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DEMOCRACY LAWFARE OPINION POLITICS

Rousseff’s impeachment is a penalty searching for a crime

By Mauricio Savarese. Original article published here. I stopped writing about Brazilian politics for two months because of two different reasons. The first was the excess of work, which is likely to become a permanent feature of mine. The second was the complete unpredictability of how much the political and economic crisis could be aggravated. After […]

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DEMOCRACY ELECTION LAWFARE OPINION POLITICS

Yes, it’s a coup…

Since “legality”, in Brasil, does not come necessarily from “peoples will” (but from some peculiar interpretation of legal acts) our democracy is almost becoming some type of “judicial dictatorship”. In Latin America the laws were almost entirely formed without the “people”. There is a well-known representation gap in all Latin countries. For centuries, the legislative […]

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BLOG EDUCATION POLITICS SÃO PAULO SOCIAL MOVEMENTS

We Rule The School

Exclusive Brasil Wire video on the Student Protests. TV Folha’s video which was pulled from air. In Brazil’s richest state, Governor orders military police to attack teenagers for protesting school closures. I am in São Paulo’s booming Pinheiros district, watching police cars circle around Fernão Dias Paes school. A group of nervous looking teenagers sit […]

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64-85 DICTATORSHIP AUTHORITARIANISM DEMOCRACY FASCISM HISTORY OPINION POLITICS

Brasil’s Senate and the Legacy of Dictatorship

On May 25 leaders of the Koch brothers-associated organization Movimento Brasil Livre met with Senator Alvaro Dias from the PSDB party to talk about their goal of impeaching president Dilma Rouseff. Some found it ironic that a group that calls itself “the Free Brasil Movement” met with a former military dictatorship official to talk about plans […]

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ACADEMIC ECONOMY OPINION POLITICS UNDERSTANDING BRASIL

A Temperamental Consensus

In 2001 when Brazilian democracy proved strong enough to bring ex-metalworker and union head Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva to the Presidency the country became an international sensation receiving compliments from some of the most important leaders around the world as well as the United Nations. Equally important the economy was stable and grew at an average […]

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DEMOCRACY ECONOMY Le Monde Diplomatique Brasil OPINION POLITICS

Time For Change To Leave The Crisis Behind

The latest article in our collaboration with Le Monde Diplomatique Brasil. There are hundreds of thousands of people like us in Brasil who are worried about the evolution of the economy and politics and are profoundly disappointed with the performance of the government, the PT and the left in general. The neoliberal adjustments are deepening, mowing down jobs, weakening […]

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ECONOMY HOUSING POLITICS SOCIAL MOVEMENTS

Against Austerity: World Habitat Day

We are not against Dilma, but we are against this methodology she is using to throw her government into the service of savage capitalism. – Luis Gonzaga “Gegê” da Silva.  Yesterday, on October 5, five of the largest Brazilian urban social movements worked together to simultaneously close off major roads during rush hour and occupy government […]

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ACADEMIC DEMOCRACY POLITICS

The Future of Brazil’s Left Turn

President Dilma Rousseff appears to have weathered calls for her impeachment, but the ruling Workers’ Party is in tatters, and a resurgent right is threatening the social progress of the last 12 years. Yet despite recent setbacks the left is showing signs of regeneration. Sunday, August 16, witnessed a third round of protests against Brazil’s […]

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ACADEMIC OPINION POLITICS

As Dilma Rousseff stumbles, how will Brasil’s military react?

Brazil’s political climate is as polarised and fractious as ever, and it’s getting nastier. While some desperately attempt to impeach President Dilma Rousseff, a minority of right-wing protesters are openly asking for a military intervention. This comes a year after a major report on the use of torture under the military regime that ran Brazil from 1964-1985. With those memories still so fresh, another […]

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DEMOCRACY EDITORIAL HISTORY OPINION POLITICS UNDERSTANDING BRASIL

Forever in the Future?

Brasil’s streets have been filled with protests in the last few weeks, evoking similar events taking place earlier in the year. Most of the demonstrators are supporters of the defeated presidential candidate Aécio Neves who have collectively paraded across several parts of the country chanting for the removal of Dilma Rousseff, the sitting president who […]