Reactionary populism in public security: the Bolsonaro administration’s policy on access to firearms

Abstract

Brazil, like other countries, faces the rise of “populist” politicians. To understand this phenomenon, it is essential to identify its characteristics. This study explores the concept of populism to analyze whether the former president of the Republic of Brazil, Jair Messias Bolsonaro, implemented a populist project during his presidential term (2019-2022) and, in doing so, violated constitutional rights. His public security policy was adopted as the object of study, as it was a central issue on the agenda of Bolsonaro’s electoral base, especially access to firearms. For these reasons, the following questions are posed: how can Bolsonaro be recognized as a populist, based on his government’s public security policy, particularly with regard to access to firearms? And what are its repercussions on the guarantee of constitutional rights? Based on bibliographic and documentary research, it was observed that Bolsonaro’s regulatory deregulation regarding access to firearms by the civilian population demonstrated his reactionary populism and affected constitutionally protected rights, which deepened the marginalization of minorities.