Auto da Compadecida 2: Power, faith and natural resources in today's Brazil - OPINION February 19, 2025

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Auto da Compadecida 2: Power, faith and natural resources in today's Brazil

The film Ainda Estou Aqui (I'm Still Here), starring Fernanda Torres and directed by Walter Salles, rose to international prominence when it was nominated for an Oscar in 2025. The film aims to keep the legacy left by the dictatorship alive in the minds of the Brazilian people and is essential to prevent new dark times from befalling Brazil.

While I'm Still Here portrays what once was, a film that deals with what still persists has opened in Brazilian cinemas. Auto da Compadecida 2 brings to light the complexity of power relations in Brazil and the role of natural resources in this dynamic with the lightness and comicality that honor the memory of Ariano Suassuna.

The story is a continuation of Auto da Compadecida, which narrated the death and resurrection of João Grilo (Matheus Nachtergaele), and now shows the character becoming a religious icon in a small town in the interior of Brazil, Taperoá, where the scarcity of resources, both financial and environmental (mainly water), reigns supreme during an election period.

After returning from the dead, João Grilo becomes a living legend in the town, adored by the local population for the miracle he has been granted. His social - but not financial - rise makes him a target of interest for the two mayoral candidates, who try to associate João Grilo with their respective campaigns, exploiting the people's faith to consolidate their power.

In addition to the obvious use of religion and the faith of the masses as tools to achieve their own interests - a pattern that is repeated historically, not just in Brazil - the film, through the candidates, portrays two segments with great power in the Brazilian context.

On the one hand, Arlindo (Eduardo Sterblitch) has a monopoly on the home appliance trade and the local media (radio), offering credit to the population at exorbitant interest rates as a way of demonstrating his “good will” and garnering votes.

By positioning Arlindo as the owner of the local media, the film emphasizes the importance of the media in shaping public opinion and its potential to manipulate the masses. This is a topic of great relevance in the current global context, in which the owners of the big social media are relaxing their guidelines and rules to make “fake news” more acceptable and are explicitly flirting with fascist and Nazi values.

On the other side, the opposition is represented by Colonel Ernani (Humberto Martins), who personifies the power of agribusiness in Brazil. Through this character, we see how the environmental issue becomes central to the political game: the Colonel fraudulently and violently acquired the property where the town's only water well is located, becoming the owner of a common good that should belong to all citizens: water.

During his political campaign, Colonel Ernani distributes water to the population as a way of buying votes, turning natural resources into a bargaining chip, favoring those in a more privileged socio-economic position. His figure symbolizes the phrase “hunger is a power project”, because the scarcity of essential resources for survival makes the population desperate and “buyable” by offering the minimum - I repeat: the minimum - so that they can survive.

Although it may seem like a reality of the past, land grabbing, coronelism, domination by fear and the deprivation of environmental resources are extremely current problems, present in several Brazilian states. Land grabbing, the invasion of indigenous lands and other forms of manipulation of possession and ownership of territories, with the aim of controlling local natural resources, are practices as current as those portrayed in the film, with supporters in various social spheres, making up the political game.

Finally, seeing João Grilo rise socially and become a third option, Colonel Ernani and Arlindo join forces to overthrow him, symbolizing the lack of sides when political and economic interests are at stake.

Auto da Compadecida 2 is an extremely relevant movie in the Brazilian and world context, capable of making us laugh and reflect at the same time. With lightness and delicacy, the work makes a blunt criticism and reveals the complexity of Brazil's political issues and how these issues are interconnected with environmental issues.

Text developed inspired by the content of Spartakus Santiago (@spartakus)

By Ana Letícia R. Ferro

SDG 6 - Clean water and sanitation

SDG 10 - Reduce inequalities

SDG 16 - Peace, justice and strong institutions