Content to attribute the image of “taxer of the poor” to Minister of Finance in Brazil, Fernando Haddad is far right being flooded on social platforms. Taxad, Margareth Taxxer, and Zé do Taxão are some of the memes that have gone viral criticizing the minister and the economic measures of federal government.
The so-called “taxa da blusinha” is one of the most attacked financial measures. It is an amendment to the Green Mobility and Innovation Program. This amendment established a 20% tax rate on international purchases of up to 50 US dollars. These were previously exempt from paying import tax.
However, the proposal was the subject of criticism from President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva of Workers’ Party. However, the National Congress approved it by a large majority. The president of the Chamber of Deputies, Arthur Lira of the Progressive Party, and sectors of the right defended it. These groups sided with large Brazilian retailers who lobbied for the measure.
João Feres, a political scientist and researcher at the Institute of Social and Political Studies at the State University of Rio de Janeiro, says that this is a recurring strategy used by the far right on social media. They blame the Lula government for the consequences of unpopular measures that the far right itself advocates for.
Feres coordinates the Media and Public Sphere Studies Laboratory. He says that these actions often seek to exploit the government’s contradictions. For example, the government gave in to pressure from the Chamber of Deputies to include the “taxa da blusinha” in the text that created Mover, even though the President of the Republic opposed it.
Feres also says that the left’s ability to confront the right on social media varies from issue to issue. Particularly in this case, the left’s most influential profiles aren’t going to defend it, because the topic is unpopular.
