Abstract

GOMES, Gustavo Dean. From bond weakening to the return of myth: Some reflections on Freud's group psychology, democracy, and the election of Jair Bolsonaro. Rev. bras. psicanál [online]. 2019, vol.53, n.1, pp. 107-121. ISSN 0486-641X.

The aim of this article was to interpret the election of Jair Bolsonaro to the presidency of Brazil. To this end, the psychoanalytic theory was adopted, with a focus on Sigmund Freud's studies on the psychology of the masses, together with elements of the Theory of Law (drawing predominantly on Hans Kelsen's conception of democracy) and Communication Theory. Our hypothesis is that the choice of Bolsonaro, a politician who has consistently challenged democratic thought throughout his public life, relates to an omnipotent conception of grouphood arising as a response to the weakening of social and affective bonds among members of Brazilian society-a weakening stemming from public knowledge of the findings of the Operação Lava-Jato criminal investigations and, more importantly, from the manner these investigations were met by opinion makers, ranging from traditional communication enterprises to social networks.

Keywords : Psychoanalysis; democracy; Bolsonaro; Freud; Kelsen.

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