172 replies to this topic

[caltrek]

Latin America's 'Pink Tide' Ebbs to New Low in Brazil

 

https://www.yahoo.co...760.html?ref=gs

 

Extract:

 

...Brazil's Senate has convicted Rousseff.

 

Giant Brazil was a leader in the regional movement, providing two of its most emblematic presidents: Rousseff and her once hugely popular predecessor, Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva.

 

They brought radical street cred from the bad old days in Latin America.

 

She was an urban guerrilla jailed and tortured by the military regime installed after Brazil's 1964 coup. He was a rabble-rousing steelworker who helped lead the fight for democracy.

 

But they also brought business-friendly economic policies to blend with revolutionary social programs.

 

Lula took office in 2003 with a mission to turn Brazil into a middle-class powerhouse driven by consumer spending.

 

He was lucky to arrive just in time for the emerging markets boom, when demand from a ravenous China fueled soaring prices for the region's oil, minerals and other commodities.

When he handed over to Rousseff after two terms, economic growth stood at 7.5 percent. More than 29 million Brazilians had escaped poverty.

…

But it all came crashing down.. for the entire region, which is facing its second year of recession this year.

 

"Clearly the commodity dependency remains greater than some people thought," (William) LeoGrande, (a political scientist at American University in Washington) said.

 

Rousseff is charged with using unauthorized state loans to plug budget holes. Unofficially, she is taking the blame for Brazil's worst recession in 80 years and a multi-billion-dollar corruption scandal at the state oil company Petrobras.

 

Lula, still seen as potential comeback material in 2018, faces corruption charges in the scandal and risks watching the election from jail.

 

Some supporters say the Workers' Party (PT) turned too pink for its own good, cozying up to parties that wanted only the keys to the government pork barrel, and forgetting its roots.

 

The PT "slowly alienated its base, stopped training new leadership, allied with centrist and right-wing parties to guarantee 'governability' and had leading party figures involved in corruption," Jose Oscar Beozzo, a Brazilian leftist theologian, told AFP by email.

 

The party "was devastated by pragmatism and alliances," said the openly critical PT veteran Tarso Genro, who served in Lula's cabinet.

…

Despite Rousseff's argument that her impeachment is a "coup," the region has come a long way since the Cold War, when coups meant tanks in the streets.

…

The good news for the left in the new democratic era, he added, is that the right has never proved any better at managing economic crises.

 

"All of the center-right parties and right-wing parties that are benefiting from the collapse of the left everywhere in Latin America themselves suffered a similar collapse a decade ago," he said.

 

"Democracy is a wonderful thing."

[caltrek]

I suppose at some point a new thread regarding Brazil needs to be created now that the impeachment has been completed. Still, there is a lot of post-impeachment fall-out to be reviewed and (possibly) discussed:

 

 

New Brazilian President Booed During Paralympic Games Opening Ceremony

 

 

http://www.upi.com/T.../?spt=sec&or=tn

 

Introduction:

 

RIO DE JANEIRO, Sept. 8 (UPI) -- Brazilian President Michel Temer, who formally took his post after Dilma Rousseff's recent impeachment, was booed during the opening ceremony of the 2016 Paralympic Games in Rio de Janeiro on Wednesday.

 

The ceremony came a day after Rousseff left her presidential residence following her removal from the presidency. Temer, who played a minor role in the ceremony by opening up the Games and handing over ceremonial roles to performers, was booed by the crowd -- made up of mostly Brazilians.

 

Carlos Nuzman, Rio Olympics 2016 organizing committee president, was also booed prior to Temer, who served as Rousseff's vice president. Rousseff has accused Temer of playing a part in the alleged "coup d'etat" against her that saw her removal.

 

Temer has also been linked to a corruption investigation related to the Petrobras bribery scandal. Dozens of politicians have been indicted on corruption, money laundering and racketeering in the Petrobras scandal, in which Brazilian Federal Police said indicted members moved over $3.9 billion in what police term as "atypical" financial transactions.

 

Rousseff supporters have protested against Temer and his alleged role in removing the former president -- with some calling him the "Usurper."

 

Aaron "Wheelz" Fotheringham, an American Paralympian, on Wednesday performed a back flip through a giant ring after rolling down a large ramp in Rio de Janeiro's Maracana stadium during the opening ceremony of the 2016 Paralympic Games. Photo courtesy of Olympic Information Services

[caltrek]

More information casting light on the motives of the coup plotters:

 

Brazil's Congress Sneaks a Grab at Self-Amnesty

 

https://theintercept...ruling-faction/

 

Extract:

 

… the leaders of the House of Deputies late last night attempted to sneak into their voting schedule a sleazy bill that would grant themselves amnesty from having violated campaign finance laws. This happened with Brazil’s installed president, Michel Temer, out of the country speaking this morning at the U.N. (where he remarkably praised impeachment as a “model” against corruption as he was surrounded by his own corruption-implicated ministers), while the new president of the House, Rodrigo Maia…assumed the position of “interim president” of the republic in Temer’s absence…the plot was thwarted by vehement objections principally led by two relatively small parties (PSOL and Rede) and supported by members from a few others…

The retroactive amnesty they tried to enact is aimed at so-called caixa dois: the covert funds candidates receive and then spend on their campaigns without officially declaring them as expenditures or donations. Long used by politicians to get massive largesse from large corporations and oligarchs without any detection or legal accountability, this dark practice has been brought to light as part of the country’s sweeping “Lava Jato” corruption investigation.

That’s why these leading members of Congress are now so eager to retroactively immunize themselves from consequences: because so many of the most powerful members of Brazil’s Congress — including the ones who denounced “corruption” as they led the way in impeaching Dilma — are implicated and in serious danger from having broken these laws. So they’re now trying to pass a new law preventing their own punishment, demonstrating exactly what impeachment opponents have long warned (and Temer’s close ally Romero Jucá admitted while being secretly recorded) was the real goal of removing Dilma: to enable the truly corrupt to use their undemocratically obtained power to protect themselves from investigations and prosecution.

…the list of who is in danger from having engaged in this specific form of campaign corruption...includes installed President Temer himself, accused of receiving millions in such funds; his Foreign Minister José Serra, who purportedly received 23 million reals from the construction giant Odebrecht; the Senate leader of Temer’s government, Aloysio Nunes, accused by two informants of having received such illegal funds; the right-wing senator defeated by Dilma in 2014, Aécio Neves, who is alleged to have received 1 million reals in illegal funds; and the current Senate President Renan Calheiros of Temer’s party, said to be the biggest recipient with 32 million reals.

Most important of all on this list is the new House president, Rodrigo Maia, whom the attorney general has placed under formal investigation after he was caught on tape asking the now-imprisoned head of construction giant OAS for 250,000 reals, which was never declared on his campaign forms. After getting caught on tape, Maia now claims that the funds he received were not for his campaign, but for that of his father — who was just weeks ago removed from his position as city councilman due to his own corruption.

All of those officials implicated in this law breaking voted in favor of Dilma’s impeachment. That removal dramatically increased their own power as part of the unelected center-right coalition that, despite not being able to win a national election, took over the government once Dilma was gone. To justify their impeachment support, they all gave righteous speeches about the need to combat corruption in politics. And now, with the power they obtained from that impeachment, they are acting to shield themselves from corruption investigations and the consequences of lawbreaking (notably, key members of PT are also implicated in caixa dois investigations, and the party itself thus appeared on board with this amnesty law even as particular individual members joined the objections).

...Journalists attempted — without success — to find out who specifically was responsible for putting this bill on the voting schedule. This all happened when the third-ranking House member, Beto Mansur, was technically in charge (because Temer was out of the country, House President Maia was acting president of the country, and the chamber’s vice president was absent), so that this obscure official would appear to be responsible for all this. But as the UOL journalist Josias de Souza reported, Mansur, after first pinning it on Maia, thereafter literally refused to say who was responsible for its being placed on the voting calendar, incredibly claiming he “did not know” and — in a hilarious use of the passive tense — would say only that it simply “was put” there.

…PSOL’s leader, Ivan Valente, put it this way as he vowed to stop it: “It’s unbelievable, intolerable, a scandal, a hoax. Soon OAS and Odebrechet are ready to inform [about caixa dois] and you’re going to free dozens of members of Congress and companies” from their guilt?

…Convinced of their own entitlement and ability to act without consequence, there is no doubt they will try again to lavish themselves with amnesty while nobody is looking.

[caltrek]

Could Brazil's Congress Sink Giant Anti-corruption Drive?

 

https://www.yahoo.com/news/could-brazils-congress-sink-giant-anti-corruption-drive-103933668.html?ref=gs

 

Extract:

 

Brasília (AFP) - As Brazil's biggest ever corruption probe creeps higher up the political food chain, there are signs that Congress could be looking for a way to bring it to an end.

 

…Ironically, one of these measures could be a proposed law toughening anti-corruption rules.

 

The measure would stiffen penalties for undeclared donations to political campaigns. However the sting in the tail is that the law would not apply retroactively, effectively giving the parties already suspected of receiving dirty money an amnesty.

 

…Meanwhile, the lower house has shelved for now a bill that sought to give amnesty to executives if their businesses admit guilt and aid investigators.

 

"If this bill is approved in the middle of the night... it will allow amnesty for crimes investigated…" prosecutors said in a notably strong statement

[caltrek]

Corruption Scandals Engulf the Faction that Impeached Dilma

 

https://theintercept.com/2016/11/25/in-brazil-major-new-corruption-scandals-engulf-the-faction-that-impeached-dilma/

 

Excerpt:

 

A PRIMARY ARGUMENT MADE by opponents of impeaching Brazilian president Dilma Rousseff was that removing her would immediately empower the truly corrupt politicians in Brasília – the ones who were the driving force behind her impeachment – and they would then use that power to kill ongoing corruption investigations and shield themselves from consequences for their own law-breaking. … Dilma’s impeachment was not designed to punish corruption but to protect it.

 

…In late September, a bill appeared in Congress… that would have retroactively protected any member of Congress from being punished for the use of so-called “caixa dois” (second box) monies in campaigns, whereby politicians receive under-the-table contributions from oligarchs and corporations that they do not declare.

 

…When this amnesty bill first appeared in September, it was done in such a way to prevent anyone from noticing, or finding out who was responsible. At the time, The Intercept Brasil described it as a move that “shocked even the most longtime, jaded observers of corrupt Brasília plotting.” That effort failed when two left-wing parties, PSOL and Rede, blew the whistle and impeded parliamentary efforts that would have enabled quick enactment (as disclosure: my husband, David Miranda, was elected to Rio’s City Council last month on a PSOL ticket). But as we ended our September article by noting: “Convinced of their own entitlement and ability to act without consequence, there is no doubt they will try again to lavish themselves with amnesty while nobody is looking.”

 

….So here we have the very same people who impeached the democratically elected president in the name of punishing corruption and upholding the rule of law, using their ill-gotten power to shield themselves from accountability for their own political crimes. From the start, this was the fraud at the heart of Dilma’s impeachment, and it is hard to put into words how clear and obvious it has now become. Even the star columnist for O Globo – the newspaper that most agitated for impeachment – is now admitting that the central anti-impeachment argument is being proven correct, tweeting yesterday: “Approval of caixa dois amnesty reinforces PT’s argument that Dilma was removed so that the Lava Jato corruption investigation could be stymied.”

 

That this was the true goal of impeachment all along was beyond obvious. 

 

 

[caltrek]

With the impeachment of Dilma Rousseff now in the past, the title of this thread is becoming increasingly dated.  Still, the saga of what happens next in Brazil continues.  So I will leave this post here so that previous stories can serve as a context for current events.

 

Thousands Protest Corruption, Support Judiciary in Brazil

 

http://www.foxnews.c...-in-brazil.html

 

Introduction:

 

 

RIO DE JANEIRO –  Tens of thousands of protesters took to the streets in cities across Brazil on Sunday to express disgust with public corruption and outrage at what they say are lawmakers' attempts to muzzle the judges and prosecutors pursuing those crimes.

 

Protesters, many dressed in the green and yellow of Brazil's flag, massed along a major artery in Sao Paulo and along Copacabana beach in Rio de Janeiro. Other protests were held in cities around the country. Many demonstrators wore T-shirts or held banners in support of Sergio Moro, the judge who has led a hard-charging investigation into a kickback scheme involving the national oil company, several construction conglomerates and politicians.

 

The investigation, known as Operation Car Wash, has shocked Brazilians both for the scale of corruption it has revealed and for the commitment of the judiciary to see it through in a country where many feel the rich and powerful act with impunity.

 

But Sunday's demonstrations also united a motley group of protesters whose only common cause appeared to be disgust with elected officials. They represented a cross-section of an increasingly fractured Brazil. In addition to those supporting the corruption investigation, some held signs calling for the removal from office of the president and leaders in Congress. Some called for the jailing of a former president now facing corruption charges. Still others were advocating a return to military rule.

 

"I want people who have character running the country," said Regina Medeiros, a 67-year-old retiree, who held a banner that read: "Let's finish with political parties before they finish Brazil." ''People are losing faith in other human beings," she added.

[caltrek]

Protests Erupt in Brazil Over Controversial 20-year Austerity Plan

 

http://www.cnn.com/2...plan/index.html

 

Introduction:

 

Fierce protests erupted in 15 Brazilian cities Tuesday as the country's Senate approved a controversial 20-year austerity plan.

 

Known as PEC 55, the constitutional amendment imposes a cap on public spending that will limit federal investment in social programs for the next 20 years.

Brazil's Senate approved the spending bill 53 to 16, and it is expected to become law Thursday.

 

Brazilian President Michael Temer -- who assumed office in late August -- praised the move, referring to the bill as the "first amendment aimed at getting the country out of recession."

 

The government hopes that the spending cap, combined with a proposed pension reform, will lure investors back to Brazil, bringing an end to the worst recession in decades.

 

Demonstrators clash with police during a protest in front of the National Congress in Brasilia on December 13, 2016

[Yuli Ban]

We've been talking about about a lot of geopolitical havoc lately. India's demonetization crisis, South Korea's presidential crisis, Venezuela's increasingly dystopian depression, South Sudanese civil war and famine, Britain's Brexit calamity, America's Trump chaos, tensions between Germany and Turkey, Greece's Eurozone havoc and continuing depression, and Italy's banking nightmare that threatens to erupt into a severe recession at any moment once a second bank has to be bailed out.
 
Let's throw in Brazil! Another one of the BRICS is fucking itself apart.
 
 
Brazil’s Economy Shrinks for Second Straight Year
Brazil’s economy enters worst recession on record
Brazil Tumbles Deeper Into Its Worst Depression

Brazil's economy has fallen further into its worst ever recession, contracting by 3.6 percent in 2016 and pressure is mounting on policymakers to stimulate growth.
 
The former Latin American powerhouse recorded a steeper-than-expected decline of 0.9 percent gross domestic product (GDP) in the final quarter of last year, intensifying the economic contraction that has imbued Brazil for eight consecutive quarters — the longest period of decline on record for the country.
The two-year slump has hit almost all economic sectors, causing unemployment to rise 12.6 percent, according to the data released Tuesday by IBGE, the agency responsible for recording Brazil's economic figures.
 
Brazil was once one of the world's fastest-growing economies, positioning it as the "'B" in the Brics countries.

The economy is growing again.... very slightly. It's very shaky, very unstable.

[caltrek]

Brazil’s Politicians Feel the Heat as Carwash Investigation Closes In

 

https://www.bloomber...oses-in?ref=yfp

 

Extract:

 

Brazil’s chief public prosecutor has requested investigations into at least five members of the cabinet, the heads of both houses of Congress and former Presidents Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva and Dilma Rousseff, according to local media reports.

 

Three years into an epic corruption scandal, prosecutor Rodrigo Janot has handed the Supreme Court a list of dozens of politicians he suspects received bribes. Though the content of the list remains under judicial seal, O Folha de Sao Paulo and O Globo reported on Tuesday evening the names of a wide range of senior Brazilian politicians who are allegedly on the list.

 

…Lula and Rousseff have also been targeted, according to local media. Lula’s press office declined to comment while Rousseff’s lawyer Alberto Toron said he wouldn’t comment until officially notified.

 

The Brazilian Democratic Movement Party, or PMDB, said in a text message that it supports the Carwash probe and reiterated the need to reach the truth in the investigation. The party’s members include President Michel Temer, as well as Calheiros, Juca, Oliveira, Padilha and Moreira Franco.

 

Carwash Scandal

 

The request is the latest development in Operation Carwash, a sprawling investigation into corruption at the state-run oil company, Petrobras, that has landed dozens of the country’s top business elite in jail. To date, most of the politicians implicated in the scandal have not faced prosecution. Janot’s inquiry to the Supreme Court means that criminal proceedings are a step closer.

[Yuli Ban]

An estimated 35 million workers in Brazil are participating in what is predicted to be the largest labor strike in the country’s history

Workers across Brazil on Friday are participating in the country’s first national strike since 1996 in rejection of the unpopular labor reforms, which contain controversial measures that could undermine the power of unions and collective bargaining agreements.
 
Public transportation across the country came to a halt effectively paralyzing mobility across much of country. The strike, which began in the early hours on Friday morning, includes the support and participation from virtually all major sectors of the economy including banking, education, industry, and agricultural workers.

[Yuli Ban]

Brazil stocks plunge 10% on emerging political scandal

• The Brazilian Bovespa fell more than 10 percent in opening trade.
• The iShares MSCI Brazil Capped ETF (EWZ), a widely followed ETF that tracks Brazilian stocks, crashed more than 17 percent in the premarket Thursday on the back of an emerging political scandal.
• Brazilian newspaper O Globo reported late Wednesday that Brazilian President Michel Temer gave his blessing to an attempt to pay a potential witness to remain silent in the country's biggest-ever graft probe.

[Alislaws]

Wow! He has been president for less than a year since the last president was removed from power on corruption charges. If they cant get someone for the job who is honest (and it seems they can't) can they not find someone who is at least competent enough not to get caught?

[Guyverman1990]

If Trump does get impeached, leaving Pence to take his place, the latter is likely bound to become even less popular than his predecessor and will almost certainly loose the next election to a Democrat candidate.

[Yuli Ban]

If Trump does get impeached, leaving Pence to take his place, the latter is likely bound to become even less popular than his predecessor and will almost certainly loose the next election to a Democrat candidate.

Wrong thread, mate.

[Yuli Ban]

Brazil's President Michel Temer is barely hanging on to power, accused of corruption and obstruction of justice following leaked secret recordings that appear to show him authorizing bribes

Brazil's President Michel Temer is barely hanging on to power, accused of corruption and obstruction of justice following leaked secret recordings that appear to show him authorising bribes.
Temer has denied any wrongdoing and has so far refused to resign. Yet, analysts believe that his exit from the presidency is more than likely - though how and when still remain unclear.

[Alislaws]

The problem is, just about everyone in their govt. seems to be corrupt, maybe next election there will be an anti corruption party, running all new candidates, with the platform:

 

"We may not be competent! We may not even agree on any political issues! But we promise complete financial transparency! All our financial transactions will be available to the public for the duration of our time in office

[tierbook]

The problem is, just about everyone in their govt. seems to be corrupt, maybe next election there will be an anti corruption party, running all new candidates, with the platform:

 

"We may not be competent! We may not even agree on any political issues! But we promise complete financial transparency! All our financial transactions will be available to the public for the duration of our time in office

An entire government body filled with Donald Trump knock offs....

[caltrek]

Oh, I think you guys have totally missed the point. Dilma was a fundamentally honest leader.  She was impeached precisely because she was the last honest leader Brazil had. Then it became open season for the sharks to go into a feeding frenzy.

 

I am not saying Dilma was perfect.  Perhaps she did fail to cross a few "t"s of dot a few "i"s.  that is how they tripped her up.  Sure, the Olympics were not a shining example of how it should be done, but they were not bad for a developing country. Yes, Japan will probably do far better. 

 

Point is, she tried to develop the economy. Fat chance given the sharks that dominate politics in that country. Impeaching Dilma was evil. It was done because they had the power to do it.  Maybe one day you folks will get around to figuring all of that out.

[Alislaws]

I knew about it, mostly from reading links from this forum! The point i was making was more about his incredible incompetence, and the ridiculous levels of corruption in the Brazilian govt.

when i said:

If they cant get someone for the job who is honest (and it seems they can't)

 

 

What i should have said is: "if they can't get someone for the job who is honest (and it seems they can't because they just get deposed by all the corrupt politicians)"

 

So the only way to deal  with the situation, would be to start electing politicians solely on the fact that they're not corrupt, and who cares about anything else. (Within reason! Hitler never embezzled any money as far as i know) 

 

once you have mostly honest politicians, you can start worrying about what direction to move the country. (After locking up all the old ones, and taking back all the money they stole)

[caltrek]

After Latest Bombshells, Only Michel Temer’s Removal and New Elections Can Save Brazil’s Democracy

 

https://theintercept...zils-democracy/

 

 

Introduction:

 

WHEN MICHEL TEMER was permanently installed as president less than one year ago after the impeachment of elected President Dilma Rousseff, the primary justification offered by Brazilian media figures was that he would bring stability and unity to a country beset by political and economic crisis. From the start, the opposite has been true: Temer and his closest allies were a vessel for far more corruption, controversy, instability, and shame than anything that preceded them. His approval ratings have literally collapsed to single digits.

 

But yesterday’s emergence of proof showing just how dirty and corrupt Temer is makes the situation utterly unsustainable. Leaks from the ongoing corruption investigation reveal that Temer was caught on tape in March endorsing an executive’s ongoing payment of bribes to maintain the silence of Eduardo Cunha, the formerly omnipotent, now-imprisoned house speaker who presided over Dilma’s impeachment and belongs to Temer’s party. Temer had already faced allegations of deep involvement in bribes and illegal contributions, but that could be overlooked because — unlike now — no smoking gun existed.

 

 

Meanwhile, Dilma’s 2014 opponent in the presidential campaign — conservative Senator Aécio Neves (shown above with Temer at the latter’s inauguration), whose party led Dilma’s impeachment and now dominates Temer’s government — was caught on tape requesting 2 million reals from a businessman. He was removed this morning from his seat by a Supreme Court ruling, had his office raided, and now faces immediate imprisonment. Aécio’s sister was imprisoned this morning as part of the corruption investigation.

 

In sum, the two key figures driving Dilma’s impeachment were just revealed to be hardened criminals, with documentary evidence — audio recordings, videos, and online chats — which all Brazilians will soon see, hear, and read. The exact type of smoking gun evidence that Brazil’s notoriously biased corporate media searched for with futility for years against Dilma was just discovered against the two key figures that drove her impeachment, one of whom they installed as president.

 

To say that this situation — Temer’s ongoing presidency — is unsustainable is an understatement.