Spotlight on Brazil 2024: Flavia Biroli

In April of 2024, Dr. Flavia Biroli visited the CSB and SJU campus to present her research, part of the Global Awareness Lecture Series. 

Dr. Biroli's research on far-right politics and gender in Brazil is much needed. The study mapped and analyzed the far-right politics on gender during the government of Jair Bolsonaro (2019-2022). The talk will discuss its developments considering two issues: abortion and gender-based violence. Previous research found that the degree of conflict and the actors involved vary according to the issue. Historically, disputes on abortion are contentious and involve religious actors and perspectives. The politicization of violence against women had a distinct trajectory, reaching a broader consensus expressed in legislation and policy. The convergence between conservative religious activism and the far-right affected these dynamics – not only in Brazil or Latin America, as studies on Eastern/Central Europe identify similar displacements. Still, far-right politics activates distinct mechanisms to block feminist politics in these two issues. I discuss these mechanisms, connecting them to the disputes over democratic institutions and values. Based on that, I make the point that there is a tight connection between the struggles over gender and the present and future of liberal democracies.

Below is her talk: