train were to be scaled down. So, was "the movement of the movement" led by the middle class or by the precariat? The answer is not straightforward because the political and economic threshold between the precariat and the middle class is fuzzy. For instance, their main common enemies are inflation and corruption. At the beginning of 2013, the 10% increase in prices hit the working class hard. The middle class was hit even more violently by the raise in services. By the time of the demonstrations, a vociferous anti-inflation movement had emerged. Anticorruption movements are also typically cross-sectional. In May, the trials against the PT politicians involved in the vote-buying scandal (Mensalão) had just ended. André Singer's analysis of the June demonstrators socioeconomic profile confirms the porosity between the middle class and the precariat in Brazil. The majority of the demonstrators were young, especially in Rio, where 41% were under the age of 25 and 80% were under the age of 39. Moreover, participants overall had high levels of education. In most cities, no less than 43% of demonstrators had a university degree. Research suggest that 30% of the demonstrators defined themselves as being from the center and adding those who classified themselves as center-left and center-right, the center constituted 70% of the demonstrators. The changes in the electoral system and expansion of public services linked to oil venues announced by Roussef after the protest communicated clearly that the government took seriously the demands of the protesters and felt accountable towards them. In spite of the damaging effect of the events in June 2013, Roussef was re-elected a year later. A investigation in the kickback schemes of Petrobras is triggering a new wave of protests against the president. 35 Petrobras top managers have resigned. In March 2015, half a million Brazilians took the street in anticorruption demonstrations. Because the scandal involved the entire political system, their anticorruption slogans are directed against the political system. How can the events of June 2013 be reassessed in the light of these contemporary developments? The recent proliferation of free-market slogans does show the isolation of the left. Besides, economy does matter. In time of economic prosperity, horizontal forces may turn popular anger into a progressive movement, as it happened in 2013. But in the times of economic downturn, cross-sectionalism may take right-wing turns.