PATRIA, GOD, AND GUNS AN ANALYSIS OF BRAZILIAN RIGHT WING STREET PROTESTS FROM 2013 TO 2021 (original) (raw)

This article analyses the different cycles of street demonstrations that arose in Brazil between 2013 and 2021, especially those politically situated on ‘the new Brazilian right’ and ‘the extreme right’. We attempt to identify different performances and theatrical strategies used in these protests through an approach that combines politics and performing arts. These events have played a central role in constructing the country’s recent history. They endorsed critical political processes, acted in the discursive battle about these processes, and operated as a mechanism to encourage social adherence to conservative discourse. To understand the social and ideological functions of these protests, we examine how they explored theatricality to organise the spectator’s gaze. These theatrical strategies projected strong and effective symbolic images around conservative agendas.