Bolsonaro: A Ridiculous Caesar?

Abstract

In this article, we aim to set out an appropriate interpretation for the historical form that the Brazilian President Jair Bolsonaro embodies and the context that made his presidency possible. We propose a discussion on the level of ideology, although conceived from a material and historical background and integrated into a context of hegemonic dispute that presupposes ideology but which is not identical to it. We analyse the constituent elements of this ideology and its particularities, based on the Gramscian concept of ‘Caesarism’ and the notion of ‘corrosive ridicule’. Finally, we outline probable future developments for social conflict and crisis in Brazil during the coronavirus pandemic.