Kemunduran Demokrasi Pasca-Skandal Petrobras di Brasil: Analisis Perubahan Relasi Elite Politik dan Rakyat

Muhammad Faiz Ramadhan, Yulida Nuraini Santoso, S.I.P., M.Sc.

2026 | Skripsi | Ilmu Hubungan Internasional

Penelitian ini menganalisis dampak skandal korupsi Petrobras terhadap kemunduran demokrasi di Brasil dengan fokus pada perubahan relasi antara elite politik dan rakyat. Dalam penelitian ini, kemunduran demokrasi tidak didefinisikan sebagai transisi menuju otoritarianisme absolut, tetapi sebagai pengikisan substansi demokrasi akibat krisis representasi. Dengan menggunakan metode kualitatif dan pendekatan process tracing, penelitian ini mengaplikasikan konsep tiga pilar legitimasi politik David Beetham—yakni kesesuaian hukum, justifikasi normatif, dan persetujuan aktif—untuk membongkar kausalitas fenomena tersebut. Hasil penelitian menunjukkan bahwa skandal korupsi Petrobras bertindak sebagai katalisator utama yang meruntuhkan ketiga pilar legitimasi dan memutus kontrak sosial antara rakyat dengan Partai Buruh Brasil (PT). Pertama, pilar hukum terdeformasi ketika penegakan hukum anti-korupsi diinstrumentalisasi demi manuver politik yang oportunistik. Kedua, pilar normatif hancur akibat kegagalan kebijakan ekonomi dan keterlibatan PT dalam korupsi sistemik guna mempertahankan koalisi. Ketiga, pilar persetujuan aktif lenyap seiring menguapnya kepercayaan publik yang dimanifestasikan melalui gelombang protes 2015. Kekosongan legitimasi fungsional ini kemudian dieksploitasi oleh tokoh populis sayap kanan Jair Bolsonaro yang memenangkan Pemilu 2018 untuk memobilisasi sentimen publik yang secara langsung mendegradasi kualitas demokrasi Brasil. Pada akhirnya, korupsi elite berskala besar dapat memicu krisis perwakilan dan fragmentasi politik yang berujung pada kemunduran substansi dari demokrasi, meskipun prosedur elektoral tetap berjalan.

This study analyzes the impact of the Petrobras corruption scandal on democratic decline in Brazil, focusing on the changing relationship between the political elite and the people. In this study, democratic decline is not defined as a transition to absolute authoritarianism, but as the erosion of democratic substance due to a crisis of representation. Using qualitative methods and a process tracing approach, this study applies David Beetham's concept of three pillars of political legitimacy—namely, legal conformity, normative justification, and active consent—to uncover the causality of this phenomenon. The results show that the Petrobras corruption scandal acted as a major catalyst that undermined the three pillars of legitimacy and broke the social contract between the people and the Brazilian Workers' Party (PT). First, the legal pillar was deformed when anti-corruption law enforcement was instrumentalized for opportunistic political maneuvers. Second, the normative pillar was destroyed due to the failure of economic policies and the PT's involvement in systemic corruption to maintain the coalition. Third, the pillar of active consent disappeared as public trust waned, manifested through the 2015 protests. This functional legitimacy vacuum was then exploited by right-wing populist Jair Bolsonaro, who won the 2018 elections, to mobilize public sentiment that directly degraded the quality of Brazilian democracy. Ultimately, large-scale elite corruption could trigger a crisis of representation and political fragmentation, leading to a substantial decline in democracy, even if electoral procedures remained in place.

Kata Kunci : Korupsi Petrobras, Kemunduran Demokrasi, Legitimasi Politik, Partai Buruh Brasil, Populisme