In September Bloomberg covered a Brazilian elite NYC fundraising gala which it sponsored along with Goldman Sachs, BrazilFoundation (linked to BlackRock Inc) and KAR Properties, a developer who specialises in selling Miami condominiums to wealthy Brazilian ex-pats. In it, the reporter wrote “While the sensitivity of the issue prevented anybody from speaking a word publicly about Brazilian President Dilma […]
American exceptionalism is a myth. Superpowers do not promote democracy, not at home and certainly not abroad. Democracy requires popular sovereignty – power to govern without external control – the antithesis of empire. – Jan K. Black PhD. In the recently released ‘The WikiLeaks Files: The World According to US Empire’ (Verso Books), the first […]
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 […]
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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In the new Brazilian movie, “Que Horas ela Volta?” Regina Casé plays a North-Eastern kitchen maid for a rich woman in São Paulo. The narrative is based on the tension created when her employer discovers that her maid’s daughter has been accepted to a prestigious public university. Although neither Casé nor her daughter are black […]
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 […]
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 […]
“The country is changing, right?” says the mother of a wealthy São Paulo family, when she learns that her maid’s daughter wants to become an architect and is applying for college. She sounds surprised and slightly resentful. It’s a fleeting piece of dialogue which can go unnoticed but it emphasises the movie’s unmasking of upper […]
Narcos is not a documentary and purely as televisual entertainment it is difficult to dislike. It is directed by the talented Brazilian José Padilha (Bus 174, Tropa de Elite) and also featuring fellow countryman, Tropa de Elite’s lead Wagner Moura (Elysium, Praia do Futuro), who shines as Colombian drug lord Pablo Escobar. Narcos is a stylish, visually & […]