Among “Patriots”: From Encampments to January 8th

Abstract

This article aims to present the dynamics in forming the recent right-wing discursive field in Brazil, ultimately leading to the events of January 8, 2023. We intend to show how a series of slip-ups, appropriations, and specular images has engendered a political field that can be defined by a performative action that promotes a new identity and a new locus of recognition largely tied to interventionist militarism. Examining an apparent inaction, framed by the Brazilian military institution’s alleged endorsement of the protesters’ calls for intervention, we noticed an intentional duplicity of positions within the military chain of command. We observed this both positions through recapitulating political positions over the last few years and through field research in the “patriots’ encampments” that took place in front of the army headquarters. Our hypothesis
is that the institution focused on the idea of voluntary adherence by military personnel dragged into politics by a populist leader, who galvanized radical political action within the camps, while the institution sought to preserve itself.
Therefore, this work is also an interpretative endeavor to situate other possible reflections from the patriotic mirror of these encampments.