Psychoanalysis and the Discourse of Political Denialism in Post-2018 Brazil: Preliminary Notes on the Construction of the Affective Circuits of These Discourses in Their Relationship to Truth and the History of Socio-Discursive Exclusions in Brazilian Democracy
Garcia Sawaya, Marina
Psychoanalysis and the Discourse of Political Denialism in Post-2018 Brazil: Preliminary Notes on the Construction of the Affective Circuits of These Discourses in Their Relationship to Truth and the History of Socio-Discursive Exclusions in Brazilian Democracy - 2025.
2
Denialism has gained popularity in Brazil since 2018, notably with the emergence of Bolsonarism. This phenomenon calls for a reexamination that considers the existence of what we will call “popular denialism”, requiring an analysis centred on the concept of sociopolitical suffering. Viewing this denialism as a social symptom linked to an anti-establishment agenda, we explore how this position is related to a form of ignorance, revealing how defamation mechanisms attempt to deny the symbolic castration of the establishment through silencing. Psychoanalysis intervenes here to unravel these affects and open pathways for their treatment through politics. Once invisibility is lifted, the denunciation carried by this suffering is framed within the context of Brazilian liberal democracy, which establishes its consensus at the cost of the instrumentalization and alienation of the majorities. Finally, we observe that suffering and material impact do not necessarily coincide, leaving room for affective instrumentalization by social discourses.
Psychoanalysis and the Discourse of Political Denialism in Post-2018 Brazil: Preliminary Notes on the Construction of the Affective Circuits of These Discourses in Their Relationship to Truth and the History of Socio-Discursive Exclusions in Brazilian Democracy - 2025.
2
Denialism has gained popularity in Brazil since 2018, notably with the emergence of Bolsonarism. This phenomenon calls for a reexamination that considers the existence of what we will call “popular denialism”, requiring an analysis centred on the concept of sociopolitical suffering. Viewing this denialism as a social symptom linked to an anti-establishment agenda, we explore how this position is related to a form of ignorance, revealing how defamation mechanisms attempt to deny the symbolic castration of the establishment through silencing. Psychoanalysis intervenes here to unravel these affects and open pathways for their treatment through politics. Once invisibility is lifted, the denunciation carried by this suffering is framed within the context of Brazilian liberal democracy, which establishes its consensus at the cost of the instrumentalization and alienation of the majorities. Finally, we observe that suffering and material impact do not necessarily coincide, leaving room for affective instrumentalization by social discourses.
Réseaux sociaux