“HI, MY NAME IS BETTINA: THE RISE OF HOMO OECONOMICUS IN THE NEW BRAZILIAN GOVERNMENT

ABSTRACT The article proposes a reading of the initial moment of the current right-wing government in Brazil, suggesting the emergence of a particular form of populism which, supported by a neoliberal logic of the functioning of society, constitutes fertile ground for the flourishing of a discourse of entrepreneurship and financial success at any individual’s reach. Such a configuration, which we hereby name neoliberal populism, fosters in its wake the construction of specific forms of subjectivity. To illustrate this discussion, we analyzed two viral ads from an investment consulting firm on YouTube which enact the new political-economic order in a problematic and resistance-generating fashion.