Never before in history: the reconfiguration of the political field in the 2018 Brazilian election campaign on television

Abstract

This article offers an analysis on the reconfiguration of the political field in Brazil from data collected in the campaign for the presidency of the Republic, broadcast on television. The result of the election was the victory of right-wing candidate Jair Bolsonaro of the Social Liberal Party (PSL). Between 1994 and 2014, the political field was centered on the problem of socioeconomic development, with the main competitors being a reformist response by the Workers' Party (PT) and a neoliberal vision, supported by the Brazilian Social Democracy Party (PSDB). As early as 2018, this dynamic was changed, in favor of a repressive logic. The approach used here is inspired by the interpretation elaborated by Pierre Bourdieu, particularly his concept of political field. The documentation was taken from the programs that aired on television, Horário de Propaganda Eleitoral Gratuito (HPEG). It is not the purpose of this research to verify to what extent the campaign managed to convince the voters. What is sought is, in the eyes of an understanding about the nature of public opinion in contemporary Brazil, to demarcate the process of issuing speeches and establish their relation with what is understood to be a qualitative change in the dynamics of the political field.