Politics is always confusing, no matter what era you are in, it can make people confused about the truth.
The documentary "The Edge of Democracy" tells about the political events that Brazil experienced from dictatorship to democracy, and then into a democratic crisis.
This is a very personal work by director Petra Costa.
Petra was born in a period when Brazil ended its dictatorship and entered democracy. In her worldview, democracy is an inherent right .
It can be said that Petra grew up along with Brazil's democratic road.
She watched this country gradually lift out of poverty, become stronger and stronger, and become the most important economy in the world.
Petra's parents are also well-known Brazilian anti-dictatorship fighters. After breaking away from their short prison life, they spent a long time hiding in Tibet.
The origin of Petra's name is to commemorate the murdered leader of the movement Pedro Pomar.
This makes the preciousness of democracy more sympathetic to Petra, which also gives this documentary a personal view that is in the blood of the director.
With the advent of the Internet and social media, the astonishing speed of news and information dissemination has made politics, the balance of power, and democracy all fragile.
The people were easily involved and deceived by various forces and cunning politicians, and the situation quickly spread to the point of being out of control.
Today, the Brazilian democracy no longer died in a military coup.
Politics is inciting democracy to kill democracy.
Brazil’s history is turbulent.
In 1825, Portugal recognized Brazil's independence.
On November 15, 1889, General Fonseca launched a coup to overthrow the monarchy and form the United States of Brazil.
In March 1964, the Pakistani military came to power in a coup and implemented a dictatorship.
In March 1985, the military government returned power to the people.
After 21 years of authoritarian rule, Brazil finally formed its own democratic system.
On November 15, 1989, Pakistan held its first direct universal election in nearly 30 years, and Fernando Collor was elected president.
In 2002, Luis Inácio Lula da Silva, a former steel worker and movement leader, was elected president by the people.
Under his leadership, 20 million Brazilians were lifted out of poverty.
In 2010, Brazil ushered in Lula's heir, President Dilma Rousseff.
Democracy allowed Brazil to function freely and gradually strengthened the country until June 2013, when large-scale protests broke out in Brazil.
At first the protesters demanded more rights, more investment in public health and education, and reduced corruption, but in the end, people needed to establish a real enemy to fight against, that is, then President Dilma Rousseff.
They impeached Dilma and sent the former president Lula to prison.
This is a documentary with "political prejudice", but director Petra interprets her understanding of democracy through Brazilian politics.
In Petra's eyes, the Lula Group represents an opportunity for democracy to truly be in the hands of the people.
The collapse of the Lula Group marked the decline of democracy.
The entanglement of government and business interests, the holding of capital, the recession of the economy, the rise of unemployment, the balance and pursuit of politicians...
Brazil's political system is shaky in this turmoil.
The documentary ends with the inauguration of the new President Jair Bolsonaro.
Now, more than 20% of Brazilians say they do not believe in democracy and think authoritarian rule is better.
How long is democracy still to go?
Through Petra's eyes on Brazil, we can see that history goes back and forth, and people's hearts are volatile.
Countless people have added a handful of loess to the burial of democracy under the instigation of ulterior motives.
What is true democracy?
Like the title of a documentary, we are infinitely close on its edge, but we can never find the real answer.
Reference materials:
"1" ""Now is an Interesting Moment, When the Cruelties and Inequality are More Exposed than Ever": Petra Costa on her Netflix-Premiering Doc on Brazilian Politics, The Edge of Democracy" byKaleem AftabinFilmmaking
"2" Baidu Encyclopedia: Brazil.
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Original: Yi Xiaomeng
First published on the official account: a little movie
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