The
Global South is growing unintelligible from the European South amid
harsh austerity measures and other maneuverings that suit the rich
and powerful at the expense of the poor and working class.
by
Michael Nevradakis
Part
4 - The ‘shock doctrine’ returns to Latin America
In
her 2007 book “The Shock Doctrine,” Naomi Klein highlights how
the global capitalist class uses crises and disaster situations —
both real and invented — as an opportunity to pounce upon suffering
countries when they are at their weakest, imposing harsh austerity
christened as “free market” policies and imposed, when necessary,
by force, including police violence and brutality.
This
has been characteristic of Brazil following Rousseff’s impeachment
and Temer’s takeover.
It
has also been characteristic of the crisis-hit countries of the
European South, where protesters in Greece have been dispersed and
stunned into submission by tear gas and police violence which
invariably goes unpunished, while riot police enforcing home
foreclosures is a common sight in Spain.
Klein
traces the origins of the “shock doctrine” to the neoliberal
doctrine first espoused by economists such as Milton Friedman, the
father of the “Chicago School” of economics, which Latin American
countries such as Chile became intimately familiar with under
autocratic regimes such as that of Augusto Pinochet.
It
is ironic, therefore, that Klein openly and vocally supported the
Syriza government prior to the January 2015 elections in Greece which
first brought it to power. But she has remained conspicuously silent
since then, while Syriza has continued the policies of its
predecessors. Nevertheless, the “shock doctrine” serves as a
useful guide to explain what is happening in such countries today,
including Brazil.
In
another one of his analyses on the Brazil situation, Escobar
classified Brazil as a victim of a “hybrid war” launched by the
world’s neoliberal elite one which is also targeting other BRICS
nations such as Russia.
How
has the “shock doctrine” unfolded in Brazil?
With
a lot of shock, and a lot of awe, to say the least.
A
20-year federal freeze on public spending was almost immediately
imposed by the Temer regime, placing caps on spending for health
care, education, and social expenditures and shrinking a welfare
state which, according to Moreno, was already much more limited than
its European counterparts. This was followed up by the announcement
of job cuts in the public sector (despite rising unemployment which
has more than doubled since the country’s recent economic peak),
and a special “Christmas gift” for Brazilian workers: the
expansion of the workday from 8 to 12 hours, complete with a
reduction in the lunch hour.
This
closely resembles the sharp reduction in pay, dismantling of
collective bargaining rights, and massive layoffs which have been
seen in countries like Greece. (There, pensioners were treated to a
“Christmas gift” of their own by the Syriza-led government: a
paltry “Christmas bonus” used by the government as a ludicrous PR
stunt after it had already slashed most pensions by approximately 50
percent in 2016 and announced further tax increases for 2017.) In
Brazil, environmental regulations have also been scrapped or relaxed,
posing a particular threat to the country’s indigenous peoples.
In
a rare moment of frankness, Temer told an audience of business and
foreign policy elite assembled in New York in September that Rousseff
— who was no radical while in office — did not go “far enough”
in implementing the harsh economic reforms demanded by Temer’s
party.
The
new Temer government does not feel itself constrained in any way in
terms of going “far enough.” Corruption charges are now being
faced by da Silva, who currently leads overwhelmingly in opinion
polls for Brazil’s next presidential elections, and members of his
family.
Not
even bothering to keep up appearances, Temer’s appointed cabinet
consists exclusively of wealthy white men, while his government
attempted to legislate self-amnesty for itself in September — a
privilege already enjoyed by members of the Greek parliament and
Greek government ministers, who are immune from prosecution for any
crimes committed while in office and who regularly “write off”
internal parliamentary investigations into previous governments’
wrongdoings.
This
comes as the Temer government, which led the ouster of Rousseff on
corruption charges, is itself facing corruption scandals.
In
such a climate, it is inevitable that corruption will “trickle
down” to other sectors of society. Brazil is currently said to be
experiencing a far-right resurgence, shattering the common image of
the country as one of racial inclusiveness and harmony.
Tourists
to Brazil now have the unique opportunity to visit a real-life
plantation and be served by black “slaves.” Police violence,
already a major problem under the Rousseff administration, continued
to grow in 2016 and 2017. There’s also the increasing prison riot
crisis, which has been encouraged by elements within Temer’s
government who view it as an effective means of culling the
population in the country’s overcrowded prisons.
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