At the World Economic Forum in January 2019, Brazilian president Jair Bolsonaro said, in an informal conversation with former US vice president Al Gore, that he wants to exploit the riches of the Amazon in partnership with the United States. In new documentary ‘The Forum’, Brazil’s far-right president is caught in candid conversation with former […]
Ethanol burst into the news cycle again last week with reports that the US ambassador to Brazil had lobbied for the cancellation of an ethanol tariff, arguing that the move would help Trump’s reelection. As historians writing a transnational history of ethanol in Brazil and the United States, we recognize the episode as part of […]
Effectively acting as a U.S. informant, Congressman Eduardo Bolsonaro delivered dossier listing the names and details of 1000 Brazilian anti-fascists to the United States, according to ally. The close relationship between the Bolsonaro government, the U.S. government, and its agencies, is already well known. Brazil’s foreign policy is now fully aligned with that of the […]
Journalist Monica Gugliano reveals in Revista Piauí that on May 22, 2020, Brazil’s far-right president wanted to send soldiers to shut down the Supreme Court and replace its ministers, demonstrating how close Brazil was to a feared “auto-coup”. With the institutional war between branches of Brazil’s government intensifying, a hitherto unknown story has come to […]
On a day of important victories for former President Lula at Brazil’s Supreme Court, it was concluded that disgraced “anti-corruption hero” and former Bolsonaro Justice Minister, Sérgio Moro, acted to influence the result of the 2018 election, and violated the legal system. This comes as the scale and influence of United States involvement in Operation […]
A new law proposed by the Supreme Court President would quarantine judges and prosecutors from electoral candidacy for up to 8 years, to prevent using politicised trials to generate political popularity. This would effectively end superstar judge Sérgio Moro and his supporters’ (both Brazilian and foreign) presidential hopes. Curitiban Judge Sérgio Moro, who delivered Jair […]
“There is no democracy, there is no functioning citizenship, there is no basic humanity while there is hunger.” On one of his final podcasts on July 14th, Michael Brooks made a plea to end hunger. The following is a transcript of that monologue, edited for readibility. By Michael Brooks Let’s talk about ending hunger. I […]
Brazil’s former President Lula da Silva has expressed concern about the threat of armed conflict involving Brazil, and questioned the new National Defence Policy announced by Bolsonaro’s military dominated government. The new policy document highlights the possibility of growing tensions on the South American continent which could lead Brazil to mobilise the military in order […]
We are writing this in shock and grief at the sudden passing of our friend, journalist and broadcaster Michael Brooks. Michael had been a supporter, a collaborator and an ally to Brasil Wire for some years now, and this grew into friendship. His recent book ‘Against the Web: A Cosmopolitan Answer to the New Right’ […]
Frei Betto is a Brazilian writer, philosopher, liberation theologian, and Dominican friar. Involved in Brazil’s emancipatory struggles for decades, Betto was imprisoned for four years under the Military dicatatorship for helping its victims escape abroad. More recently he has been heavily involved in the battle to eradicate hunger in his country. He has made a personal […]