UC San Diego

The sense of division within Brazilian society is widespread. 2018 election was widely considered the most virulent election in Brazil since redemocratization. The phenomenon of a polarizing Brazil is at odd with Brazilian political elite that is known to have weak relations with the public. For this reason, the established Brazilian political institutions are not develop to be effective poles representing this polarization. The statistical analysis of several panel data indicate that Brazilians are not polarized and gave little relevance to ideology and parties. These results indicate, on one side, the importance of poles to the manifestation of political ideas by the public. On the other side, demonstrate that the narrative that Brazilian society is polarized is false. An alternative answer for Brazilian current political reality that we explore is a change in the country Social Movement Sector (SMS). As a historical analysis and interview with members of the political elite indicate, the massive protests in June 2013 do not promote the polarization, but the rise of new interest groups and social movements. June 2013 protests generate the rise of new interest group and social movements disassociate with Brazilian established left. These new group galvanize new individual to act politically in favor of a conservative and libertarian agenda, enlarging the scope of topics disputing Brazilian politics and creating a sensation of a more widespread division within the Brazilian society.