In a recent session at the Brazilian Academy of Letters, writer João Almino examines an argument concerning the political strategies of the contemporary extreme right and its reliance on a fabricated past.
The Rhetoric of Return and Fictional Pasts
During a recent session at the Brazilian Academy of Letters, writer João Almino pointed out that the extreme right frequently employs a superficial defense of values like family, tradition, order, religion, and democracy to mask a deeper discourse of regression. According to the column detailing Almino’s presentation, this political narrative invokes a past that never actually existed and was never experienced by those who currently champion it. This fictionalized history serves a dangerous purpose by rewriting historical atrocities as glorious achievements, encouraging the public to view past crimes with a sense of naturalness and longing.
The column notes that across Europe, this dynamic manifests through the extreme right’s current control of countries such as Italy, Sweden, Hungary, and Poland, alongside significant political gains in France, Spain, Austria, and Germany. The resurgence of these ideologies in Germany remains particularly striking given the country’s dual history as both the primary perpetrator and victim of itself. The core arguments deployed by these modern European groups—focusing on economic crises, intense nationalism, xenophobia, and anti-globalization—echo the foundational rhetoric used by Adolf Hitler and Benito Mussolini.
Parallels in Brazil and the Myth of the Military Dictatorship
Shifting focus to South America, the column details how the bolsonarista recipe in Brazil mirrors these international ingredients. The movement heavily emphasizes religious appeals, wherein Jesus Christ is, as Almino says, “rebaixado a cabo eleitoral.” Furthermore, this political strategy relies on a persistent nostalgia for Brazil’s 21-year civil-military dictatorship.
To maintain this nostalgia, proponents must actively deny the realities that sustained the military regime: the prohibition of elections, the political impoverishment of two generations, censorship, arrests, torture, and the exile of the country’s best brains—many of whom were subsequently welcomed by the United States and Europe. Moreover, the regime’s touted economic achievements relied on a false “milagre econômico.”
| Region / Context | Core Rhetorical Strategy | Historical Reference Point |
|---|---|---|
| Europe | Nationalism, anti-globalization, xenophobia | Nazifascism (1932–1945) |
| Brazil | Religious appeals and regime nostalgia | Civil-military dictatorship |
As Almino argues, the overarching danger is not merely an attempt to reverse time toward an imaginary epoch, but the active promotion of an equally nonexistent future.
