The Current Brazilian State through Gramscian Thought: an approximation to Carlos Nelson Coutinho’s legacy

Abstract

This article recaptures some analytical elements of Marxist philosopher Carlos Nelson Coutinho. He works on Antonio Gramsci’s writings, particularly on the centrality of his concepts, to make sense the political landscape in Brazil. In this context, this article engages in questions proposed byCoutinho, in which he endorses a Latin American perspective based on the concept of “civil society” and a theoretical and political view to understand the political conjunctures prior to the arrival of neoliberal economics in the region. From that perspective, this article recreates an analysis onthe current Brazilian State, using both Gramsci’s thought and Coutinho’s legacy, underscoring the institution and political parties’ tensions in a progressive period of Brazil.