Writer, geographer and former development professional who has lived in Brazil for 26 years. Former directorate member of the Fórum Nacional de Reforma Urbana (National Urban Reform Forum). Has lived in São Luis, Recife, Salvador, Rio de Janeiro and São Paulo. Author of “Os Megaeventos Esportivos na Cidade do Rio de Janeiro e o Direito á Cidade” (CEPR: Porto Alegre. 2016). Editor of "Voices of the Brazilian Left" (Sumare: São Paulo. 2018). Editor of "Year of Lead: Washington, Wall Street and the New Imperialism in Brazil" ((Sumare: São Paulo. 2019) Irregular correspondent for the Chicago radio show This is Hell.
by Brian Mier On July 25th, Facebook announced that it was shutting down 196 pages connected to the Koch Brothers/Atlas Foundation supported Movimento Brasil Livre (Free Brazil Movement/MBL) a fake news organization disguised as a social movement that is also funded by the DEM party (which is rooted in the official dictatorship party, ARENA). Since the 2016 Coup, […]
“The law can destroy reputations, it can destroy assets, it can destroy freedom and it can end people’s lives. So when it is misused it is extremely violent.” by Brian Mier On July 8th, 2018, Brazil’s 4th Regional Federal Court Chief Judge Rogerio Favreto ordered ex-President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva’s immediate release from prison. From […]
Brasil Wire editor Brian Mier addresses Brazilian Congress on fake news, censorship and the independent media. On Monday morning, June 19th, I was invited to fly to Brasilia to address Congress on the subject of fake news and the independent media. My invitation, extended by the progressive news outlet Brasil 247, was the result of a […]
Vatican News runs and retracts false information about Papal Assessor’s visit to Lula. After widely publicizing the former, Brazil’s biggest news companies ignore the retraction. The Vatican is no stranger to intrigue and infighting. A recent scandal involving a Papal Assessor being barred by a Curitiba Judge from delivering a message and Blessed Rosary to ex-President Lula […]
Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva, who has been behind bars for 2 months on charges of committing undetermined acts with no material evidence, announced that he is the PT party’s pre-candidate for the presidency, in a race that he is leading in all election polls. If Brazilian electoral law is respected, his candidacy can only be […]
Thousands march against increase in violence, mass evictions and criminalization of social movement leaders On June 5, bus caravans arrived in Brasilia from across the country, carrying members of the nation’s largest urban social movements, representing over 1 million organized homeless workers. For four days, they camped out and marched on the nations capital, holding […]
New data shows homicides increased during coup year of 2016. Most victims were Afro-Brazilian males. By Brian Mier Wednesday, June 6 marked the release of the most comprehensive annual study of national and state level homicide data in Brazil, the 2018 Atlas da Violencia, conducted by 12 researchers from the federal government’s Applied Economic Research Institute […]
Brazilians do not scare easily, but a media narrative saying so paves the way for northern acceptance of a return to fascism. by Brian Mier In the seminal book, Manufacturing Consent, Noam Chomsky and Edward Herman depict the commercial media as “powerful ideological institutions that carry out a system-supportive propaganda function, by reliance on market […]
Unions claim partial victory as top PSDB insider and Shell executive resign from Petrobras leadership by Brian Mier On May 30th, as a trucker’s strike that paralyzed the country for 9 days began to wind down, Brazilian petroleum workers initiated a 3 day, nationwide “warning strike.” Their demands were: 1) the immediate firing of Royal […]
Ex-President Lula has more voter intention than the sum of his 13 closest rivals in the new poll. Even if there were a second round, he would beat any other candidate. In an unprecedented situation in Western history, Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva continues to lead all presidential election polls by a wide margin from behind […]