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A master's thesis from Aalborg University
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Legitimization of Extractivism under Bolsonaro

Author

Term

4. term

Publication year

2023

Submitted on

Pages

38

Abstract

This thesis examines how Jair Bolsonaro’s administration sought to legitimize increased extractivism in Brazil, focusing on the socio-environmental impacts on Indigenous peoples and other marginalized communities. It situates the analysis within Brazil’s long history of resource extraction and the contemporary weakening of environmental and territorial institutions, including the demarcation of Indigenous lands and the role of FUNAI. The study analyzes Bolsonaro’s public speeches to national and international audiences using Norman Fairclough’s three-dimensional concept of discourse within a theoretical framework on development and extractivism. Through critical discourse analysis, it identifies rhetorical strategies that portray political opposition and foreign interference as obstacles to progress, justify deregulation and opening protected areas to economic activity, and frame Indigenous autonomy as incompatible with national sovereignty. The findings indicate that extractivism is presented as necessary for economic development, while the social and environmental costs are largely borne by Indigenous and other marginalized groups.

Specialet undersøger, hvordan Jair Bolsonaros administration søgte at legitimere øget ekstraktivisme i Brasilien, med særligt fokus på de socio-miljømæssige konsekvenser for oprindelige folk og andre marginaliserede grupper. Med udgangspunkt i Brasiliens lange historie med ressourceudvinding og den aktuelle svækkelse af miljø- og territoriale institutioner (herunder demarkering af oprindelige territorier og FUNAI’s rolle), analyserer studiet Bolsonaros offentlige taler til både nationale og internationale fora. Metodisk anvendes Norman Faircloughs tredimensionelle diskursbegreb inden for en teoretisk ramme om udvikling og ekstraktivisme for at gennemføre en kritisk diskursanalyse af de retoriske strategier, der fremstiller opposition og udenlandsk indblanding som hindringer for fremskridt, legitimerer afregulering og åbning af beskyttede områder, og positionerer oprindelige folks autonomi som uforenelig med national suverænitet. Fundene peger på, at ekstraktivisme fremstilles som nødvendig for økonomisk udvikling, mens byrderne ved de sociale og miljømæssige konsekvenser i høj grad bæres af oprindelige og andre marginaliserede grupper.

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