Autocratization and Social Innovations: Reimagining Democracy in Brazil’s Urban Peripheries

Abstract Over the past decade, Brazil has faced overlapping political, economic, and social crises - all of which were exacerbated by the Covid-19 pandemic. This article examines how marginalized residents of São Paulo’s peripheries, who have faced historical and ongoing racial and class-based discrimination, responded to these crises alongside external partners. Four cases from different parts of the city were analyzed. In each, innovative solutions were built from the ground up to respond to the problem of growing food insecurity. The crafting of a collective candidacy for the city council - a grouping that was ultimately elected in 2020 - is also analyzed. It is argued that these social innovations played a key role in the resistance to the Bolsonaro government’s agenda of autocratization, showing how these forms of resistance and innovation enabled a reimagining of democracy. They have bolstered the legitimacy of local leaders and organizations, showcased innovative approaches to dealing with social problems to public authorities, and brought historically underrepresented groups into the parliamentary arena.