Postdemocracy Reset: Brazil’s Putschist Fix in Sociospatial Perspective

In 2016, the progressive government of the Workers’ Party in Brazil came to a halt through a highly contested impeachment process that gave way to an aggressive policy switch toward a hardline neoliberal fix. This article addresses the conjuncture of the many trajectories that led to the parliamentary coup, analyzing the imposed agenda in terms of a political economy of its regulatory aspects, in tandem with a sociospatial perspective on the right-wing turn and its implications. The major elements of the package are: the imposition of a workfare regime, the flexibilization of labor relations, a dynamic of market creation through legislative changes (especially in the domain of land and real estate markets), and a widespread withdrawal of labor and welfare rights. The results point toward an expansion of the many (territorial, social, economic) fronts on which the financialization of society and space can operate.