Brazil Elections

Thank you all for sharing your insights on the political developments in Brazil.

With all his admiration for Trump (which may be superficial) - will he be pulling the B out of BRICS?

Well that’s yet to happen, however it isn’t hard to see that it may be the case considering where the B for BRICS cane from. And I may be wrong in some details here.

But it was an initiative set in motion by Lula and his predecesor Dilma, the country has a more progressive outlook and a thriving economy with the majority of its resources under the control of the state. There was also a recognition of the influence Washington had on Latinamerica and the nescesity to steer away from it. This meant that Russia and China were the best thing for Brazil to associate with and create something with.

Bolsonaro and his professed love for Washington and everything West, spells a lower integration with the BRICS block, even if it’s not done officially, the writing is on the wall in my opinion.
 
I think you made excellent points, Yas and alejo. Thanks! It helps to have a better clue as to who this guy is. And one thing that comes to mind is:

- They didn't get their way when Dulma got re-elected, so she's gone. And the whole campaign against Lula, same thing.

- Now they need a puppet in a key BRICS player, but they don't have a big choice. So, he's there, ready to be the next lap dog of the US and Israel, to sew more discord in South America, and to hinder BRICS even if in small ways only. That's "good enough". Probably psychopathic enough, but also malleable for whoever wants to control him, give him a bunch of weapons to make him happy, or simply feed his ego to make him do their bidding. He doesn't strike me as a person who would think long-term, so creating tension, and messing up with BRICS may not be a big deal for him, and it plays to the advantage of the controllers.

-Latin America is, and has been for a long time the "back patio" of the US. In that sense, there isn't probably a lot of strategizing going on, other than making sure the whole continent is chaotic, and that they can have a foot on some countries and a constant flow of drugs for the CIA, plus a bunch of stolen ressources. Apart from the usual obedient countries like Paraguay, Argentina is obeying quite well now, so why not add Brazil to the mix as well? That's probably enough for whoever wants to prevent any good alliances with Russia and China, or any "independent" Latin America.

-He doesn't need to be a new Hitler, and that may be propaganda. All they need is a pawn. If he goes nuts, they wouldn't care too much either way, but it may not be to their advantage, as Pepe Escobar explained.

My 2 cents, FWIW!
 
Good points guys. I don't think we can say much more for now. We'll have to 'wait and see'.

One thing I'd like to add is that the guy may be crazy in his support for dictatorships, torture and civil wars, but once in power, the reality of the situation is that you can't just become president and start killing people. It's like when a candidate says wonderful thinks on campaign (like closing Guantanamo, Obama?), and when he walks into office, he is told he can't just do that, so he changes his tune. Except that in this case he wasn't saying many wonderful things.

He will still do terrible things, for sure (like selling the rainforest to foreign companies or dismantling whatever government aid the poorest and indigenous tribes had, or something along those neoliberal lines), but I would be really surprised if he went 'full Hitler'. I don't think the context allows for that, and that's probably why he has moderated his tone lately. But we'll see!
 
Thanks for adding up to the conversation! All very good points too.

In my view, he’s going to be a Temer 2.0, taking the country in the same direction in a more overt manner, which isn’t good per say. But his attitude towards the western establishment makes me think that all this nonesense about him being the Brazilian Trump will simply die down.

I can see him taking the country further away from BRICS, dismembering Petrobras, growing closer with the US, Argentina, Colombia, and the EU as well as israel (something he’s made clear he intends to do). Perhaps this gives the US a larger base of operations in South America, but that has never not been the case (except perhaps in Venezuela and Bolivia). Maybe even throwing an IMF loan for some reason to further sell away the countries resources to foreign control.

Yeah, I certainly hope that you are right in this, because even though that's not very good, it isn't as bad as some people are expecting it to be. Just what we've seen already, with a different face.

With all his admiration for Trump (which may be superficial) - will he be pulling the B out of BRICS?
But it was an initiative set in motion by Lula and his predecesor Dilma, the country has a more progressive outlook and a thriving economy with the majority of its resources under the control of the state. There was also a recognition of the influence Washington had on Latinamerica and the nescesity to steer away from it. This meant that Russia and China were the best thing for Brazil to associate with and create something with.

I wanted to add something here. Even though Temer hasn't done anything good in Brazil, during his mandate, he continued the relationships with BRICS countries and I've seen many reports talking about an increase of bilateral cooperation in different areas with Russia too. So when I see this, I think that it could be just for the show, or, it could be that some people in the government (or in some industries) know that it isn't a good idea to completely cut relations with Russia nowadays, even if it is just for self-serving purposes. By that I mean that to many people in those places, it might be somewhat evident that the US is losing its privileged position globally, so even though they keep their alliances to the US, they might also want to "play safe" and keep relationships with Russia, just in case.

Also, Lula never closed relations with Wall Street either. As far as I understand, part of his success was that he managed to keep the channels open with Wall Street and the Brazilian corporate world, making alliances such as the public-private alliance which protected national resources while giving a portion to international companies to exploit. The thing is that it wasn't enough for some, probably. And that a growing country like that joined with the the other BRICS countries would pose a threat to US hegemony.

In this respect, I agree with Chu that Bolsonaro doesn't seem to be the type that would consider long-term goals like these, even if it is only for self-preservation, as I said. He seem like a fanatic in many aspects. And he's fanatic of USrael and the Evangelical Church, so I have this hunch that when given the choice, he'll choose whatever seems superficially aligned with these groups. Maybe I'm wrong and he's more clever, we'll have to see what happens.

- Now they need a puppet in a key BRICS player, but they don't have a big choice. So, he's there, ready to be the next lap dog of the US and Israel, to sew more discord in South America, and to hinder BRICS even if in small ways only. That's "good enough". Probably psychopathic enough, but also malleable for whoever wants to control him, give him a bunch of weapons to make him happy, or simply feed his ego to make him do their bidding. He doesn't strike me as a person who would think long-term, so creating tension, and messing up with BRICS may not be a big deal for him, and it plays to the advantage of the controllers.

Yeah, I think that's a good way of looking at it. This is the guy they have to just keep the mess. Creating a huge mess isn't profitable either, at least not at this point. They just want to keep the region chaotic enough but still functioning so that they can still benefit from it.

I'm thinking that in this case we can speculate that maybe this is why we've seen all the big global media peddling some propaganda against him, which is why Pepe Escobar said that maybe even Wall Street thought he was too much of hard-liner. Apart from being a good opportunity to use him as propaganda against Trump, they could be setting the line for him, with cues on where he should be more moderate and not so crazy-like.

-Latin America is, and has been for a long time the "back patio" of the US. In that sense, there isn't probably a lot of strategizing going on, other than making sure the whole continent is chaotic, and that they can have a foot on some countries and a constant flow of drugs for the CIA, plus a bunch of stolen ressources. Apart from the usual obedient countries like Paraguay, Argentina is obeying quite well now, so why not add Brazil to the mix as well? That's probably enough for whoever wants to prevent any good alliances with Russia and China, or any "independent" Latin America.

Yeah, that's right. Something that's interesting though is how Paraguay has been changing a bit in this aspect, with all the diplomatic issue with Israel they had after moving back their Embassy to Tel Aviv. I still don't know what is behind that, if there's something more than a rational decision, but that's been quite something for a country which was always obedient and very friendly to USrael. The new president was also VERY friendly with Putin and is talking a lot about increasing cooperation with Russia. Interesting times indeed!

He will still do terrible things, for sure (like selling the rainforest to foreign companies or dismantling whatever government aid the poorest and indigenous tribes had, or something along those neoliberal lines), but I would be really surprised if he went 'full Hitler'. I don't think the context allows for that, and that's probably why he has moderated his tone lately. But we'll see!

Yes! We'll have to wait and see for sure. So far, Bolsonaro already said he's not considering a military operation in Venezuela. Here's a report:

The Brazilian president-elect, Jair Bolsonaro, defends the peaceful way and rules out the military option to solve the "crisis" in Venezuela.

"On our part, there is no such (interest), Brazil is always going to look for a peaceful way to solve this problem," Bolsonaro, who has a marked right-wing tendency, said in an interview with a local television channel on Monday.

The Brazilian Army reserve captain said he had addressed the Venezuelan crisis and its migratory effect with leaders from several countries who called him to congratulate him on his victory in Sunday's ballot.

"I had conversations with authorities from other countries and the subject of Venezuela was touched upon. They are asking us that Brazil participate in one way or another in the solution of this problem," said the president-elect, without identifying any ruler.

Translated with DeepL

There have been some worrisome reports coming Brazil. I can't confirm these aren't fake news, I've been asking around and people claim it's all true, but still, they also get their news from the same place, right? So I don't know.

Here is one report I could find in English:

Brazilian media report that police are entering university classrooms to interrogate professors

In advance of this Sunday’s second-round presidential election between far-right politician Jair Bolsonaro and center-left candidate Fernando Haddad, Brazilian media are reporting that Brazilian police have been staging raids, at times without warrants, in universities across the country this week. In these raids, police have been questioning professors and confiscating materials belonging to students and professors.

The raids are part a supposed attempt to stop illegal electoral advertising. Brazilian election law prohibits electoral publicity in public spaces. However, many of the confiscated materials do not mention candidates. Among such confiscated materials are a flag for the Universidade Federal Fluminense reading “UFF School of Law - Anti-Fascist” and flyers titled “Manifest in Defense of Democracy and Public Universities.”

For those worrying about Brazilian democracy, these raids are some of the most troubling signs yet of the problems the country faces. They indicate the extremes of Brazilian political polarization: Anti-fascist and pro-democracy speech is now interpreted as illegal advertising in favor of one candidate (Fernando Haddad) and against another (Jair Bolsonaro). In the long run, the politicization of these two terms will hurt support for the idea of democracy, and bolster support for the idea of fascism.

In the short run, the raids have even more troublesome implications. Warrantless police raids in university classrooms to monitor professor speech have worrisome echoes of Brazil’s 1964-1985 military regime — particularly when the speech the raids are seeking to stop is not actually illegal.

Perhaps the most concerning point of all is that these raids are happening before Bolsonaro takes office. They have often been initiated by complaints from Bolsonaro supporters. All of this suggests that if Bolsonaro wins the election — as is widely expected — and seeks to suppress the speech of his opponents, whom he has called “red [i.e., Communist] criminals,” he may have plenty of willing helpers.

Update: On Friday, Brazil’s Attorney General of the Republic said she will bring the matter to the Supreme Court, seeking to guarantee freedom of expression in universities. Members of the Supreme Court also expressed concern about the raids on Friday.

The reports in Portuguese specified some cases where some of the students who support Bolsonaro called the police because their professor was speaking of "fake news" and things like that. So the police came over and threatened the professor. Again, some people are telling me that this is true, I don't know, but that's very bad if is true.

Today another person living there sent me a news story about a group of students that entered the University of Sao Paulo with guns, announcing "the new era" and threatening the other students. That's also crazy if it is true. But it wouldn't speak so much about Bolsonaro himself, but about how dangerously polarized the society has become there and that, even if it doesn't become a State policy of some sort, we might still see some of these things happening in the civil society as a consequence of his polarizing campaign and all the previous propaganda the Brazilian people received...
 
Just to add, I saw a report today in which his Vice President elect said something along the lines of “Brazil would support a U.N. intervention in Venezuela”

So it’s probably a “we won’t do it without approval, but we’d definitely do it! Just not alone”
 
Thank you all for sharing your insights on the political developments in Brazil.

With all his admiration for Trump (which may be superficial) - will he be pulling the B out of BRICS?

Sat, Nov 10, 2018 - BRICS After Bolsonaro Will Be Much Like BRICS Before Bolsonaro
BRICS After Bolsonaro Will Be Much Like BRICS Before Bolsonaro

"In reality -- and with all due respect to Brazil and South Africa -- BRICS is all about the RIC"
  • Bolsonaro isn't key here one way or the other, the more important challenges facing it are the India-China divide and the lack of a Statement of Purpose.
dzt6ant.png


BRICS is the acronym of the “alliance” that includes Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa.

In reality, and with all due respect to Brazil and South Africa, BRICS is about RIC.

With Russia, India and China, in any order, there lies the future of Eurasia; the virtually unchartered quarter that houses over one third of the entire world population; a huge chunk of landmass, rich in resources, not only human resources, and just waiting for the right moment to make its mark in history.

The so-called “Silk Road”, or in reality silk roads, was historically the network of caravan paths that ancient traders took on their journeys from east to west, inking worlds largely unknown to each other, long before Vasco da Gama’s highly documented trips.

And whilst the ancient cultures of India and China flourished in their own right, apart from Alexander’s conquest, the Muslim and subsequent Mongol conquests, there was little historic geopolitical interaction between that far Far East and the Middle East; let alone Europe. The long icy and hard terrain made it very difficult, even for the brave at heart, to take the journey from Beijing to Vienna. The temptations to make that trip did not match the hardship of the journey for the averagely motivated traveler.

But this is all about to change. The new “Silk Road”, the network of super highways that the “RIC” nations are intent to build is going to change this status quo and shorten land distances.

The Trans-Siberian railway is a Russian route and constructing it linked Vladivostok with Moscow, but it was not intended to link China with Europe. If anything, it helped bolster the isolation of the USSR. But the new “Silk Road” project will change the transportation map of the world upside down once and for ever.

The determination to build this massive road network does not need either Brazil or South Africa; again with all due respect to both nations.

By taking many considerations into account, we must be realistic and say that the electoral win of Brazilian candidate Bolsonaro will not affect the prospect of the “Silk Road” one way or the other. The repercussions of his election will affect Brazil more than any other country. Purportedly, his policies will affect global climate, but this is another issue. His fiscal and international policy making decisions may put Brazil under the American sphere of influence, and this unfortunately can and will affect Brazil very adversely, but the damage is likely to be restricted to Brazil only.

With or without Brazil, BRICS can survive, but for it to survive and make a difference, it will need to become more serious about conducting its business.

The first step towards becoming more proactive is best done by establishing proper trust and conciliation between the three major players; Russia, China and India.

The love-hate relationship that marred the Soviet-Maoist era took a while to heal. The Russians and the Chinese seem to have gone many steps ahead towards establishing trust and confidence in each other. But China and India continue to have serious problems, and for as long as they have border and sovereignty disputes, this hinders them from becoming effective partners in every way.

Furthermore, BRICS needs a preamble and a Statement of Purpose. At the moment, it doesn’t have one. With all of its hypocrisies, the Western alliance camouflages itself behind the veil of Christian values, democracy and the “free world” slogans. Thus far, the only undeclared statement of purpose for BRICS seems to be that of defiance to the Western alliance.

The BRICS alliance will face a struggle founding an attractive preamble. Orthodox Christian Russia, predominantly Hindu India and Communist/Taoist/Buddhist China have little in common religiously speaking. Perhaps the BRICS leaders should be using common political grounds instead. They certainly cannot use democracy; not only because such an adoption would make them look as copycats, but also because they have different ideas about democracy, and Russia and China definitely do not endorse Western-style democracy.

In reality however, BRICS can use abstract lofty principles as their preamble; principles such as morality, honesty, and if they want to be less “theological” as it were, they could use principles such as “International law”, “International equality” and the like.

Apart from accumulating gold, building bridges and super road networks, planning fiscal measures to cushion the effects of a possible collapse of the Western economy on their own economies, developing state-of-the-art hypersonic weaponry and giving a clear message announcing that the world is no longer unipolar, the BRICS alliance ought to make clear statements about what kind of alternative world it envisions.

This is very important, because a significant percentage of the world population does not know what to expect if the BRICS alliance becomes the new dominant financial and military power. They have special concerns about China because they don’t know much about China, and they worry not only about whether or not China will be a new colonial super power, but they also worry about one day waking up and seeing traffic signals in Mandarin; so to speak.

To many people across the globe, the Chinese culture, language and modus operandi look like something from another planet.

The Cyrillic Russian and the Devanagari Indian scripts are no less daunting than the Mandarin script, but many Indians and Russians speak English and the West has had much more cultural interaction with both Russia and India than it ever did with China.

Furthermore, for the BRICS alliance to become more viable, it will need to develop a military alliance akin to that of NATO. When and if such an alliance is forged, then members will be protected as any attack on one will be considered as an attack on the whole coalition. Such an alliance will not increase the chances of war. Quite the contrary in fact, as it can lead to much needed stability. If for argument sake North Korea were a member, it would not be in a situation where it can claim that it needs nuclear weapons for self-defense, and secondly, the West would not be threatening to attack for fear of a major global escalation. The Cold-War, costly and potentially disastrous as it was, presents a successful model of nuclear deterrence. And in retrospect, had Vietnam been a member of the Warsaw Pact (or a similar one that included the USSR), it is possible that America’s war on Vietnam would have been averted. A more realistically plausible scenario is the case of former Yugoslavia. Had the Warsaw Pact been still standing, NATO would have never attacked Serbia back in 1999.

To be able to afford a more effective military deterrent, be a viable stand-alone economic power and to be attractive to the rest of the world, the BRICS coalition will ultimately need more member nations. Ideally, it would be of huge significance if Japan could be convinced to join it. The inclusion of Japan will not only add a huge financial power to the group, but it will also generate an in-house regional security to the China Sea region. Baby steps have been recently made between China and Japan towards conciliation, and much more needs to be done. It will take a lot of work and good intentions on both sides to undo a long history of hostilities and distrust.

Other nations that can and arguably should enter the coalition are; Venezuela, Mexico, Argentina, Iran, Iraq, Syria, Korea, Malaysia, Vietnam, Indonesia, and post Erdogan Turkey. Why post Erdogan? Because Erdogan’s Turkey can turn BRICS into a bag of TRICS.

Resource-rich Australia has much to gain in joining such an alliance as this will not only bolster its own security, but it will also secure economic stability and on-going trade.

Thus far, all the official visits that the RIC leaders have exchanged, all the business deals they made, all the projects they are embarking on, huge as they are, are only baby steps towards turning their alliance into one that can lead the world and establish the necessary moral, financial and security foundations that are capable of underpinning it.

Over and above establishing a new world reserve currency, setting up an alternative to the US-based Internet and WWW, SWIFT, etc, the brave new world will need hope, trust, morality and concrete assurances for a long-awaited change for the better. These are the real challenges facing the BRICS alliance now; not the Bolsonaro win.

Source: The Saker
 
11.26.2018 - Brazil's outgoing President hikes Judges' Pay in setback for Bolsonaro
Brazil's outgoing president hikes judges' pay in setback for Bolsonaro | Reuters


FILE PHOTO: Brazil's President Michel Temer is seen before signing a trade agreement with Chile's President Sebastian (not pictured) at the government house in Santiago, Chile, November 21, 2018. REUTERS/Ivan Alvarado

Brazil's exiting President Michel Temer signed into law a 16 percent pay rise for Supreme Court justices on Monday, disregarding a request from his President-elect Jair Bolsonaro that he veto the bill to avoid increasing next year's budget deficit.

The top court salaries serve as a benchmark for other public sector pay and the hike will add an estimated 4 billion reais ($1 billion) to the deficit that Bolsonaro’s economic team has promised to balance in one year.

Bolsonaro, who will inherit a gaping deficit when he takes office on Jan. 1, said earlier this month that this was “not the moment” to approve public sector pay increases.

Bolsonaro’s economic team, led by University of Chicago-trained economist Paulo Guedes, plans to make a new proposal for overhauling the costly pension system, one of the main causes of the deficit that is driving up the country’s public debt. Temer failed to get pension reform through Congress.


11.26.2018 - Brazilian President-elect adds fifth Military man to Cabinet
Brazilian president-elect adds fifth military man to cabinet | Reuters


Brazil's President-elect Jair Bolsonaro arrives to a meeting in Brasilia, Brazil November 20, 2018. REUTERS/Adriano Machado

Brazil's right-wing president-elect Jair Bolsonaro on Monday picked retired General Carlos Alberto dos Santos Cruz as his minister in charge of political relations with Congress, adding a fifth military man to his cabinet.

Bolsonaro, a former army captain turned politician who surged to victory on a pledge to end years of corruption and rising violence, made the announcement in a Twitter post.

Moving to deliver on his law-and-order platform, Bolsonaro’s choice for justice and public security, former anti-corruption judge Sergio Moro, said he would coordinate federal and state police forces to better fight organized crime and slow the growth of Brazil’s powerful drug gangs that control swaths of cities.

Some Brazilians are concerned that the appointment of Santos Cruz, who led United Nations peacekeepers in Haiti and the Democratic Republic of Congo, and other current or former military officials marks a return to a militarized government. Bolsonaro takes office on Jan. 1.

Seeking to defuse those concerns, Bolsonaro, a fan of the 1964-85 military dictatorship, has vowed to adhere to Brazil’s constitution and has moderated some of his more extreme views expressed during almost three decades as a federal congressman.

Bolsonaro, who has long been a critic of the socialist government of Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro, again appeared to tone down his strident views on regional migration, saying that Venezuelans fleeing to Brazil could not be returned to their country “because they are not merchandise.”

In comments to reporters on the weekend, he also floated the idea of creating a refugee camp for Venezuelans in the northern border state of Roraima, while defending strict checks on who enters “because there are some people we don’t want in Brazil.”

A nongovernmental organization working on the Venezuelan exodus into Brazil said refugee camps were an “extreme option” for war zone areas and would worsen the plight of the immigrants.

“The camps would be far from urban areas and the Venezuelans want to be in urban areas to be able to rebuild their lives,” said Camila Asano of Conectas rights group.

She said the crisis has subsided in Roraima where there are 6,000 Venezuelans in shelters and the number living on the streets was down to 600.

Asano said, however, that a Brazilian Air Force airlift to move Venezuelans out of Roraima and to larger cities appeared to have slowed down.

In Brasilia, where Bolsonaro’s transition team is preparing to govern, Moro told reporters that he will create a secretariat of police operations to coordinate all Brazil’s security efforts by federal and state police forces to curb violence in the country that has more murders than any other.

Brazilian states have control over nearly all the police forces in the country, and Moro underscored he would respect their sovereignty.

But he said federal coordination was badly needed to improve street policing across Brazil and to tame the country’s overcrowded prisons, which are under the control of drug gangs who recruit from jail and where bloody uprisings are rampant.


11.26.2018 - Brazil's Moro will coordinate Police to improve Security
Brazil's Moro will coordinate police to improve security | Reuters


Brazil's incoming justice minister Sergio Moro attends an anti-corruption event in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil November 23, 2018. REUTERS/Ricardo Moraes

Brazil's incoming justice minister Sergio Moro said on Monday that he will create a secretariat to coordinate all security efforts by federal and state police forces to fight violent crime in the country that has more murders than any other.

Brazilian states have control over nearly all police forces in the country, and Moro underscored he would respect their sovereignty. But he said federal coordination was badly needed to improve street policing across Brazil and to tame the country’s prisons, which are under the control of drug gangs who recruit from the jails and where violent uprisings are rampant.
 
11.28.2018 - Brazil's Bolsonaro nixes plans to host U.N. Climate Event
Brazil's Bolsonaro nixes plans to host U.N. climate event | Reuters


FILE PHOTO: Skyline of Rio De Janeiro is pictured at sunset June 28, 2014. In a project called 'On The Sidelines' Reuters photographers share pictures showing their own quirky and creative view of the 2014 World Cup in Brazil. REUTERS/Maxim Shemetov

Far-right president-elect Jair Bolsonaro said on Wednesday that he pushed the Brazilian government to withdraw its offer to host the United Nations climate conference next year, maintaining that Brazil's sovereignty over the Amazon was at stake.

Bolsonaro, in Brasilia planning his government’s transition for when he takes power on Jan. 1, told reporters that “I participated in the decision” - announced earlier Wednesday by the Foreign Ministry, which cited high costs.

“I told my future foreign minister to avoid hosting this event here in Brazil,” Bolsonaro said. The next foreign minister, Ernesto Araújo, has said climate change was part of a plot against western economic growth.

Bolsonaro has threatened to follow the lead of U.S. President Donald Trump and yank Brazil out of the Paris climate agreement, which was the reason, along with high cost, Bolsonaro gave for not wanting to host the November 2019 conference.

“The ‘Triple A’ is at play in that accord,” Bolsonaro said. “What is the ‘Triple A’? It’s a big strip between the Andes, Amazon and Atlantic ... that could result in our losing sovereignty over the area. The idea is to turn it into a ecological corridor.”

Last month, the Foreign Ministry announced Brazil’s offer to host the event in a press release, saying the meeting would work out final details of the Paris agreement and for signatory countries to fully implement its demands by 2020.

Hosting the event would have confirmed Brazil’s “role as a world leader on sustainable development issues, especially in relation to climate change.”

Brazil, which has 60 percent of the Amazon rainforest within its borders, a biome scientists consider one of nature’s best defenses against global warming as it acts as a giant carbon sink, has made significant strides in the past 15 years to curtail destruction of the jungle.

However, Brazil’s government reported last week that annual deforestation levels had hit their highest level in a decade.

The environmental group Observatorio da Clima said on its website that the decision to withdraw its offer to host the event is “not the first and will not be the last awful news from Jair Bolsonaro on this theme.”

Bolsonaro had also sought to combine the environmental and agricultural ministries but later retreated from that proposal.
 
  • Like
Reactions: Yas
It seems - Bolsonaro is planning to clean up "Brazil's gangs and drugs" much like President Rodrigo Duterte in the Philippines?

11.29.2018 - General behind deadly Haiti raid takes aim at Brazil's Gangs
General behind deadly Haiti raid takes aim at Brazil's gangs | Reuters


FILE PHOTO: Brazilian General Augusto Heleno Periera (L) talks to the leader of a group of supporters of former Haitian President Jean-Bertrand Aristide about the route they should take before a demonstration by several thousand Arsitide supporters held on March 29, 2005, the 18th anniversary of the country's constitution, in Port-au-Prince, Haiti REUTERS/Daniel Morel/File photo

Thirteen years ago, a Brazilian general named Augusto Heleno led hundreds of United Nations troops into a Haitian slum to bring a powerful gangster to heel. Over the course of a seven-hour gun battle, the peacekeepers sprayed more than 22,000 bullets into the impoverished Port-au-Prince neighborhood of Cite Soleil. Their target, a warlord known as Dread Wilme, was killed.

The operation, dubbed “Iron Fist,” was the capstone of Heleno’s mission to restore order in Haiti after its president was ousted by insurgents. Heleno declared the raid a success.

But various human rights groups called it a “massacre,” alleging dozens of bystanders were killed in the crossfire, many of them women and children.

The episode, largely forgotten outside Haiti, may provide a road map for the security strategy of Brazil’s next president, far-right former army captain Jair Bolsonaro. He has tapped Heleno to be his top national security advisor and wants the former general and other ex-Haiti hands to tame Brazil’s favelas using methods employed in the slums of Port-au-Prince.

Brazil suffered a record 64,000 murders last year, the most in the world. Bolsonaro has promised no mercy for lawbreakers.

“We are at war. Haiti was also at war,” Bolsonaro said in a recent TV interview. “(In Haiti), the rule was, you found an element with a firearm, you shoot, and then you see what happened. You solve the problem.”

Haiti looms large in Bolsonaro’s cabinet.

His proposed defense minister, former Gen. Fernando Azevedo e Silva, served there under Heleno as an operations chief. Bolsonaro’s incoming infrastructure minister, Tarcisio Freitas, was a senior U.N. military engineer in Haiti, arriving shortly after Heleno left in 2005. Retired Gen. Carlos Alberto dos Santos Cruz, Brazil’s next government minister, led U.N. troops in the Caribbean nation in 2007.

Neither Heleno nor Azevedo e Silva responded to requests for comment about the Cite Soleil raid.

It remains to be seen just how heavy-handed Heleno’s approach might be in Brazil, particularly in crime-ridden Rio de Janeiro state. But other crackdowns there have not produced lasting results.

Those efforts include a massive security push in some of the city’s favelas ahead of the 2016 Olympic Games, and a more recent state-wide military intervention launched in February. In Rio state, violent deaths are up 1.3 percent during the first nine months of the latest occupation compared with the same period last year; the number of people killed by security forces jumped more than 40 percent, with about four people slain daily.

Rio’s current intervention is slated to finish just before Bolsonaro takes office on January 1. Neither Heleno nor Azevedo e Silva have ruled out extending it.

In recent weeks, Heleno has expressed support for a radical crime-fighting strategy promoted by Rio state’s incoming right-wing governor, Wilson Witzel. That plan would put snipers in helicopters to take out favela gangsters.

Heleno said in a recent radio interview that his rules of engagement in Haiti were similar to those proposed by Witzel, adding that key parts of the Rio military intervention “can serve as a model for the rest of the country.”

Those views alarm some members of the armed forces, who fear protracted urban warfare could sap troop morale and stoke public resentment against one of Brazil’s most respected institutions.

And some public safety experts worry Brazil’s new leaders will double down on a failed strategy.

“Rio is a laboratory which illustrates that these types of policies do not work,” said Ignacio Cano, a Rio de Janeiro State University professor who has written extensively on security issues.

Brazil assumed military control of the U.N.’s mission to stabilize Haiti, known as MINUSTAH, in mid-2004. Heleno, Brazil’s first MINUSTAH military commander, arrived shortly after the ouster and exile of then-President Jean-Bertrand Aristide. The general was tasked with stabilizing the country to allow for peaceful elections.

Standing in his way were powerful criminal gangs operating violent kidnapping, carjacking and extortion rackets. As months passed, the United States, in particular, expressed impatience with Heleno’s progress.

“MINUSTAH has failed to establish security and stability here,” James B. Foley, then-U.S. ambassador to Haiti, wrote in a June 1, 2005 cable to Washington. “As much as we may pressure the UN and Brazilians to take the more forceful approach that is needed, I do not believe ultimately they will be up to the task.”

Five weeks later, Heleno ordered 440 U.N. troops, supported by 41 armored vehicles and helicopters, into Cite Soleil to detain Wilme, whom U.S. cables described as Haiti’s most powerful gangster.

Heleno’s team initially said Wilme and a few henchman had died, resulting in five or six fatalities tops, according to press accounts. But reports of civilian injuries and deaths quickly surfaced.

“We have credible information that U.N. troops, accompanied by Haitian police, killed an undetermined number of unarmed residents of Cite Soleil, including several babies and women,” Renan Hedouville, the head of a local nonprofit, Lawyers Committee for the Respect of Individual Rights, said at the time.

The then-head of Medecins Sans Frontiers’ mission in Haiti told reporters that its doctors treated 27 people with gunshot wounds, most of them women and children.

U.S. diplomats also cast doubt on MINUSTAH’s version of events. A July 26, 2005 cable said “22,000 rounds is a large amount of ammunition to have killed only six people,” and noted some local human rights groups had put the estimated death toll as high as 70.

A spokesman for Haiti’s current government did not respond to a request for comment about the raid or the Brazilian leadership of MINUSTAH troops.

But some Cite Soleil residents cannot shake the memory of that day. Street vendor Anol Pierre said she was at home when the firefight began.

“I hid under the bed with my children as the bullets flew through the walls,” she said. “We just prayed to Jesus. I remember a pregnant woman, with two kids, who died. Lots of families were victims.”

NO REGRETS
Juan Gabriel Valdes, MINUSTAH’s civilian chief in Haiti at the time, said Heleno’s soldiers were permitted by U.N peacekeeping rules to return fire after they came under attack. MINUSTAH said Cite Soleil remained so volatile that it was impossible to conduct a full investigation to ascertain the death toll.

Responding to allegations of excessive force, a U.N. Special Rapporteur asked MINUSTAH for clarification on what happened. The Rapporteur’s report found MINUSTAH’s explanation for its actions “largely satisfactory.”

Heleno expressed disdain for those who questioned his actions, according to Seth Donnelly, a human rights worker in Haiti at the time. In a written report about the assault, Donnelly said Heleno told him and his fellow activists that they “only seemed to care about the rights of the ‘outlaws.’”

Heleno’s views on public security have not softened since leaving Haiti. In 2008, while still in uniform, he publicly criticized Brazilian policies granting indigenous tribes autonomy over ancestral lands as a threat to national sovereignty.

When he retired in 2011, Heleno defended Brazil’s 1964-1985 military dictatorship as a bulwark against “the communization of the country.”

In a radio interview earlier this month, Heleno said human rights should be reserved for “righteous humans.” He said criminal gangs are transforming Brazil into a “narco country” and that aggressive measures must be employed to stop them.

“It is absurd to treat this as a normal situation,” he said. “It is an exceptional situation that requires exceptional treatment.”


11.29.2018 - Trump Adviser Bolton meets far-right Brazilian Leader Bolsonaro
Trump adviser Bolton meets far-right Brazilian leader Bolsonaro | Reuters


FILE PHOTO: U.S. President Donald Trump's national security adviser John Bolton speaks during a press briefing at the White House in Washington, U.S., November 27, 2018. REUTERS/Kevin Lamarque/File Photo

U.S. President Donald Trump's national security adviser John Bolton met Brazil's far-right President-elect Jair Bolsonaro on Thursday to discuss regional security issues and build on the ideological affinity between the two leaders.

Bolsonaro is an admirer of the U.S. president and, like Trump, took the political establishment by surprise when he won office in October, riding a wave of anger against traditional politicians.

He has vowed to sweep out corruption, crack down on crime and align Brazil closely with the United States in a shift towards conservative nationalism.

A Brazilian Army helicopter hovered offshore as Bolton arrived for the one-hour visit with Bolsonaro at his beachside gated community on the south side of Rio de Janeiro.

Bolsonaro said it was “very productive” in a Twitter post.

The meeting was attended by Bolsonaro’s future national security adviser General Augusto Heleno and future defense minister General Fernando Azevedo, both retired Army officers, and incoming foreign minister Ernesto Araujo, an anti-globalist who believes climate change theory is a Marxist invention.

Bolsonaro has threatened to follow Trump’s lead and pull Brazil out of the Paris climate agreement, despite having the world’s biggest rain forest in the Amazon.

On Wednesday, he said he pushed the government to withdraw Brazil’s offer to host the U.N. climate conference next year, maintaining that Brazil’s sovereignty over the Amazon was at stake.

Bolton told reporters on Tuesday in Washington that Bolsonaro’s election was a “historic opportunity” for Brazil and the United States to work together on security, economics and other issues. Thursday’s meeting would prepare the ground for Trump and Bolsonaro to “get off to a running start”, he said.

Bolton is expected to seek Brazilian support to apply pressure to Venezuela’s left-wing government, which he describes as part of “the troika of tyranny” in the Americas, alongside Cuba and Nicaragua.

In another step following Trump, Bolsonaro plans to move the Brazilian embassy in Israel to Jerusalem, despite angering Arab countries that are big buyers of Brazilian meat.

After visiting Trump’s son-in-law Jared Kushner at the White House on Tuesday, his son Eduardo Bolsonaro told reporters the move was “not a question of if, but of when”.

There is speculation Bolsonaro’s team will seek to bring Trump to the presidential inauguration in Brasilia on Jan. 1.

While Trump’s attendance would be a major validation for Bolsonaro, Thiago de Aragao, a risk analyst and partner at Brasilia consultancy ARKO, said it is unlikely to happen.

“Ideological affinity is not enough to have the level of relationship Bolsonaro seeks. Trump has made it clear that he wants direct commercial benefits for the United States in its foreign ties,” he said.

Battling a wide budget deficit as it recovers from a deep recession, Brazil cannot afford to buy billions of dollars in U.S.-made arms, for example.

There could be convergence on Venezuela, but Brazil would never agree to military action against its neighbor and could at most agree to apply sanctions, Aragao said.


11.29.2018 - Brazil's Bolsonaro says he discussed Cuba, Israel, Trade with Bolton
Brazil's Bolsonaro says he discussed Cuba, Israel, trade with Bolton | Reuters

RIO DE JANEIRO - Brazilian President-elect Jair Bolsonaro said on Thursday that he and U.S. national security adviser John Bolton talked about improving trade ties between the two most populous countries in the Americas, as well as discussing Cuba and Israel during a one-hour meeting in Rio de Janeiro.

Bolsonaro said he would take up an offer to visit the United States that was made by Bolton on behalf of U.S. President Donald Trump. Bolsonaro, who takes office on Jan. 1, has said he plans to align his country’s policies with those of the United States, a sharp break with leftist governments that ruled Brazil for much of the last two decades.
 
I saw the news about John Bolton and Bolsonaro. Pepe Escobar summarised it:

https://www.facebook.com/photo.php?fbid=10156756989136678&set=a.10150294029661678&type=3
(I couldn't embed the post so there's an image below)

pepe-escobar-FB-bolton-bolsonaro.PNG

There was a report on Sputnik with the following quote:

"We talked about many things, for about an hour; about internal issues that interest both countries: geopolitics, the arms issue, Venezuela, Cuba; there was a great rapprochement, one more step that we are taking in the direction of the United States and the United States in the direction of us," Bolsonaro said shortly after the meeting in statements to O Globo.

So much for Bolsonaro's "nationalism"!

Then there was also this bit:

They also discussed expanding trade relations, but did not discuss the terrorist threat, despite the fact that Bolton is Trump's security adviser.

"Terrorism did not enter the conversation, but we did discuss barriers, customs fees, the difficulty of doing business here," noted the president-elect, who conveyed to Trump's representative that Brazil is willing to "facilitate" trade with the United States.

Of course, the US doesn't need to talk about a terrorist threat when the prospect is that this government will be a complete puppet. No need to threat with their proxies there...
 
I keep getting the feeling that former Secretary of State Rex Tillerson might be wrapped up in all of this while he was top CEO of Exxon/Mobile?

December 21, 2018 - Brazil prosecutors charge 42 people in alleged Petrobras bribery scheme
Brazil prosecutors charge 42 people in alleged Petrobras bribery scheme | Reuters

RIO DE JANEIRO - Brazilian prosecutors leading the so-called “Car Wash” probe on Friday charged 42 people for their role in an alleged corruption scheme involving a construction contract for state-run oil firm Petroleo Brasileiro in the state of Bahia.

In a statement, prosecutors said those charged included former high-ranking officials at Petrobras and its pension fund Petros, and executives from scandal-plagued builder Odebrecht SA [ODBES.UL] and engineering conglomerate OAS.

The charges mark the latest development in the “Car Wash” probe, a sprawling corruption investigation that has felled many members of Brazil’s political and business elite, revealing the rotten business dealings that long underpinned the upper echelons of Brazilian society.

Prosecutors said the charges related to a bribery scheme involved in the costly construction of the Pituba tower in the Bahia state capital Salvador, which was built in order to be Petrobras’ local headquarters. Money went to senior Petrobras and Petros officials, as well as to the leftist Workers Party (PT).

Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva, Brazil’s former president and a founder of the PT, is currently in jail as a result of a graft racket uncovered by the Car Wash probe.

The prosecutors said the alleged culprits had been charged with corruption, money laundering and criminal organization. The bribes totaled 67.2 million reais ($17.22 million), they said.

The charges come after police last month served 22 arrest warrants related to the racket, which allegedly lasted from 2009 to 2016.
r
FILE PHOTO: A man walks in front of the Brazil's state-run Petrobras oil company headquarters in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil December 5, 2018. Picture taken December 5, 2018. REUTERS/Sergio Moraes
 
December 21, 2018 - Brazil President-elect's Son snared in growing payments probe
Brazil president-elect's son snared in growing payments probe | Reuters

RIO DE JANEIRO - Brazilian state prosecutors on Friday ordered the son of President-elect Jair Bolsonaro to explain suspicious funds in the bank account of his former driver, widening their probe after the ex-staff member failed to show up to answer queries.

r
FILE PHOTO: Flavio Bolsonaro, son of Brazil's President-elect Jair Bolsonaro is seen behind him at the transition government building in Brasilia, Brazil November 27, 2018. REUTERS/Adriano Machado/File Photo

Questions over the origin of the funds in the bank account of Fabricio Queiroz, who for years was on Senator-elect Flavio Bolsonaro’s payroll, have threatened to tarnish the reputation of the Bolsonaro family, whose members surged to power on a promise to end years of political corruption.

Rio de Janeiro state prosecutors want Flavio Bolsonaro to explain why his former driver had 1.2 million reais ($310,575) flow through his bank account between 2016-2017, including payments to the president-elect’s wife, Michelle Bolsonaro.

Prosecutors said the request was prompted by Queiroz’ failure to show for a meeting with investigators on Friday. They said he had also missed an appointment on Wednesday, again citing a health crisis.

Jair Bolsonaro, who was elected president in October thanks to a strong anti-graft message, and his son have both denied any wrongdoing.

Jair Bolsonaro has said the payment to his wife was Queiroz repaying a personal loan. He added that if he made a mistake by not declaring the money from Queiroz, he would rectify it with tax authorities.

Flavio Bolsonaro has said that Queiroz gave him a “plausible” explanation of the origin of the money and that the accusations were intended to destabilize the Bolsonaro family. He could not immediately be reached for comment on Friday.

According to Brazil’s Council for Financial Activities Control, which identified the transactions, some of the payments to Queiroz’ bank account were made by other employees on Flavio Bolsonaro’s payroll when he served as a Rio de Janeiro state lawmaker, including by Queiroz’ own daughter.

Many of the deposits were made on or around the same day that the state Congress paid employees.

The state prosecutors have suggested that Flavio Bolsonaro come in on Jan 10. Jair Bolsonaro takes office on Jan. 1.
 
December 27, 2018 - Scandal involving Brazil President-elect's Son clouds Inauguration
Scandal involving Brazil president-elect's son clouds inauguration | Reuters

RIO DE JANEIRO - A lingering scandal involving Brazilian President-elect Jair Bolsonaro’s son has soured his inauguration next week and tarnished the reputation of a far-right maverick who surged to victory on a vow to end years of political horsetrading.

Bolsonaro, who spent nearly 30 years in Congress, takes office on Jan. 1 after a strong electoral win that gave him a mandate to hobble violent drug gangs, cut through red tape to kick-start Brazil’s economy and go after the country’s corrupt political class.

But a festering scandal involving the former driver of his son, Rio de Janeiro state lawmaker and Senator-elect Flavio Bolsonaro, has clouded his big day. Jair Bolsonaro, Flavio Bolsonaro and the former driver, Fabricio Queiroz, have denied any wrongdoing.

But some critics have begun questioning the president-elect’s graft-busting credentials, and asking whether the Bolsonaro political clan really represents a new type of politics in a country weary from years of corruption probes.

“Ever since this case came to light, there has been a spectacle of evasions and unconvincing explanations on the part of the Bolsonaros ... (about) an episode with relevant implications for national politics,” Brazil’s biggest newspaper Folha de S.Paulo said in an editorial on Thursday, the day after Queiroz sought to explain himself in an interview with a Bolsonaro-friendly TV network.

The scandal arose after Brazil’s Council for Financial Activities Control (COAF) identified 1.2 million reais ($305,033) that in 2016-17 flowed through the bank account of Queiroz, who for years was on Flavio Bolsonaro’s payroll as a driver and advisor. Some payments were made to the president-elect’s wife, Michelle Bolsonaro.


After citing a health crisis as his reason for failing to attend two previous appointments with prosecutors to explain the provenance of the money, Queiroz said in the SBT network interview on Wednesday that money in his account was due to a side-business of buying and selling cars.

“I’m a businessman,” he said. “I make money.”

Jair Bolsonaro has said the payment to his wife was Queiroz repaying a personal loan. He added that if he made a mistake by not declaring the money from Queiroz, he would rectify it with tax authorities.

Flavio Bolsonaro, who has now been called by investigators to explain the money after his former driver’s no-show last week, has said that Queiroz gave him a “plausible” explanation, and that the accusations were intended to destabilize the Bolsonaro family.

In the interview, Queiroz said the money to Michelle Bolsonaro had been explained by her husband, and was to repay a loan. He denied he had been dodging investigators, and said he had failed to turn up to appointments with prosecutors because of a malignant cancer that requires immediate surgical removal.

Michelle Bolsonaro has not commented publicly on the case.

According to the COAF, some of the payments to Queiroz’ bank account were made by other employees on Flavio Bolsonaro’s payroll when he served as a Rio de Janeiro state lawmaker, including by Queiroz’s own daughter. Many of the deposits were made on or around the same day that the state Congress paid employees, the COAF found.

It passed on the suspicious financial flows in Queiroz’s account to Rio state prosecutors, who have so far failed to get the former driver to come in and explain the funds.

State prosecutors have suggested that Flavio Bolsonaro come in on Jan 10. It was not clear when Queiroz would attend.

Queiroz declined to explain why his colleagues were depositing money into his account, saying he would tell investigators.

Not all were convinced by that line of argument.

“So this is how it works: He didn’t go to investigators, because he preferred to go on TV. But, once he was on TV, he said he would rather explain to investigators?” prominent journalist Malu Gaspar wrote on Twitter.

($1 = 3.9340 reais)
Slideshow (2 Images)
Scandal involving Brazil president-elect's son clouds inauguration | Reuters
 
Apart from being scandalists, Bolsonaro's sons also have interesting taste in fashion. I guess support for Israel runs in the family:

I'm not sure of Bolsonaro's views on Israel? From the information I read on his run for presidency, there was a lot of opposition against him, including "the stabbing attack". Maybe, the only way Bolsonaro could have a chance at winning - was to pacify the Israeli crowd?
According to this article, "Netanyahu is the first Israeli prime minister to visit Brazil."

December 30, 2018 - Brazil moving its embassy to Jerusalem matter of 'when, not if': Netanyahu
Brazil moving its embassy to Jerusalem matter of 'when, not if': Netanyahu | Reuters

RIO DE JANEIRO - Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said on Sunday that Brazil’s President-elect Jair Bolsonaro told him that it was a matter of “when, not if” he moves his country’s embassy in Israel to Jerusalem from Tel Aviv.

The far-right Bolsonaro, who takes office on Tuesday and is hosting Netanyahu and the leaders of other countries for his inauguration, has said he would like to follow the lead of U.S. President Donald Trump and move the embassy.

But he has come under intense pressure from Brazil’s powerful agriculture sector not to do so, as it could hurt Brazilian exports to Arab nations. Despite Netanyahu’s comments, a senior official from Brazil’s incoming government told Reuters on Sunday no decision had yet been made on the issue.

Such a move by Bolsonaro would be a sharp shift in Brazilian foreign policy, which has traditionally backed a two-state solution to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict.

The Arab League had told Bolsonaro that moving the embassy to Jerusalem would be a setback for relations with Arab countries, according to a letter seen by Reuters earlier in December.

“Bolsonaro told me it was ‘when, not if’ he moves the embassy to Jerusalem,” Netanyahu said on Sunday during a meeting with leaders of Brazil’s Jewish community in Rio de Janeiro.

“We attach enormous importance to Brazil, and Brazil in the context of Latin America,” he added. “This heralds a historic change.”

Netanyahu, who met with Bolsonaro on Friday, said that the Brazilian accepted his invitation to visit Israel, a trip that is likely to take place in March.

Netanyahu is the first Israeli prime minister to visit Brazil.

After he met the Israeli leader, Bolsonaro said that “we need good allies, good friends, good brothers, like Benjamin Netanyahu.”

Slideshow (2 Images)
Brazil's new far-right government issues decrees across sectors | Reuters


January 2, 2019 - Brazil's new far-right government issues decrees across sectors
Brazil's new far-right government issues decrees across sectors | Reuters

BRASILIA (Reuters) - Brazil’s new President Jair Bolsonaro set to work quickly on Wednesday, with his administration issuing decrees affecting the economy, agriculture and society, while forging closer political ties with the United States.

r
r



Brazil's new President Jair Bolsonaro attends the handover ceremony for Augusto Heleno, Minister of Institutional Security, Santos Cruz, Government Secretary, Gustavo Bebianno, President's Secretary General and Onyx Lorenzoni, Chief of Staff, at the planalto Palace in Brasilia, Brazil January 2, 2018. REUTERS/Adriano Machado

Bolsonaro, a former army captain and seven-term congressman, won elections in October and was sworn in on Tuesday as Brazil’s first far-right president since a military dictatorship gave way to civilian rule in 1985.

Fulfilling a campaign promise to his staunch supporters in the farm sector, Bolsonaro decreed that indigenous land claims, a source of bloody clashes on Brazil’s agricultural frontier, would be decided by the Agriculture Ministry.

The gift to the powerful agribusiness sector enraged environmentalists already worried by Bolsonaro’s plans to loosen protections of the Amazon rainforest and remove Brazil’s support for the Paris Agreement on climate change.

The new president was elected on a platform to clean up Brazilian politics, and he put the country’s top anti-corruption figure, Sergio Moro, in charge of a Justice Ministry beefed up to fight graft and battle organized crime.

Moro, a former federal judge who spearheaded the “Car Wash” corruption trials that put former leftist President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva and other high-profile politicians in jail, said on Wednesday he would help usher in a new era of law-and-order.

“The top mission given to me by the president was clear: end impunity for corruption cases and combat organized crime to reduce violent crimes,” Moro said after being sworn in.

The administration would propose an ambitious anti-crime bill to Congress next month that would stiffen prison sentences, Moro said.

ALIGNING WITH TRUMP
Bolsonaro met this week with U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo, President Donald Trump’s envoy to Tuesday’s presidential inauguration, who said the United States and Brazil will jointly defend democratic values in the region.

“We have an opportunity to work alongside each other against authoritarian regimes,” Pompeo said on Wednesday after discussing Venezuela with Brazil’s new Foreign Minister Ernesto Araujo, who was picked by Bolsonaro for his admiration of Trump’s conservative nationalism.

Bolsonaro’s rise to power culminates a swing to conservative rule in Latin America that has isolated leftist-ruled countries such as Venezuela, Cuba and Nicaragua.

While Bolsonaro surprised Brazil’s political establishment by surging to victory over a leftist coalition led by Lula’s Workers Party, he takes office with the lowest approval rating of any new Brazilian president, according to a Datafolha poll Tuesday.

That suggests he will have an uphill battle to enact his agenda of austerity measures to bring down an unsustainable budget deficit of about 180 billion reais ($47.31 billion) that has investors worried.

Markets, however, are optimistic that Bolsonaro’s economic team, led by former investment banker Paulo Guedes, will succeed in passing reforms needed to reduce the deficit and restore confidence and growth to a slow-moving economy.

One of Bolsonaro’s first steps was to decree a less-than-expected increase to the minimum wage for this year, to 998 reais ($260) a month from 954 reais.

The real currency strengthened 1 percent by midday Wednesday and the Sao Paulo Bovespa stock index rose 2 percent.

Preferred shares in the country’s largest utility Centrais Eletricas Brasileiras SA jumped over 10 pct after new Energy & Mines Minister Bento Albuquerque said the company would be partially privatized.

Doing even better was gun manufacturer Forjas Taurus SA whose shares rose 27 percent to 5.1 reais on Bolsonaro’s plan to ease gun controls, to help Brazilians arm themselves in self defense against crime.

In his inauguration address on Tuesday, Bolsonaro said his election had freed Latin America’s largest nation from “socialism and political correctness.”

($1 = 3.8048 reais)
Slideshow (2 Images)
Brazil's new far-right government issues decrees across sectors | Reuters


January 2, 2019 - Brazil President's Security Aide says will focus on 'rescuing' Intelligence System
Brazil president's security aide says will focus on 'rescuing' intelligence system | Reuters

RIO DE JANEIRO - Augusto Heleno, Brazil’s new minister of institutional security, said on Wednesday that his main task will be to rescue the country’s intelligence service for far-right President Jair Bolsonaro.

Heleno, one of Bolsonaro’s closest aides and a key player in trying to lower Brazil’s sky-high murder tally, was speaking at the swearing-in ceremony of government ministers, which took place the day after the president’s inauguration.


January 2, 2019 - Pompeo, Brazil's new government target Cuba, Venezuela, Nicaragua
Pompeo, Brazil's new government target Cuba, Venezuela, Nicaragua | Reuters

BRASILIA - U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo discussed supporting a return to democracy in Venezuela, Cuba and Nicaragua with Brazil’s new right-wing government on Wednesday, in a joint effort against what he called authoritarian regimes in Latin America.

Pompeo and Brazil’s Foreign Minister Ernesto Araujo considered deepening cooperation in the region at a meeting in Brasilia following Tuesday’s inauguration of far-right President Jair Bolsonaro.

They discussed “supporting the people of Venezuela, Cuba and Nicaragua in restoring democratic governance and their human rights,” State Department deputy spokesman Robert Palladino said.

Pompeo later met with Bolsonaro and also broached the question of “reinforcing democratic governance and human rights” in those three countries.

Speaking to reporters in Brasilia, Pompeo said Venezuela, Cuba and Nicaragua were countries that do not share the democratic values that unite the United States and Brazil.

“We have an opportunity to work alongside each other against authoritarian regimes,” he said at a news conference.

In response, Venezuela’s foreign ministry said in a statement it “categorically rejected” Pompeo’s “interventionist attitude,” accusing him of seeking to rally support among Latin American countries for “forcible regime change” in Venezuela.

Cuban Communist Party leader Raul Castro on Tuesday blasted the Trump administration for returning to an outdated path of confrontation with his island nation and of intervening in Latin America, in a speech marking the 60th anniversary of Cuba’s revolution.

Pompeo gave no details of how Washington plans to step up pressure for democratic change in Venezuela, Cuba and Nicaragua. He did not address a reporter’s question on whether military intervention would be an option.

More than 3 million Venezuelans have fled hyperinflation and shortages of food and medicine in the OPEC nation, with most of them having left since 2015, according to the United Nations. Nearby South American countries like Brazil and Colombia have received the bulk of the migrants.

The United States has placed sanctions on Venezuela’s debt and on some officials in socialist President Nicolas Maduro’s government, which it accuses of corruption and human rights violations. Maduro frequently blames a U.S.-led “economic war” for the country’s woes.
 
Back
Top Bottom