In their new book, ICL Notícias presenter Cesar Calejon, author of Esfarrapados , and economist André Roncaglia analyze the power of elites and its consequences for the lives of Brazilians.
Journalist Cesar Calejon and economist André Roncaglia join forces in this detailed analysis of Brazil's economic situation and political climate in the first quarter of the 21st century. In "Power and Inequality ," we take a close look at how the complex interactions between media, political, and economic power shape our society, in an intricate system that perpetuates the overlapping of elite interests over those of the population.
The authors explain how the specific characteristics of the country's economic development gave rise to the "casino ranch," a revealing analogy for how the colonial extractive model—updated by agribusiness and mining—was combined with the financialization of the economy. Thus, we observe how the deregulation of a weak state has, for centuries, allowed for humiliating conditions of exploitation. The result is that, today, a small class of executives enjoys exorbitant earnings without facing public opposition, while a huge mass of workers suffers precariousness, losing labor rights and having their productive lives surrounded by unemployment, informality, and digital platforms.
These practical effects, between the expectation of improved living standards and the strangulation of consumption levels, generate contradictory political impacts, as demands for change clash with the protection of the overwhelming majority of the vulnerable population. On the one hand, the wave of frustration fuels the growth of the far right, increasing political pressure that exposes the discrediting of democracy; on the other, the solutions put on the table are heavily influenced by the lobbies of elitist groups, which blame the state (and hold it accountable) for the alleged loss of their economic dominance—leaving untouched the cycles of greed, crisis, and fraud that mark the history of Brazilian capitalism.
In "Power and Inequality," the main points of our misfortune are outlined. Here we see how "historical-cultural elitism" influences decisions in different areas of our public life, whether in the narrowing of opinions, with professional journalism's unfettered embrace of financial discourse, or in the confinement of public power, when the three branches of government—the Judiciary, Legislative, and Executive—are hampered by elitist harassment, which, in turn, strives to stifle every remaining window of popular representation.
