Depoliticization and populism

the discursive strategies of Trump and Bolsonaro

Abstract

Distinguished in political leadership, Donald Trump and Jair Bolsonaro come together in a populist speech. This, almost like common sense, deals with leaders who defend the interests of the people and with a political-discursive dispute, pitting people against elites or institutions. The migration of government demands to private spheres involves the depoliticization process and populist discourses depoliticize public debate, naturalizing social problems and exempting the public sphere from responsibility. In this discussion, we investigate the process of depoliticization in populist rhetoric and the values triggered. We analyze the communications of Trump and Bolsonaro on Twitter, during the electoral periods. We carry out an interpretive qualitative analysis to assess how populist and nationalist rhetoric appears in our speeches and how it influences the depoliticization of public debate.