Brazil / 13 posts found
Argentina’s World Cup hopes hang in balance after Peru stalemate
Argentina are in danger of missing the World Cup for the first time in 48 years after slumping to a 0-0 draw with Peru at La Bombonera The prospect of a World Cup without Lionel Messi edged nearer to reality on Thursday as Argentina struggled to a 0-0 draw with Peru, which left their qualification hopes hanging in the balance. Despite dominating possession in front of a raucous home support at Buenos Aires fabled La Bombonera stadium, Messi and Argentina once again drew a blank to the dismay of their fans. The result left Argentina sixth in South Americas marathon […]
Land grab in Amazon jungle threatens dispossession, violence and murder
President Temer is courting the mining companies and their political backers by breaking into pristine rainforest On 23 August it emerged that the president of Brazil, Michel Temer, had issued a decree abolishing the protected status of an immense area of the corruption charges and needing political allies. There are more than 30 registered political parties in Brazil, and to get anything done in Congress they form bancadas (benches or coalitions). One of the most powerful is the bancada ruralista, consisting of powerful, wealthy agribusiness interests (mostly cattle and soya) together with those who represent mining and other extractive industries. […]
Corrupt Brazilian tycoon among applicants for Portugal’s golden visas
Leaked documents also show relatives of an Angolan politician accused of bribery bought access to Europe via Portugal Business executives implicated in a Brazilian corruption scandal and relatives of an Angolan politician who has been accused of bribery have secretly bought access to Europe via the government of Portugal. A businessman sentenced to 18 years under house arrest and the former president of a scandal-ridden construction conglomerate are also among those named in a leaked document as having paid hundreds of thousands of euros in their pursuit of a golden visa in Portugal. The news follows Europe under EU rules. […]
‘Totally divided’: how Venezuela’s crisis split the Latin American left
After months of political turmoil in the country, Latin Americas once broadly united leftist movement is in disarray In her first international speech as the president of Brazils powerful Workers party, Gleisi Hoffmann waded immediately into controversy when she voiced uncompromising support for Venezuelas president violent offensive by the right and endorsed a controversial new constituent assembly which Maduros critics have described as a bare-faced grab for power. The new body, which was 5,000 people have been arbitrarily detained in Venezuela since April and outlined credible reports of cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment by security forces. The countrys economy is […]
The west is gripped by Venezuelas problems. Why does it ignore Brazils? | Julia Blunck
The undemocratic abuses of Michel Temer arent flashy enough for the news cycle, writes Julia Blunck, a Brazilian writer and translator Venezuela is the question on everyones lips. Rather, Venezuela is the question on reporters lips Nicols Maduro? What is his position on Venezuela, and how does it affect his plans for Britain? The actual problems of Venezuela a complex country with a long history that does not start with the previous president Hugo Chvez and certainly not with Jeremy Corbyn are largely ignored or pushed aside. This is nothing new: most of the time, Latin Americas debates are seen […]
Your Guide to Brazils Crazy Pre-Olympics Political Chaos
Thousands of protesters marching in the streets. Political party leaders investigated by their own governments. Endless finger-pointing over corporate corruption in politics. Demands to lock up politicians. Yes, welcome to the 2016 US presidential election. But if you train your gaze 5,000 miles south, which many Americans will do tonight as the Summer Olympics kick off in Rio de Janeiro, the political turmoil in Brazil looks very much the same. Since Brazilians re-elected Dilma Rousseff as the country’s president in 2014, a corporate corruption scandal has exploded, implicating many of the nation’s top officials. Meanwhile, Rousseff herself is facing an […]
We wont accept a coup: groups unite to save beleaguered Dilma Rousseff
As the Brazilian presidents position weakens, an unlikely popular movement is rallying to her side and many of them do not support her party The song of a bygone struggle against dictatorship echoed through Brazils cities last week as trade unionists, social activists and musicians rallied against what they see as a coup against president Dilma Rousseff. Geraldo Vandrs 1968 melody Pra no dizer que no falei das Flores (So they cant say I didnt sing about the flowers) harks back to an era of flower power and brutal military rule, but it has been revived in a very modern […]
Brazil turns right as old elite wastes no time erasing Workers’ party influence
In just a week, centre-right government has scaled back social policies as ideological shift already has sparked outrage and fear of going backward It is just a week since bolsa familia poverty relief system. Four thousand government jobs have been cut. The culture ministry has been subsumed into education. For the interim government and its supporters, these austerity measures represent sound fiscal management as they attempt to rein in the governments budget deficit and restore market confidence in Brazil, which has seen its sovereign debt rating who is suspended pending her impeachment trial in the senate. Renato Boschi, a professor […]
