By Joao Coimbra Sousa. Originally published at Council on Hemispheric Affairs. Brazil is currently living under a coup government. There is no disinterested discussion over this issue; there is no middle ground. The country is being governed by one of the most hated politicians in Brazil, Michel Temer, a non-elected office-holder who could literally say, “fear is my last […]
The cowardly murder of socialist councilwoman Marielle Franco, on March 14, has all the hallmarks of political assassination. The protests that swept across Brazil on the night of March 15 were mobilised at short notice in outrage at a political act, and not merely a spontaneous outcry over Brazilians’ frustration with “one more gunfire death” as […]
On March 14th in the Estácio area of Rio de Janeiro, Councilwoman Marielle Franco of the Socialism & Freedom Party (PSOL) was executed with 5 shots to the head. Her driver, Anderson Pedro Gomes, also died in the attack. Some witnesses say that they could not hear the shots, indicating that the excecution was committed with […]
The Brazilian military took over the state of Rio de Janeiro in 1964 and quickly consolidated its power in a national military coup that ended democratic rule for 25 years. At first, it allowed some democratic processes to continue. Street protests, labor unions and social movements were allowed to continue operating as usual and there […]
On Friday, February 23, Federal Police raided the offices of Dr. Rafael Valim, a prominent academic and author of 20 books on legal theory. Although he was not charged with any crime, Police seized documents related to his private law firm. Valim is one of the most vocal critics of Judge/Prosecutor Sergio Moro and his […]
In a move adding to growing concerns about the state of Brazilian democracy and freedom of expression, Michel Temer’s Minister of Education, Mendonça Filho (DEM), has instructed the Federal Public Prosecutor’s Office (MPF), the Federal Attorney General’s Office (AGU), the Federal Comptroller’s Office (CGU) and the Brazilian Court of Audit (TCU) to investigate the new course “the 2016 […]
On March 2 in New York, Wall Street Lobby & Think Tank, AS/COA will hold a special event in New York heralding a supposed “Anti-Corruption movement” in Latin America. Key speaker at the AS/COA event, Operation Lava Jato judge Sérgio Moro will then reportedly be named man of the year at another special event sponsored […]
When I first moved to Rio de Janeiro in 1991 tens of thousands of homeless families lived in cardboard boxes in Copacabana and locals would take a taxi to travel as little as one block to avoid being robbed by gangs of glue sniffing street children, many of whom would go on to be assassinated […]
In February 2017, ousted President Dilma Rousseff warned of a second, more radical and more repressive phase of the Coup d’état which removed her from office – akin to the “Institutional Acts” in the years following the Military Coup of 1964. General Sérgio Westphalen Etchegoyen, architect of the 2018 Federal Military Intervention in Rio de Janeiro, personally […]
The Central Unica de Trabalhadores (Unified Workers Central/CUT) is the largest union federation in Latin America, with around 8 million members. In January, working together with its social movement and union federation partners in the anti-coup coalitions Frente Brasil Popular and the Povo Sem Medo, it announced a general strike for February 19 against the […]