How did the centrão survive June 2013? – 06/10/2023 – Bruno Boghossian

Months before the June 2013 earthquake, there were people on the street shouting “out, Renan”. The senator was a symbol of physiological politics. Protesters on the right saw Calheiros as an icon of corruption and a friend of the left-wing government, while the left believed that he was pulling the Dilma Rousseff government to the right.

Renan Calheiros and his PMDB were part of the centrão at the time. Protagonized the arrangements in Brasilia that would be the target of the anti-political sentiment that became dominant in the June mega-protests and was strengthened in the following years.

The role of Calheiros and the size of the PMDB changed, but the centrão continued to make his policy clear. Despite internal accommodations, the group not only survived 2013 but became, in the words of Celso Rocha de Barros, “the big winner of these ten years of systemic contestation”.

The centrão resisted the wave of anti-politics by doubling down on the old politics. After street rage drained presidential popularity, congressional cardinals seized the opportunity to bolster their bargaining power, expand access to government coffers and pour money into their constituencies to facilitate the preservation of their offices.

Centrão agents were also spared because they would be useful for the anti-politics crowd. With no social base, the group was adopted by the right that prevailed in the protests. Eduardo Cunha gained strength, led the impeachment of Dilma, was treated as a hero and was only discarded after the fall of the PT.

The decline of the former president of the Chamber offers an additional explanation for the centrão’s resistance. The group was favored by a personalist electoral system, which caused the journeys to harm specific figures. President, governors and mayors suffered immediate damage. In the Legislative, the bill took a long time to arrive and shot down old leaders with images already worn out.

The 2013 centrão maintained and perfected its methods. His successors hold the cards to this day.

PRESENT LINK: Did you like this text? Subscriber can release five free hits of any link per day. Just click the blue F below.