Democracy and elections are bridges between generations

The 75% of candidates aged under 20 were forced to look at their surroundings and think about the future, which was so uncertain for them. It is the social segment that has suffered the most from the impact of the pandemic on training, with high school dropout rates and growing inequalities, in other words a time bomb that generates, among other phenomena, the growth of urban violence, the perception of insecurity in different areas and precariousness of work.

It is not surprising that the so-called Generation Z protests are popping up all over the world with related agendas that ultimately demand greater opportunities and better life prospects. In Brazil, they represent 12% of the electorate. In December 2022, according to Datafolha, it was the stratum that had the worst evaluation of the Bolsonaro administration (PL) and almost half (46%) expected an excellent or good government from Lula (PT). The rate of those who positively evaluate the PT member in this segment in the institute’s latest survey, however, corresponds to the lowest among the age groups (19%).

Enem’s proposition, however, perhaps resonates best with a special from “The Economist” magazine in one of its May issues this year: “Don’t cry for the millennials or Generation Z. Save your pity for the 50-year-olds.” Those classified in category

In Brazil, accelerated aging poses challenges on several fronts, particularly in the areas of health and pensions. The chronic bottlenecks and lack of specialists in the SUS, as well as the deficit in the INSS are only the easy end of this looming acute scenario: the need to remain economically active finds obstacles in the low level of education, compared to younger segments, especially those of Generation Y.

With the trend, the search for political representation is essential. Not necessarily representation through a mirror (the country already has one of the oldest parliaments in the world), but rather representatives with a systemic vision of public policies adapted to the reality of those they represent.

According to TSE data, around half (49%) of the Brazilian electorate is already 45 years old or older. Ages equal to or over 50 already represent nearly 40% of voters. Three years ago, positive expectations regarding the Lula government exceeded 50% in these layers, but unlike the youngest, where frustration with the PT member, as we have seen, is quite significant, among those over 45, it still remains at levels close to 40%.

The observation reflects the intention to vote for the President of the Republic in 2026. In the spontaneous question of Datafolha in July, without presenting the card with the names of the candidates, the mentions of the current president among those over 60, for example, are 13 percentage points higher than those observed among those aged 16 to 24. For the subset aged 45 to 59, the difference is eight percentage points.

The two groups also display different levels of satisfaction with democracy in the country. According to a survey carried out by the same institute last year, the rate of those who say they are very satisfied among those aged 45 or over is 10 percentage points higher than that observed among the youngest.

But the commonality between the two, in the vast majority of cases, as well as across all age groups of the electorate, is agreement with the statement that “democracy is always better than any other form of government.” And in the most symbolic manifestation, a new “Einstein-Rosen bridge” is expected to form in October next year, where these segments will meet again.

*MAURO PAULINO is a political commentator, specialist in public opinion and elections.