This article is part of a series on |
Conservatism in Brazil |
---|
In Brazilian politics, the BBB Bench is a collective term used to informally describe three powerful political factions (bancadas, literally "benches") in the National Congress associated with the conservative right. [1] [2] These encompass the Bullet Bench (bancada da bala), legislators supportive of protecting and expanding gun rights, [2] the Rural Bench (bancada ruralista, often referred to as the bancada do boi, the Ox Bench), legislators aligned with agribusiness interests, [3] [4] [5] and the Evangelical Bench (bancada evangélica, often referred to as the bancada da bíblia), aligned with the country's evangelical movement. [6] [7] [2]
The term “BBB” was used for the first time by federal deputy Erika Kokay at a meeting of the Workers' Party (PT) bench in the Chamber of Deputies in early 2015, eliciting laughter from colleagues. [8] The expression soon became popular as a derogatory term used by leftists against their conservative opponents, who they deemed a threat to human and minority rights. [9]
The BBB Bench played a crucial role in the impeachment of Dilma Rousseff. [4] Even prior to Dilma's impeachment, the BBB Bench had already begun pressuring centre-right Vice President Michel Temer to support their proposals. [10] [11] In the 2018 presidential election, federal deputy Jair Bolsonaro, a member of the BBB Bench, was elected President of Brazil.
The Rural Bench or Ruralist Bench (bancada ruralista), often pejoratively referred to as the Ox Bench (bancada do boi), is a powerful faction within the National Congress allied with the interests of commercial agribusiness. [12] The faction is noted for its association with the Rural Democratic Association (UDR), a conservative agribusiness coalition opposed to land reform efforts backed by socialist parties like the Workers' Party (PT) that aim to expropriate farmland. [13]
In addition to opposing land reform efforts, members of the Rural Bench are noted for supporting policies aimed at expanding the amount of arable farmland in Brazil to the detriment of environmental conservation efforts. [14] [15] Members of the Rural Bench have come into conflict with indigenous activists due to their support for policies that aim to expand commercial activity in protected indigenous territories. [16] Additionally, the Rural Bench has been noted for supporting the easing of laws aimed at banning modern slavery in Brazil by limiting its definition. [17]
Most members of the Rural Bench are considered to be aligned with the broader conservative movement. However, some politicians often associated with the centre-left such as Kátia Abreu, who served as Senator from Tocantins and as Minister of Agriculture under left-wing President Dilma Rousseff, are considered to be associated with the Rural Bench. [18] [19]
During the conservative presidency of Jair Bolsonaro, the Rural Bench has generally been supportive of the administration's policies, which have generally aligned with the interests of agribusiness. Since taking office, Tereza Cristina, a member of the conservative Democrats party who had been a member of the Rural Bench during her time as a federal deputy, has served as Minister of Agriculture, Livestock and Supply under Bolsonaro. Cristina has been pejoratively labelled "The Poison Muse" for her support for ending some regulations on pesticides in Brazil. [20] Nevertheless, the faction has sometimes broken with the administration, especially with regard to its handling of soybean export policy. [21]
The Brazilian Democratic Movement is a Brazilian political party. It is considered a "big tent party" and it is one of the parties with the greatest representation throughout the national territory, with the most numbers of senators, mayors and city councillors, always having formed a large part of the National Congress since 1988, and also has the largest number of affiliates, with 2,043,709 members as of July 2023.
Cidadania is a Brazilian political party. It was originally founded as the Popular Socialist Party by members of the former Brazilian Communist Party (PCB), as a centre-left social democratic and democratic socialist party. Despite its left-wing alignment, PPS moved to be opposition against the Workers' Party since 2004, forming alliances with centre-right parties, in particular the Brazilian Social Democracy Party (PSDB), and supporting the Impeachment of Dilma Rousseff. Later the party's National Convention adopted the new naming in March 2019, and it was later approved by the Superior Electoral Court that September. The party then began moving towards a more social liberal position akin to the third way.
The Republicans, formerly the Brazilian Republican Party and originally formed as the Municipalist Renewal Party, is a Brazilian political party. Its electoral number, the numerical assignment for Brazilian political parties, is 10.
The Liberal Party is a conservative political party in Brazil. From its foundation in 2006 until 2019, it was called the Party of the Republic.
The Brazilian Labour Party was a political party in Brazil registered in 1981. It was the seventh largest political party in Brazil with more than a million affiliated as of 2022.
General elections were held in Brazil on 5 October 2014 to elect the president, the National Congress, and state governorships. As no candidate in the presidential election received more than 50% of the vote in the first round on 5 October 2014, a second-round runoff was held on 26 October 2014.
Corruption in Brazil exists on all levels of society from the top echelons of political power to the smallest municipalities. Operation Car Wash showed central government members using the prerogatives of their public office for rent-seeking activities, ranging from political support to siphoning funds from state-owned corporation for personal gain. The Mensalão scandal for example used taxpayer funds to pay monthly allowances to members of congress from other political parties in return for their support and votes in congress. Politicians also used the state-owned and state-run oil company Petrobras to raise hundreds of millions of reais for political campaigns and personal enrichment.
The Social Democratic Party is a political party in Brazil led by Gilberto Kassab and uniting dissidents from various political parties, especially the Democrats, Brazilian Social Democracy Party and Party of National Mobilization.
General elections were held in Brazil on 7 October 2018 to elect the president, National Congress and state governors. As no candidate in the presidential election received more than 50% of the vote in the first round, a runoff round was held on 28 October.
The impeachment of Dilma Rousseff, the 36th president of Brazil, began on 2 December 2015 with a petition for her impeachment being accepted by Eduardo Cunha, then president of the Chamber of Deputies, and continued into late 2016. Dilma Rousseff, then more than 12 months into her second four-year term, was charged with criminal administrative misconduct and disregard for the federal budget in violation of article 85, items V and VI, of the Constitution of Brazil and the Fiscal Responsibility Law, Article 36. The petition also accused Rousseff of criminal responsibility for failing to act on the scandal at the Brazilian national petroleum company, Petrobras, on account of allegations uncovered by the Operation Car Wash investigation, and for failing to distance herself from the suspects in that investigation.
Sônia Bone de Souza Silva Santos, usually known as Sônia Guajajara, is a Brazilian indigenous activist, environmentalist, and politician. A member of the Socialism and Liberty Party (PSOL), she was initially a candidate for President of Brazil in the 2018 Brazilian general election, before being chosen as the vice presidential running mate of nominee Guilherme Boulos. This made her the first indigenous person to run for a federal executive position in Brazil. In 2022, Guajajara was named one of the 100 most influential people in the world by Time.
Onyx Dornelles Lorenzoni is a Brazilian politician, businessman, and veterinarian. A member of the Liberal Party (PL), he served as a federal deputy from Rio Grande do Sul for five terms. After the 2018 Brazilian general election, the president-elect Jair Bolsonaro invited Lorenzoni to be his Chief of Staff. He was also designated leader of the transition team.
Irajá Silvestre Filho, more commonly known as Irajá, is a Brazilian politician and businessperson. Although born in Goiás, has spent his political career representing Tocantins, having served as state senator since 2019 and previously state deputy from 2011 to 2019.
Carlos Humberto Manato is a Brazilian politician. He has spent his political career representing Espírito Santo, having served as federal deputy representative from 2001 to 2019.
Luis Carlos Heinze is a federal senator of Brazil representing his home state of Rio Grande do Sul. He was previously served in the Chamber of Deputies from 1999 to 2019 and was mayor of São Borja from 1993 to 1996.
The Evangelical Parliamentary Front or the Evangelical Caucus is a loosely organized group of Evangelical lawmakers in the Brazilian government and legislature.
Admar Gonzaga Neto is a Brazilian politician, attorney, jurist and current General Secretary of Alliance for Brazil (APB). He was Justice of the Superior Electoral Court (TSE), nominated by Michel Temer to the seat destinated to attorneys. With electoral career since 1993, Admar was member of the Jurists Special Committee created to propose changes to the Electoral Code.
Éder Mauro Cardoso Barra, better known as Delegado Éder Mauro or simply Éder Mauro, is a Brazilian politician and police chief. He has spent his political career representing Pará, having served as federal deputy representative since 2015.
In Brazilian politics, the centrão refers to a group of political parties that do not have a specific or consistent ideological orientation and aim at ensuring proximity to the executive branch in order to guarantee advantages and allow them to distribute privileges through clientelistic networks. Despite its name, the centrão is not a centrist political group, generally composed of parliamentarians from the "lower clergy" and big tent parties, who act according to their own interests, linked to cronyism and logrolling.
Marcos Sborowski Pollon is a Brazilian lawyer, activist, YouTuber, digital influencer and politician, currently affiliated to Partido Liberal (PL). In the 2022 elections, in his first candidacy he was elected federal deputy for Mato Grosso do Sul, being the federal deputy with the most votes in the state.
{{cite web}}
: CS1 maint: numeric names: authors list (link)