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“The Energy of Others”: Narratives of Envy and Purification among Former Grassroots Community Leaders in Porto Alegre, Brazil

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  05 September 2022

Benjamin Junge
Benjamin Junge*
Affiliation:
SUNY-New Paltz
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Abstract

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This article examines the appearance of religious metaphors and imagery—related to the evil eye, envy, energy, and purification—in the narratives of former leaders from Porto Alegre's internationally renowned initiative in direct democracy, the Participatory Budget. The data come from qualitative interviews conducted with female grassroots community leaders who for various reasons have withdrawn from active civic participation. While notions of envy and evil eye are commonplace in everyday life in Brazil, their appearance in discourse around citizen participation appears out of place. This article uses four ethnographic cases to examine how notions of envy and evil eye are drawn upon to explain discontinued civic participation. I argue that the apparent anachronism of religious imagery such as envy and evil eye reflects a widespread assumption among activists, politicians, and scholars that civic participation initiatives like the Participatory Budget are inherently secular. I also advance the broader argument that bringing scholarly attention to nonpolitical metaphors and tropes that shape grassroots political experience leads to a more complete account of citizenship practices and identities in Porto Alegre.

Resumo

Resumo

Este artigo examina o surgimento de metáforas e imagens religiosas —especificamente, mau-olhado, inveja, energia e purificação— nas narrativas de ex líderes da iniciativa de renome internacional de Porto Alegre, em democracia direta, o Orçamento Participativo (OP). Os dados provêm de entrevistas abertas realizadas com lideranças comunitárias de base do sexo feminino que, por diversas razões se afastaram da participação cívica ativa. Enquanto noções de inveja e mau-olhado são comuns na vida cotidiana no Brasil, suas aparições no discurso em torno da participação do cidadão parece “fora do lugar”. Este artigo usa quatro casos etnográficos para examinar como as noções de inveja e mau-olhado são utilizadas para explicar a participação cívica descontinuada. Defendo que o aparente “fora do lugar” de imagens religiosas, tais como a inveja e mau-olhado, refletem uma suposição generalizada entre os ativistas, políticos, e estudiosos e que iniciativas de participação cívica como o orçamento participativo são inerentemente seculares. Também avanço no argumento mais amplo de que chamar a atenção acadêmica para metáforas “não-políticos” e tropos que moldam a experiência política de base leva a um relato mais completo de práticas de cidadania e identidades em Porto Alegre.

Type
Part 1: Social Movements and Participatory Democracy
Information
Latin American Research Review , Volume 49 , Issue S1: Special Issue: Lived Religion and Lived Citizenship in Latin America's Zones of Crisis , 2014 , pp. 81 - 98
Copyright
Copyright © 2014 by the University of Texas Press

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