PhD in History of International Relations at the University of Brasília (UNB). Denver University Visiting Scholar.
To prevent Lula’s inevitable-looking return to the presidency, the idea to take not him, but his opponent out of the race, may now be the contingency plan of Brazils oligarchy: “Bolsonaro’s barring, at this moment, is the best move that elites, liberals and the third way can think of”, argues Historian and political analyst Fernando […]
Covid 19 could have been used to consolidate fascism in Brazil, but Bolsonaro’s own incompetence prevented this from happening. by Fernando Horta One of the characteristics that differentiates a fascist government from a purely authoritarian one is the ability of the fascist leadership to be loved and followed by the masses. Wilhelm Reich recognized fascism […]
The elites made a serious mistake to bet on Bolsonaro. They’re making another mistake in thinking he can be easily sidelined. by Fernando Horta The word is that that General Braga Netto is the new “acting president” of Brazil. Firstly, this position does not legally exist. We live in presidential system, and the power of […]
On the 50th anniversary of Institutional Act 5, the 1968 “coup within the coup” which ushered in an even more brutal and repressive phase of the Military dictatorship, historian Fernando Horta explains how its malign influence never went away, and is now again casting a shadow over Brazilian society. by Fernando Horta. It has been said […]
By Fernando horta. There is no government in the World that admits that it has political prisoners. They all are – and were – arrested for “crimes” or “threats” and given sentences that the governments say are the result of a “due process” in which all of the “institutions are functioning”. It has been this […]
By Fernando Horta. Plan A was for us to pressure the coup-mongers in 2013, investigating who was financing the Movimento Brasil Livre, Vem para Rua and other proto-fascist groups and stopping things there. Plan B was for the Supreme Court to order Eduardo Cunha’s arrest the first time it was requested and immediately stop the […]
By Fernando Horta. There are astonishing similarities between post-World War 2 US and present day Brazil. Both countries had same-party rule for extended periods. In the US Roosevelt and Truman were in office for five terms, from 1933 to 1952. In Brazil, the Workers Party (PT) dominated the executive branch for 13 years, from 2003 until […]
By Fernando Horta. After helping Aécio Neves and Michel Temer avoid conviction, Judge Sergio Moro uses shaky evidence to prevent Ex-president Lula’s candidacy on the day that the Brazilian Senate wipes 70 years of labor rights gains off the board. On Wednesday, July 12, Judge Sergio Moro sentenced ex-president Lula to serve 9.5 years in […]
Since the emergence of what would come to be called “Lava Jato” in 2009, every honest political commentator has been clear: the operation was designed to reach ex-President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva. All other targets were secondary, the implosion of Rousseff’s government, 12 million people without jobs, and an accumulated loss of almost 8% […]
“Do we want to serve a snake? Brazil is not a Snake Republic!” – Janaína Paschoal These words were of Janaína Paschoal, the lawyer who wrote the impeachment of Dilma Rousseff with other two lawyers (Helio Bicudo and Miguel Reale Júnior). More than words, the role played by Paschoal was similar to the neo-pentecostal cults. […]