Brazilian elections and forest governance are themes of "Estudos Avançados" #106
Highlighting the elections in Brazil and the theme of forest governance, issue #106 of the journal Estudos Avançados was launched in November. Its digital version is available on the Scientific Electronic Library Online (Portuguese only).
The first dossier, entitled "Elections," brings articles that are based on investigations in the field of political sciences to approach the Brazilian electoral history. "The articles explore concerns present in public opinion, in the media debate, and in the political agenda, whether at the national, regional or local level", explains editor Sérgio Adorno.
Three themes of the greatest relevance, according to Adorno, are addressed by the issue: electoral polls, candidacy programs, and the ideological foundations of Bolsonarism.
The trends and performance of electoral polls have been analyzed by Fernando Meireles, from the Brazilian Center of Analysis and Planning (CEBRAP), and Guilherme Russo, a lecturer at the São Paulo School of Economics (EESP) of the Getúlio Vargas Foundation (FGV), based on estimates from surveys carried out between 2012 and 2020. Bruno Wilhelm Speck, from the Department of Political Science at USP's Faculty of Philosophy, Languages and Literature, and Human Sciences (FFLCH), has concluded that political leaders are capable of retaining voters more than parties, having analyzed data on the elections for mayors held between 2000 and 2020 for the article "Parties Dominate the Registration of Candidates, Leaders Connect Better with the Electorate." Lucio Rennó, from the Institute of Political Science at the University of Brasília (UnB), has analyzed the ideological components of the voters who support Jair Bolsonaro based on preferences on political issues in the article "Bolsonarism and the 2022 Elections."
"Is Brazil Really a Polarized Country? Analysis of Presidential Elections from 1989 to 2018," by Antonio Carlos Alkmim, from the Pontifical Catholic University of Rio de Janeiro (PUC-Rio), and Sonia Luiza Terron, PhD in Political Science, considers the eight Brazilian presidential elections in the post-military dictatorship period as an object of analysis. "The geographic polarization between the first and second placed is a characteristic of the Brazilian presidential elections from 1989 to 2018. The meaning, intensity, and geography of the confrontation varies, but the polarization is present in all elections," the authors point out.
Electoral reforms as reflections of the maturation of the Brazilian political system after the 1988 Constitution have been addressed by Arthur Fisch and Lara Mesquita, researchers at FGV's Center for Politics and Economics in the Public Sector Studies (CEPESP), who have explored the changes in the proportional system and electoral financing. For them, "it is important to be aware of such changes so that the system evolves in a way that consolidates the gains of democracy."
Other contributions to the dossier have addressed Brazilian voters' perceptions of political parties since the redemocratization process, campaign financing, and women's performance in the national elections.
"If, on the one hand, recent legislative innovations have produced positive impacts, on the other hand, conservative reactions have still mitigated achievements and maintained male representation as predominant," said Sérgio Adorno about reforms and gender equality in the Brazilian electoral arena in the last three decades.
Forest Governance
According to the article that opens the second dossier, forest governance has been a strategic theme for IEA's journal since the publication of issue #9 on the Floram Project – Forests for the Environment (1990), led by professor Aziz Ab'Saber, from FFLCH. The articles bring subsidies for a reflection on the advances in the field of forest governance in Brazil, and the global perspectives in the field of environmental and climate governance.
To talk about Brazilian forest legislation, the article by Paulo Eduardo dos Santos Massoca, a researcher associated with the Center for the Analysis of Social-Ecological Landscapes (CASEL) at the University of Indiana, and Eduardo Sonnewend Brondízio, from the Department of Anthropology at the same University, starts with an examination of the narratives about the values of trees and forests in law since the 16th century, and its recent revaluation and the conflict of opposing interests.
Next, the article "Sectarian Fundamentalism Prevents the Strengthening of the Sociobiodiversity Economy," by Ricardo Abramovay, from USP's Institute of Energy and Environment (IEA), explores the ideological and cultural roots of incentives for forest destruction, and presents forces that seek to oppose the current federal policies and initiatives with the potential to pave the way for an economy of forest socio-biodiversity.
The other articles address topics such as reactions and resistance led by civil society associations and by virtue of multisectoral coalitions and platforms, socio-ecological innovations that shape social relationships that have the local community as protagonist, and an analysis of the highlights of the web seminar "Building Dialogues on Forest Governance."
The list below contains the names of the authors who have contributed with each one of the addressed themes:
Elections
Is Brazil Really a Polarized Country? Analysis of Presidential Elections from 1989 to 2018 - Antonio Carlos Alkmim and Sonia Luiza Terron
Electoral Reforms in Contemporary Brazil: Changes in the Proportional Representation and Electoral Financing Systems - Arthur Fisch and Lara Mesquista
Where Did the Parties Go According to Public Opinion? Perceptions of the Political Parties in the Redemocratization of Brazil - Rachel Meneguello and Oswaldo E. do Amaral
Parties Dominate the Registration of Candidates, Leaders Connect Better with the Electorate - Bruno Wilhelm Speck
Campaign Funding and Women’s Electoral Performance in Brazilian Elections (1998-2020) - Vitor de Moraes Peixoto, Larissa Martins Marques, and Leandro Molhano Ribeiro
Election Polls in Brazil: Trends and Performance - Fernando Meireles and Guilherme Russo
Left, Right, and Presidential Elections in Brazil - Gabriela Tarouco
Bolsonarism and the 2022 Elections - Lucio Rennó
Forest Governance
Forest Governance: Three Decades of Advances - Cristina Adams, Luciana Gomes de Araujo, and Liviam E. Cordeiro-Beduschi
We Protect When We Value: History of Brazilian Forestry Legislation - Paulo Eduardo dos Santos Massoca and Eduardo Sonnewend Brondízio
Sectarian Fundamentalism Prevents the Strengthening of the Sociobiodiversity Economy - Ricardo Abramovay
Governance Experiences in Ecosystem and Landscape Restoration in Brazil - Robin L. Chazdon, Rafael B. Chaves, Miguel Calmon, Ludmila Pugliese de Siqueira and Rodrigo G. Prates Junqueira
Brazilian Cases of Socio-Innovative Landscape Restoration - Aurélio Padovezi, Jordano Roma, Daniela Coura, Lucas Antunes da Silva, Marina Campos, Patrick Ayrivie de Assumpção, and Laura Secco
Multilevel Collective Action and Socio-Ecological Innovation in Forest Governance - Liviam E. Cordeiro-Beduschi, Cristina Adams, Luciana Gomes de Araujo, Aurelio Padovezi, Jordano Roma Buzati, Marcus Vinícius Chamon Schmidt, and Raquel Rodrigues dos Santos