"BULLET CAUCUS"

a study of the social composition and political trajectory of the federal deputies/as elected in 2018 and 2022

Abstract

Public security policies are a source of worry and political speeches promising to face public ‘disorder’ strongly appeal to the Brazilian electorate. Taking advantage of such situation more and more politicians with backgrounds in law enforcement or the armed forces have been winning elections. This article aims at analysing those legislators (men and women) who have won seats in 2018 and 2022 and now form what is called the “bancada da bala, a ‘bullet caucus” seeking to bolster gun ownership. Our focus is to specifically analyse the legislators who won seats in the lower house of Congress for the first time in the last two elections, coming largely from right-wing political circles (a total of 48 names). It is proposed here to identify the social background and analyse the political career of these politicians taking into account they are outsiders who have conquered a place in politics after politics has been demonized and Jair Bolsonaro became a candidate for presidency. The methodology choice is qualitative and data was collected from TSE, DIAP and “Instituto Sou da Paz” electronic archives. The results found reveal that most of the newcomers are members of a State Police Force, members of the PSL and PL political parties and represent the Southeast region, which suggests the strategy for exploring professional background and connecting their electoral campaign with the “captain” was successful.

Keywords: public security; 2018 and 2022 elections; chamber of deputies; right; "Bullet Caucus”