If the US has been the number one enemy of democracy and freedom in Latin America for the past century, why would a new President make any difference? By Brian Mier In a recent interview for the Brazilian business newspaper O Valor, Tom Shannon, who was a key US State Department actor on Latin American […]
Former journalist and rock musician João Santana ascended to become one of Brazil’s most influential people, a high profile political strategist with his unique talents in demand at home and abroad. He then became a target. One of the forgotten victims of Operation Lava Jato, he has finally broken silence, eighteen months since his release from […]
“President Jair Bolsonaro must give an explanation to Bolivians for the actions of interference in the sovereignty of the country, anti-democratic and non-diplomatic, of their embassy in Bolivia.” – Luis Arce, MAS-IPSP candidate for Bolivian Presidency in the October 18 2020 election. By Nathália Urban The frontrunner in Bolivia’s presidential election has attacked Brazilian president Jair […]
A massive Brazilian military exercise in the Amazon involved 3,600 soldiers and unprecedented rocket fire. During the simulation, Trump’s Secretary of State, Mike Pompeo, was visiting Roraima, and triggered a diplomatic crisis by talking about “taking” Nicolás Maduro “out of there”. Former President Lula earlier referenced a a meeting of US Southern Command (SOUTHCOM) generals […]
Brazilian lawmaker opens inquiry into controversial import tax break extension By Nathália Urban Last week, Brazilian Congressman Ivan Valente (PSOL-SP) revealed a telegram between US Congressional Foreign Affairs Committee Chairman Eliot Engel and Todd Chapman, US ambassador to Brazil regarding the extension of a controversial ethanol policy to boost President Donald Trump’s electoral chances. In […]
The Brazilian Ministry of Economy pushes a discount buyers club on government workers In an unconstitutional act of censorship, on August 28th a Rio de Janeiro court ordered the independent Brazilian news portal, GGN, to pull down 11 articles about the relationship between right wing politicians and big data mining operations. The ruling was made […]
Rio de Janeiro’s Mayor under investigation for ordering staff to attack reporters covering the pandemic by Luiz Matheus* Imagine that the president of Belarus, Alexander Lukashenko, was caught organizing a scheme with his government officials to embarrass journalists and disrupt reports on the doors of Belarusian hospitals in the middle of the Covid-19 pandemic. Such […]
On August 28th, answering a complaint from BTG-Pactual, the financial services corporation founded by Jair Bolsonaro’s Finance Minister Paulo Guedes, the independent media site GGN was ordered to pull down 11 investigative stories about the connection between right wing politicians and big data mining operations. In solidarity with GGN, it’s editor, Luis Nassif, and journalist Patricia […]
Launched in October 2017, “leadership training and civic engagement initiative” RenovaBR claims to be a response to endemic corruption in politics. Through the “selection and preparation of future leaders”, the neoliberal organisation, backed by a familiar alliance of Wall Street lobbies and Brazilian business elites, seeks to dominate Brazilian political decision making using candidates spread across […]
A Rio de Janeiro Judge censors 11 investigative stories about corporate data mining by veteran journalist Luis Nassif. It’s not the first time conservatives have tried to silence him by Brian Mier On August 29, 2020 a Rio de Janeiro state judge issued an order to veteran journalist Luis Nassif to pull down 11 investigative […]