Brazil's “White Coup”: Back to The Old Elite Political Culture

After Honduras, Paraguay, Peru and Argentina, Brazil now has a new conservative government intent on correcting the left leaning course of the previous administration led by the Workers’ Party. This paper explains the reasons for the disenchantment of the electorate with the policies of President Dilma Rousseff in a climate of economic crisis and widespread corruption. It argues that, taking advantage of the government's weakness, the old business elites and landowning oligarchy have retaken power in a white coup in order to restore the status quo ante and preserve their long held dominance by using the pretext of corruption of which however they are the main practitioners and beneficiaries.