The courts of the northeastern Pernambuco state have seized the assets of various celebrity targets, including private planes and luxury vehicles. They have also blocked their financial assets, amounting to over three billion reais (approximately $600 million).

If the estimates of international studies and reports are confirmed, this is just the tip of the iceberg. Groups like the Financial Action Task Force (FATF) and the United Nations estimate that 2%–5% of the global Gross Domestic Product (GDP) comes from activities that attempt to legitimize illegal money. When applied to Brazil, the money laundered annually varies between 200 billion and 500 billion reais (over $35 billion and $88 billion, respectively). The rest of the report paints a picture of the rest of the iceberg — the laundromat called Brazil.

The Brazilian bookie boom

The greed for easy, exorbitant profits found fertile ground in Brazil around 2018, when there was an explosion of bookies for gambling. Up until then, the Council for the Control of Financial Activities (COAF) — the body responsible for preventing and combating money laundering and terrorist financing — received around one million tips from institutions about suspicious operations. This number rose to 3.6 million in 2019 and hit a record high last year, at 7.6 million. The institution, which produced 3,178 financial intelligence reports (RIFs) a decade ago, quintupled that number in 2023, with 16,411 RIFs.

Starting in 2025, the government will enforce a requirement that fixed-odds betting sites operating in the Brazilian market have a checking mechanism. The goal is to prevent the space from being used for financial crime.

The explosive combination of greed and betting sites stems from the fact that bets have almost qualified for the money laundering practices manual. The sites allow or facilitate frequent, fractionated deposits and withdrawals, which make it more difficult to trace the origin of funds; the use of false identities, which allows fraudsters to create multiple accounts and, above all, cryptocurrencies as payment, which guarantee anonymity. The complexity and high number of possible betting methods coupled with the huge volume of financial transactions makes it easy to reinsert dirty funds into the formal market.

“I’m sure that more than half of the profits from illegal gambling take the route of digitalizing bets,” said an anonymous IT executive who specializes in financial transactions.

The key figures in the web of legal and illegal gambling relationships and the main method of Brazilian money laundering are not Bezerra or Lima. Rather, two men, a father and son sharing the name Darwin Henrique da Silva Filho, led the seizure that triggered Operation Integration. In December 2022, police collected 180,000 reais (nearly $32,000) from the headquarters of da Silva’s father’s company, Caminho da Sorte, in Pernambuco’s capital city of Recife. Since 1999, this company has been the biggest name in the illegal gambling game, jogo do bicho (“animal game”), in Recife. Along with the money, police collected a notebook containing, according to the police report, “daily notes of bets and prizes paid out from the game of bicho and soccer, betting slips with the letterhead of the Caminho da Sorte and Esportes da Sorte stalls, accounts from some physical stores.” This “demonstrates the umbilical relationship between the two types of activity classified as criminal contraventions.”

The investigation also points to the digitalization of Brazilian financial laundries — in this case, Filho, who was arrested in the same operation as Bezerra. His father comes from a time when the most common operation among fraudsters was the use of front companies, or companies posing as part of Brazil’s massive orange industry, to launder money raised through illegal means. Many bicheiros — operators who run jogo do bicho games — and owners of slot machines, bingos and illegal casinos used this tactic.

The trick was for them to become serial entrepreneurs, with several corporations operating regularly and a few trading companies with astronomically unrealistic turnover compared to the number of employees or services provided. If a tax audit were to be carried out, the business owner would have his seven or eight regular companies to show to make up for his own smoothness in “business,” and any connection with a dubious one. Filho, for example, has seven companies registered in his name. One of them is Esportes da Sorte, a bookie opened in 2018 and based in the Caribbean tax haven of Curaçao.

Legal loopholes

Curaçao, along with Malta, is home to the vast majority of bookies. They remain the destination for most of the money from the Brazilian criminal market. Since the days when bicheiros and slot machine owners wore flashy gold chains under patterned, open-chested shirts, these have been the preferred locations for money laundering. That’s why the businesses which have passed down through the generations have always maintained legal bodies on the tax islands.

Lawyers with knowledge of all the minutiae and loopholes in local legislation had their paths mapped out when bookies opened their headquarters in the localities, through which the proceeds of illicit activities could enter Brazil. “Outside Brazil, the financial systems are more rigid and nullify these paths,” the IT executive said.

They began by following the path indicated by the central banks of the countries where bets are placed, such as Brazil. With the consolidation of a digital betting company, the counterfeit money is converted to digital with the purchase of cryptocurrencies on an exchange, which is the platform for buying, selling, trading and storing virtual money.

The money is generally bought from one of Brazil’s dozens of exchanges that operate on the fringes of regulation — only 14 are legal here. The money travels untraceably to the tax haven where it is traded and becomes legal tender. “I’d guess that around 80% of the bets have a bicheiro behind them. The ones that don’t are the ones established abroad before coming here, like Bet365, Betano and 1XBet,” the IT executive stated.

This illegal market is extremely lucrative. It’s worth an estimated 10 billion reais (over $1.7 billion) a year, occupied by around 60% slot machines, 35% gambling and the rest between bingos and casinos.

As for the other major loophole in digital legislation, crash games such as Aviator and Tigrinho — which have players bet on a multiplier value that rapidly increases until the game crashes — account for half of the online casino network and an estimated 35 billion reais (approximately $6.1 billion) in annual revenue. The operators export the technology here and import the profits. The owners of the brand offer white label use; interested parties register their own domain, use the game code and offer it to the public in exchange for sharing the revenue with the creators.

In order to operate by receiving deposits in pixels, interested parties must set up an account with a fintech or financial agent that accepts them. Thus, the fiscal responsibility falls on them and the brand can simply wash its hands of it, claiming no involvement with the practice. Despite this, crash games were legalized in Brazil in 2023 and are currently being implemented by bookies.

Bezerra and Lima’s cases

This affiliate system is similar to the one that recently splashed across the media with Bezerra and then Lima’s faces. Celebrities who convey an image of integrity are sought out by betting companies, offering to share profits based on the number of punters they attract. The same tactic has been used by other fraudsters in the government’s opening to digital betting companies interested in operating legally in the country from 2025.

One of the 113 that agreed to pay 30 million reais (over $5.2 million) to obtain a license is Zeroumbet, owned by Bezerra. It placed the deposit on August 20 with the intention of operating legitimately. A careful look at the list reveals several other common names in slot machines and bingo parlors, simply to give a veneer of legality to the dubious activities of their investors.

Another much more eye-catching way of reintegrating dirty money into the formal market is through the acquisition and sale of luxury goods. This is how the connection between Bezerra and Filho was presented in the media. The influencer bought a Lamborghini Urus from the businessman for 3.85 million reais (over $675,000), paid cash and raised suspicions of “laundering money from gambling and sports betting.” The courts ordered that 34 million reais (over $5.9 million) be blocked from her bank accounts. Bezerra declared that she earns 1.5 million reais (over $263,000) per month.

In the case of Lima, Judge Andrea Calado da Cruz, who ordered his arrest, states that he gave “harbored fugitives” — José André da Rocha Neto and his wife, Aislla Rocha — during a trip from the city of Goiânia, Brazil to Greece on the singer’s private plane. This couple was investigated in the operation for being partners to lead bookie Vai de Bet. As heir to the real estate business, André has more than 30 companies to his name.

“It is imperative to point out that Nivaldo Batista Lima [Gusttavo Lima’s real name], by harboring fugitives, shows an alarming lack of consideration for justice. His intense financial relationship with these individuals, which includes suspicious transactions, raises serious questions about his own participation in criminal activities. His company’s connection to the money laundering network suggests a commitment that cannot be ignored,” the judge added.

The police also seized an airplane that belonged to Lima’s company, Balada Eventos e Produções. The singer’s lawyer said the aircraft had been sold to another company owned by Vai de Bet, but the National Civil Aviation Agency claims Lima is still the owner. The bookie even sponsored Sport Club Corinthians Paulista in a now-broken contract, worth 360 million reais (over $63 million), for three seasons and support for Buteco, Brazil’s biggest country music festival. Through companies Balada Eventos e Produções Ltda. and GSA Empreendimentos e Participações Ltda, the artist has received around 49.4 million reais (over $8.7 million) since last year from Vai de Bet and Filho’s Esportes da Sorte. His involvement doesn’t seem to be ending, as the singer acquired 25% of the latter on June 1.

A few hours before his (now ended) arrest on September 22, Lima appeared at Rock in Rio posing for photos with the music festival’s creator, Roberto Medina. Before the decision was published, he traveled to Miami, Florida with his wife, where he owns property worth 65 million reais (over $11.3 million). From there, he phoned controversial São Paulo mayoral candidate Pablo Marçal, who reassured fans that his friend “is fine.”

“Regardless of their financial condition, no one can evade justice … Wealth should not serve as a shield for impunity, nor as a means of escaping legal responsibilities. The application of the law must be equitable, ensuring that everyone, regardless of their social or economic position, is accountable for their actions. The attempt to escape legal consequences through financial connections is an affront to the fundamental principles of the rule of law and to the very notion of justice,” the judge of Recife’s 12th Criminal Court concludes. Here’s a tip for punters.

[Lee Thompson-Kolar edited this piece.]

The views expressed in this article are the author’s own and do not necessarily reflect Fair Observer’s editorial policy.

The post Celebrities and Money Laundering Make Brazilian Gambling a Popular Laundromat appeared first on Fair Observer.

São Paulo, one of 10 states affected by smoke and soot from the Amazon by late August, found relief on Friday, August 23, when a cold front arrived. The temperature dropped by 12°C, bringing some hope of cleaner air. That same morning, at 10:30 AM, IPAM (the Amazon Environmental Research Institute) satellites noticed an unusual rise in smoke columns. Within 90 minutes, the number of fire hotspots in the state had skyrocketed from 25 to 1,886, surpassing even the Amazon’s total. This sudden spike reflects a troubling year, as land clearing for agriculture drives most of the fires.

While authorities haven’t officially declared the fires to be arson, evidence strongly suggests it. Over half of the fires were in sugarcane fields, with 20% in pastures and 17% in other crops. Nearly 4,000 rural properties were affected across 144 municipalities, with 48 placed on high alert. São Paulo saw a record number of fires this August — seven times more than the same month in 2023. Experts don’t hesitate to attribute this to human activity. “Fires started in 50 municipalities at once. That means 99.9% of them were caused by people,” said National Civil Defense Secretary Wolnei Wolff. “It’s unnatural to have so many fires break out in such a short time. It’s like São Paulo’s own ‘Fire Day,’” added Ane Alencar, IPAM’s Science Director.

Alencar compares August 23 to Brazil’s 2019 “Fire Day,” when ranchers and land grabbers organized mass fires in the Amazon, burning 1,457 areas simultaneously. The fires prepared land for farming and cattle while also challenging environmental regulators under then-Minister Ricardo Salles. “I monitor satellite images daily, and I’ve rarely seen Brazil covered in smoke like this. It’s almost impossible that these fires were natural,” says Marcelo Seluchi, a climatologist at INPE. Alencar adds, “Fire remains a key tool in Brazilian agriculture, used to renew pastures and clear biomass from deforestation, making way for crops or grazing land.”

The fires tend to flare up between July and October, Brazil’s dry season, with 80% of fires occurring during this period. However, 2024 presents an extra threat. According to Brazil’s National Center for Monitoring and Alerts of Natural Disasters (CEMADEN), the country is experiencing its longest drought in central regions in 44 years. Over 70% of municipalities are dealing with some level of drought.

The record-setting number of fires in São Paulo is echoed in other states. Minas Gerais saw the highest fire activity in 13 years, while Mato Grosso experienced a 260% increase compared to 2023. Fires doubled in the Cerrado region. “I’d say 95% of this is linked to human activity. Fires were once controlled for land preparation, but today’s hotter and drier conditions make them harder to manage, even when not intended to spread,” says José Marengo, a CEMADEN researcher.

The Pantanal, one of the world’s largest wetlands, saw a 3,316% rise in fires in August, with 3,758 fires compared to just 110 in 2023. In the Amazon, over 50,000 fires have been recorded since the start of the year. These fires send smoke across the country, creating a vast corridor of haze. During “Fire Day” in 2019, São Paulo turned dark in the middle of the afternoon as smoke blotted out the sun. In August 2024, the smoke tinted the skies shades of orange and red across Brazil.

Weak laws exacerbate Brazil’s situation

If investigations confirm the fires in São Paulo were deliberate, the motives could range from defiance of environmental laws to political or economic messages. One thing is clear, though — such acts continue because of the impunity surrounding them.

In August, Greenpeace Brazil released a report marking five years since the 2019 “Fire Day.” They examined 478 properties linked to coordinated burns and found that 65% of the areas had been sanctioned for violations, but only 10% for illegal fires. Fines for these environmental crimes totaled around 1.3 billion reais ($232.2 million), yet only 41,000 reais ($7,300) had been paid. Some of these properties even received over 200 million reais ($35.7 million) in rural credit. Despite this, no one has been arrested in five years.

Spain offers a stark contrast. In 2006, after a rise in human-caused fires, Spain passed a law prohibiting the sale, reclassification, or use of burned land for 30 years. This led to a significant drop in arson driven by speculation. In Brazil, if banks stopped giving credit to rural properties involved in illegal burns, it could make a major difference.

Brazil’s laws on fires are weak. While burning is technically illegal in forests and native vegetation, there are exceptions. Fires can be authorized for “specific cases” by environmental agencies, and controlled burns for agriculture are allowed in “exceptional cases.” This loophole has resulted in 25% of the country’s land — an area larger than Mexico — being destroyed by fire between 1985 and 2023. “In Brazil, we have two main laws for forest fires. The first punishes anyone who starts a fire with 2 to 4 years in prison, plus a fine, if it’s intentional, and 6 months to 1 year if it’s accidental,” explains criminal lawyer Enzo Fachini. “If a fire is set in crops, pastures, or forests, the sentence can be 4 to 8 years.”

Despite these laws, little happens. “We’ll assess the damage with rural unions and offer support. Agribusiness is crucial to the state,” said São Paulo Governor Tarcísio de Freitas on the second “Fire Day.”

The São Paulo Department of Agriculture estimates losses at $1 billion reais ($178.6 million). Six people were arrested for suspected criminal actions, and two firefighters died fighting the flames. The smoke that blanketed much of the country led to a 60% rise in emergency medical visits due to poor air quality, mostly affecting children and the elderly.

Supreme Court Minister Flávio Dino ordered the Defense, Justice, and Environment Ministries to urgently mobilize resources to fight the fires in the Pantanal and Amazon. However, with a 78% rise in fires between January and August compared to 2023, the situation remains critical. “We haven’t even reached the worst part yet — September,” warned Alencar.

The views expressed in this article are the author’s own and do not necessarily reflect Fair Observer’s editorial policy.

The post Out-of-Control Wildfires Have Brazil Gasping For Air appeared first on Fair Observer.

The Judiciary branch thus corrected the limbo that the Legislative branch created in 2006 when it established the National System of Public Policies on Drugs (Sisnad). This law does not differentiate between users and traffickers. For 18 years, it was up to police officers and judges to differentiate, and punitive blunders like this were made chiefly in the lower courts. Few cases were lucky enough to go up to the Court of Justice or the Supreme Court. 

That is, until the Supreme Court corrected the deficient law by decriminalizing the possession of up to 40 grams of narcotics for personal consumption. For the private use of narcotics, punishment takes place in the administrative sphere with warnings and educational measures. Trafficking remains criminal with a penalty of 5 to 20 years in prison. However, the National Congress has now started a campaign contradictory to the Supreme Court. Among parliamentarians, the Supreme Court’s decision is seen as yet another attack on the Legislative by the Judiciary.

Congress sees this as a violation

The rapporteur in the House, deputy Ricardo Salles (PL-SP), criticized the Supreme Federal Court’s (STF) vote, claiming the decision has violated the merits of Congress.  Salles has a point in his complaint. According to the principle of the separation of powers, the Supreme Court’s decision does not bind the Legislative Branch. This makes it possible for parliamentarians to pass legislation contrary to what was decided by the Court. On the other hand, there should be the understanding that the Supreme Court corrected a flaw in legislation rather than drafting legislation. The STF would have invaded the parliamentary arena if it had legalized the drug – which means passing a law that regulates and allows conduct – which did not happen. 

Senate president Rodrigo Pacheco (PSD-MG) also criticized the STF’s decision. He repeated Salles almost ipsis litteris with the argument of “encroachment on the competence of the legislature.” “I disagree with the Supreme Court,” Pacheco said. “There is a legal, political and rational logic to this, which, in my opinion, cannot be broken by a judicial decision that singles out a certain narcotic substance, invading the technical competence of Anvisa and invading the legislative competence of the National Congress.”

President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva followed Pacheco’s reasoning: ” The Supreme Court doesn’t have to get involved in everything, it needs to take the most serious things about what concerns the Constitution, and become master of the situation, but it can’t take anything and start arguing, because then it starts to create a rivalry that is not good for democracy, nor for the Court, nor for the National Congress,” he said. “I think it’s noble to differentiate between the consumer, the user and the dealer. We need to have a decision on this, not in the Supreme Court, but in the National Congress, so that we can regulate it,” he added.

Congress is scrambling to regain control

The Supreme Court’s final deliberation has clearly created a conundrum for Congress. As a result, the House of Representatives is now debating the Proposed Amendment to the Constitution 45. Known as the Drugs PEC, the Senate created and approved the legislation last year. While the 2006 law criminalizes drugs, it does not stipulate the amount. The Drugs PEC establishes that the possession of any amount of illegal drugs is a crime in an opinion diametrically opposed to that of the majority of Supreme Court justices. The public has since denounced the Drugs PEC and called for new legislation. But after the well-deserved public beating he took when he promoted the urgent approval of the Anti-Abortion Bill, the Speaker of the House, Arthur Lira (PP-AL), would rather do anything than face a new Legislative agenda.

Even so, Lira ordered the creation of a special committee to deal with the PEC. According to the procedure, the parties must appoint representatives to the committee, which will have 34 members. The issue is unlikely to be dealt with until the October municipal elections in the House. However, Lira will have to do something sooner in order to please the large conservative caucus. He heavily depends on it to be reelected as the president of the House in February 2025. The committee has a minimum period of ten sessions to debate the PEC on Drugs before the issue is taken up in plenary. 

Relief for the prison system

The future application of the ruling will have consequences for the Brazilian prison system. The Institute for Applied Economic Research (Ipea) found 42,631 out of the 852,000 inmates in the country fall under what the STF considers a violation of the principles of proportionality . The release of these prisoners would save the public coffers around R$1.3 billion, according to data from the Atlas of Violence 2024 survey drawn up by Ipea and the Brazilian Public Security Forum.  According to the National Council of Justice, there are at least 6,345 suspended cases awaiting the outcome of the case.

The number of people out of jail and the savings would be even greater if the limit were 100 grams rather than the current limit of 25. “We estimate that the cost of imprisoning people who could be presumed to be drug users exceeds R$2 billion each year for the state, considering the combination of objective criteria in scenario B (100g of cannabis and 15g of cocaine),” the report states. The study also indicates that the resources currently channeled into public security would be better spent in the areas of education and health with prevention programs.

According to experts, the STF’s resolution should have a significant impact on the incarceration of people arrested or convicted of possessing small portions of drugs, especially marijuana. “The Supreme Court ruled that possession of drugs for personal use will remain an administrative offense. So it is possible to apply sanctions of an administrative nature, no longer criminal,” says Carlos Wehrs, a law professor at FGV Rio. For him, the decision was intended to tackle the systemic injustice that occurs when arrests are made, which almost always marginalize Black people and the poor. 

Data from Ipea reinforces this thesis: Black people are more likely to be arrested for drug trafficking in the case of police patrols. In a technical note published in October last year, Ipea analyzed the racial profile of defendants prosecuted for drug trafficking in state courts. It considered a sample of 5,121 defendants out of a total of 41,100 cases. These are cases whose sentences date from the first half of 2019. 

Of all the defendants, 46.2% are Black and 21.2% are white. “It is possible to affirm that the crimes of the 2006 Drug Law are responsible for the prosecution and incarceration of mostly black people,” the study points out. If we consider those arrested in the act, based on police approaches citing suspicious behavior, 51.3% are black and 20.3% white. In the case of flagrant arrests on public roads, 52.8% are black and 20% white. “This suggests that black people are more likely to be approached during overt street policing than white people,” says the note. The decriminalization of marijuana won’t only be an economic save for the prison systems. It will also be a social ruling that tackles a prejudiced system.

Marijuana around the world

Brazil has much to learn about the decriminalization of marijuana from the wider world. According to the UN, Europe is the largest cannabis market in the world, since 23 countries have decriminalized both medicinal and recreational use. It is consumed by 8% of the European population. The global weed market is estimated at $61 billion USD, and projections indicate that the number should double by 2028. Brazil, since it decriminalized possession and not the drug itself, will not suffer an impact on the economy. However, it can still catch a glimpse of the effects the decision can have on its society and economy.

In Portugal, possession of up to 25 grams has not been a crime since 2001. The National Health Service pointed to a reduction in the prevalence of drug use and a greater awareness of the risks of marijuana. However, average use in Portugal is higher than in Europe: 9% compared to 8%, respectively. In Uruguay, where the entire cannabis chain was legalized in 2015, marijuana trafficking fell from 58% to 11%. Just as among the Portuguese, 14.6% of Uruguayans are users, an increase since 2011. Canada allowed recreational use in 2018, and issued a report in 2022 indicating a drop in consumption among teenagers. 

There are other examples in South America. Medical cannabis has been legal in the Argentinian provinces of Chubut and Santa Fe since 2016. In Chile, cultivation for medicinal purposes has been authorized for 10 years. The same goes forColombia since 2015. Ecuador allows possession of up to 10 grams for personal consumption.

In the USA, 23 of the 50 states allow recreational and medicinal use. As everything becomes a source of revenue there, the legal cannabis market was valued last year at between $27 billion USD and $30 billion USD. Growth is expected to reach 50% by the end of 2025.

Brazil has something to learn from these countries. From the prison systems to recreational use, decriminalizing marijuana will benefit the social and economic aspects of the country. However, that is only part of it. Until Congress and the STF can work together, Brazilians will continue to face a prejudiced system.

Postscript: How the Supreme Court voted

In favor

Gilmar Mendes

“To address the issue in the context of public health and not public security.”

Rosa Weber

“Chemical dependency and drug use are issues within the scope of public health and social reintegration policies.”

Alexandre de Moraes

“People who used to be classified as users are now classified as petty traffickers, who carry a longer sentence. There has been an increase in incarceration.”

Luís Roberto Barroso

“What we want is to avoid discrimination between rich and poor, between whites and blacks.”

Edson Fachin

“The addict is a victim and not a germinal criminal. The addicted user should be treated as a patient.”

Dias Toffoli

“I am convinced that treating the user as a drug addict is not the best public policy.”

Cármen Lúcia

“There is (today) unequal treatment by the state itself, which is obliged by the Constitution to promote equality.”

Against

Cristiano Zanin

“The decriminalization, even if partial, of drugs could contribute even more to the worsening of this health problem.”

Luiz Fux

“We are not elected judges. Brazil does not have a government of judges. In a democratic state, the highest body is Parliament.”

André Mendonça

“The legislator defined that carrying drugs is a crime. Turning this into an administrative offense is going beyond the will of the legislator.”

Kassio Nunes Marques

“The law today has an inhibitory factor. Brazilian society needs instruments to defend itself.”

And the heads of the government

Arthur Lira, President of Congress

“I don’t have an opinion. You don’t give an opinion on judicial decisions, you either appeal or you legislate. It’s not my job to comment on STF decisions.”

Rodrigo Pacheco, President of the Senate

“I disagree with the Supreme Court. (The decision) invades the legislative competence of the National Congress.”

Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva, President

“It’s noble to differentiate between consumers, users and traffickers. A decision is needed, but not in the Supreme Court, it could be in the National Congress.”

[Cheyenne Torres edited this piece.]

The views expressed in this article are the author’s own and do not necessarily reflect Fair Observer’s editorial policy.

The post For the First Time, Brazil Challenges Limited Marijuana Law appeared first on Fair Observer.

The failed coup reveals political and social instability

Zúñiga and his forces marched to the traditional Palacio Quemado in the country’s capital La Paz to oust Bolivia’s current president, Luis Arce. His men even broke down a gate with an armored car. The problem, to recallGunther, is that Arce does not work in Palacio Quemado. Rather, he occupies the Great People’s Palace, a modern building on a corner of the same block. 

In a scene that went around the world, Arce walked up to Quemados and faced Zúñiga eye to eye. With the support of politicians, part of the Armed Forces and society, Arce turned the messy action into dust. He then walked back to the Great People’s Palace and swore in a new military leadership. “No one can take away the democracy we have won. We are sure that we will continue to work,” he said as Zúñiga’s troops left the square. 

Aside from the clumsiness, the action in Bolivia reveals a considerable degree of seriousness when placed in the context of the crises that are terrorizing South America. Just remember the recent attacks on democracy carried out in Peru, Chile, Venezuela, Colombia, Argentina, Ecuador and Bolivia, including the criminal action of the Bolsonaro supporters on January 8 in Brazil. Whether governed by the left or the right, emerging Latin American countries can’t keep pace with competitors. The usual wounds – technological backwardness, poverty, inequality, a shortage of value-added products for export – are still exposed in the 21st century.

Bolivia has yet to escape colonial yokes

The coup plot and political turmoil in Bolivia have their origins in lithium. The country has the world’s largest reserves of this mineral. It is estimated that regions to the south of Bolivia contain 21 million tons, especially in the area known as Salar de Uyuni. Lithium is the raw material for batteries, especially those for electric cars. As the industry in the sector has grown spectacularly in recent years, the price of the product per ton has risen from $5,000 USD in 2010 to $80,000 USD in 2022. 

The United States and China, the main manufacturers of vehicles with high-performance batteries, are fighting a silent war for control of production. Currently, lithium production and exportation is controlled by the Chinese. As the US government fights for  control over lithium production, more seismic tremors can be expected soon. The botched and misguided invasion of Quemados demonstrates that Bolivia, and the rest of South America, has not yet rid itself of the colonial caudillo (leader) figure. “It’s typical of banana republics in colonized countries,” explains Paulo Niccoli, PhD in Social Sciences and a professor at Casa do Saber. He interviewed former president Evo Morales in 2022 and released a book about the movement that removed him from power three years earlier: The 2019 Coup in Bolivia: Imperialism against Evo Morales. 

Arce has two problems on his hands

Now Arce still has to contend with the bumbling military on top of the endless appetite of Evo Morales. Despite coming from the same party, the Movement towards Socialism (MAS), Morales wants to recapture the party in order to return to power in the 2025 elections. Arce used to be a friend of Morales, who, in turn, supported his election. However, Morales cut ties because of Arce’s closeness to right-wing figures. Among them was Zuñiga. “You have to understand the country. You have economic hubs like Santa Cruz de la Sierra, totally dominated by the neoliberal right, but the rest of Bolivia is mostly progressive. In order to govern, Arce began to bring in various right-wing figures, including this general who promoted the theatrical coup, is accused of corruption and has had numerous conflicts with Morales,” explains Niccoli.

Zuñiga’s idea was to use the coup to bury Morales’ possible candidacy in the 2025 presidential elections. This would have been done to the detriment of President Arce’s attempt to be re-elected. Zuñiga  believed Arce would agree to a self-coup, remain in power and cancel the next elections. However, the local Supreme Court has not even authorized Evo’s attempt at a fifth term. Morales continues to campaign across the country to mobilize support.  Clearly, Zuñiga’s approach was half-baked and unnecessary. 

“The maneuver was totally anachronistic,” Niccoli sums up. “With the end of the Cold War and the stability of democracies, the era of so-called soft coups began, without the use of military force.”” Niccoli also cites the cases of the Kirchners in Argentina and Michelle Bachelet in Chile, all sponsored, he says, by economic powers. “The script is always the same.” Not for Zuñiga, it seems.

Shortly before going to jail, an isolated Zúñiga threatened to release two staunch opponents of Arce: former interim president Jeanine Añez and the governor of Santa Cruz, Luis Fernando Camacho. But the problem – to borrow the international correspondent’s phrase again – is that they both emphatically condemned the coup attempt. “The mandate of the popular vote must be respected. Any action against it is absolutely illegal and unconstitutional,” said Camacho. The Bolivian Public Prosecutor’s Office promises to investigate and put in jail the military and civilians who took part in the action. The years and decades go by, and Gunther is increasingly right.

[Cheyenne Torres edited this piece.]

The views expressed in this article are the author’s own and do not necessarily reflect Fair Observer’s editorial policy.

The post Failed Coup in Bolivia Reveals Emerging Social Weaknesses appeared first on Fair Observer.

Brazilians have proven to be generous during serious situations before. In the world solidarity ranking, the World Giving Index (2022), the country ranked 18th out of 119 nations for their contributions to helping strangers, donating money and volunteering. The figure reflected a time when the world was emerging from the COVID-19 pandemic, a calamity that severely impacted Brazil. In the next year, 2023, political uncertainty and the population’s impoverishment majorly reduced the country’s giving; it fell to 89th place in the index.

“This contributed to a decrease in the population’s participation in donations,” said Paula Iabiani, CEO of Integrated Disbursement and Information System (IDIS). Her company represents the ranking. At the current rate of collaboration in recent days, it is likely that the country will return to the top positions in 2024.

“We are being profoundly impacted by the experiences of other human beings. Cognitive and also emotional impact, linked to our ability to let ourselves be sensitized by what others experience. It touches on our affections and unconscious identifications. This is the primordial impulse for solidarity action,” said psychoanalyst Maria Homem.

As Brazilian President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva celebrated on Twitter, this is the “largest movement of donations recorded in the history” of Brazil. Further, the chain that formed is multidisciplinary, going beyond the expected crisis professionals: doctors, firefighters, social workers and health professionals.

NGOs and volunteers show solidarity

One unexpected resource is SOS Rio Grande do Sul. This platform connects and updates the needs and availability of over 400 shelters across the state. A total of 1,300 volunteers work to meet the flood victims’ demands. They update the day-to-day life of the shelters, provide care for the children and collect and distribute supplies.

“The first few days were focused on rescues. But everything changes very quickly,” said Pedro Schanzer, a founder of the Porto Alegre-based operation. “I was putting donations in trucks, rescuing people in the floods, until I noticed that at each point I arrived, the desperation was so great that there was no single coordination. We set up a team that has adapted our actions according to the needs of each day.”

For the roughly 100,000 children displaced by the floods, the treatment must be different. Many have not only lost their homes, but dear things as well, like toys and pets. World Vision Brazil, a child care non-governmental organization based in São Paulo, has helped by putting together 15,000 “tenderness kits.” These kits aim to restore children’s emotional well-being by stimulating them with activities. They include a toy, coloring books, colored pencils and crayons, educational games, modeling clay and snacks. The organization has also assembled food baskets, hygiene kits and basic necessities.

“Children are one of the most vulnerable groups in the midst of crises, and often have no idea of the magnitude of the events they are experiencing. They find themselves away from home, family and friends, and are likely to be psychologically impacted by this crisis. Without an appropriate intervention, these events could leave lasting scars. We must respond now to ensure that they get the support they desperately need,” said Thiago Crucciti, director of World Vision Brazil.

Another group was created to provide care for a specific group. In the Cristo Redentor neighborhood of Rio Grande do Sul, the Solidarity Kitchen prepares meals in a shelter for pregnant and postpartum women. The volunteers receive donations, buy supplies, assemble menus and organize the space. “We work with donations of food or by PIX,” said founder and publicist Kaká Cerutti.

In the city of Porto Alegre, the Homeless Workers Movement (MTST), the Movement of People Affected by Dams (MAB) and Popular Youth Uprising collaboratively run the Azenha Solidarity Kitchen. Every day 60 volunteers use 22 stoves to prepare and distribute around 3,000 meals.

Solidarity transcends geographical boundaries and socioeconomic conditions. The Rio-founded Central Única das Favelas (CUFA) organization proves it; it promotes integration and social inclusion in Brazilian communities, as well as 15 other countries. It mobilized a humanitarian operation that in two weeks collected 20,000 cleaning kits; 25,000 personal hygiene kits; 20,000 liters of water; five carts of food; 30,000 bath kits and 30,000 mattresses.

Individuals can make a difference, too. Firefighter Robinson Luiz Jobim Rosa did an extraordinary service; while his own house was flooded in São Leopoldo, he evacuated 200 people stranded at the Canoas Emergency Hospital. “Saving people in their time of need and distress is part of our routine. I keep working because that’s our mission,” he said.

Jobim Rosa still doesn’t know how he’ll recover from the flood. Fortunately, his three children and their mother were elsewhere when the water flowed into their home. “The only one at home at the time was my dog, who was rescued by a neighbor,” he mentioned.

A similar story involved police officer Roberto Kaminski in Lajeado. When he saw the water rushing into his apartment on the second floor, he went to rescue an elderly couple on the third floor. With the help of a neighbor, he took what he could carry to two empty apartments on the fourth floor. “I must have climbed about 150 times. By the end I was exhausted. I didn’t manage to rescue everything I wanted in time,” he explained.

In Santa Cruz do Sul, police officer Everton Toillier prioritized saving items belonging to his one-year-old daughter. When he heard a neighbor’s call for help, he immediately swam out and rescued a lady who was clinging to a tree, and saved her dog as well. “I managed to get them both to a boat and went back home to try and rescue my daughter’s belongings,” he stated.

Many helpful volunteers started out with one mission and ended up on another, like Edu Leporo, founder of the NGO Moradores de Rua e Seus Cães (MRSC). Based in São Paulo, the photographer and activist traveled to the South to assist animals during the floods. “You see whole families on the streets, not knowing where to go. The problem will get worse when the water recedes and people want to go back to their homes and start again,” he stated. “We went ahead: we bought a trailer, a truck, squeegees, brooms, shovels, detergent, disinfectant and floor cloths to help.”

In Porto Alegre, Leporo relies on the NGO’s volunteer veterinarian Audrei de Oliveira Souza. The assistance forces rescued 11,500 animals by midweek, including the symbol of the resistance: a horse named Caramelo. “The rescue team is exhausted, tired and cold. Some are getting sick. But they remain tireless in their search for human and animal survivors,” Leporo described.

Christian Kristensen, the coordinator of the Pontifical Catholic University of Rio Grande do Sul (PUC-RS) Center for Studies and Research into Trauma and Stress, helped the rescuers. He identified several cases of burnout, the physical and emotional exhaustion caused by work situations, among them. “Some because they’ve been overworked, even physically, others because of the emotional overload in the face of so much suffering. Even compassion fatigue, a term we use for this moment,” he explained.

Artists unite to help

Technological resources have helped mitigate the nightmare. “How can the hyperconnection of mobility and communication be used favorably? How can we solve global problems with specific regional effects?” Maria Homem asked. “The awareness that we are one people and one species mobilizes us in an unprecedented way.”

Artists and public figures are some of the most adept at navigating networks and platforms. In the disaster’s first days, Lucas Silveira, lead singer of the Brazilian band Fresno, led his colleagues in a solidarity concert. He was born in Ceará but raised in Porto Alegre, making this tragedy personal to him. In just a few hours, he raised 2.5 million reais ($460,000).

“What’s happening is something of unprecedented proportions. I saw my neighborhood on TV and a guy passing in front of my house in a boat. It’s mind-boggling,” Silveira stated, thinking about the next steps. “There’s a task force that’s going to get thousands of volunteers to clean the houses. We’ve bought more than a hundred pressure washers at cost, which will be very useful for cleaning up when the water recedes.”

Other big names in music have announced actions to help. On July 7 and 9, Chitãozinho & Xororó, Zezé Di Camargo & Luciano and Leonardo & Luísa Sonza will host their classes at Allianz Parque in São Paulo. The proceeds will go toward repairing the damage. “Helping is urgent and meeting basic needs is the least we need right now. Today, regardless of where we are, we want to save the South,” Sonza said.

Another benefit concert was held on May 22 at Vivo Rio, in the Brazilian city of Rio de Janeiro. It brought together singers Paula Toller, Ney Matogrosso, Rogério Flausino, Milton Guedes, Fernanda Abreu, Leo Jaime and Kleiton & Kledir, as well as the rock band Barão Vermelho.

During the first week of rain, comedian and presenter Fabio Porchat started a collection campaign. He gathered tons of drinking water, bed and bath linen and warm clothes to distribute in the South. “Donating should be the norm, not the exception,” he told ISTOÉ. “It’s worth donating time, money, image, whatever. If we want a functioning community, we need to do our bit to help others.”

The mobilization to help the Brazilian South has crossed borders and reached some of the world’s leading artists. Beyoncé’s foundation BeyGOOD, which supports some Brazilian initiatives, has stepped up its work to encourage collaboration. The band Metallica donated $100,000 (about 514,000 reais) to the victims. The band Guns N’ Roses has been promoting Brazil Found’s Light Alliance Emergency Fund for donations.

The Brazilian government plans a solution 

During the second week of flooding, the people of Rio Grande do Sul received good news from the Brazilian capital of Brasília. On his third visit to Porto Alegre, President Lula announced the creation of the Ministry to Support the Reconstruction of Rio Grande do Sul. It will be headed by Paulo Pimenta, who was the Minister of the Social Communication Secretariat. The ministry’s mission will be to define the state’s reconstruction plan, distributing tasks to other ministries and demanding results.

The minister of the Civil House, Rui Costa, explained that the Brazilian government will expand the Minha Casa, Minha Vida (“My Home, My Life”) program — which provides a swath of affordable housing units to Brazilians — in the affected cities with the purchase of properties. The government will also direct others that were going to be auctioned by Caixa and Banco do Brasil to replace those that the floods destroy.

The National Confederation of Municipalities (CNM) estimates that 102,000 homes were affected by the floods — 93,000 damaged and 9,000 destroyed. Many families will need help buying basic goods, such as a stove, fridge and bed. To this end, the government proposes financial aid of 5,000 reais ($920) for 100,000 families. The homeless who lost their income in the floods are to be included in the Bolsa Família income transfer program, with average monthly aid of 672 reais ($123).

The state’s debt to the federal government has been suspended for three years, which will generate savings of 23 billion reais ($4.2 billion), including monthly payments and interest for the period. The Porto Alegre city government plans to build a temporary city for homeless families close to the city center. Located in the Porto Seco neighborhood, it will have capacity for 10,000 people. This city will have accommodations, a communal kitchen, toilets, garbage collection and a leisure area, to receive people assisted in the current shelters. Canoas, Guaíba and São Leopoldo will receive similar facilities.

The initiative is inspired by a recovery project that helped the US state of Louisiana recover from Hurricane Katrina in 2005. The consulting firm Alvarez & Marsal, which specializes in the reconstruction of damage caused by extreme events, was hired after the hurricane to draw up an assistance plan. Former president Dilma Rousseff, who is from Minas Gerais but built her political career in Rio Grande do Sul, is currently in charge of the New Development Bank, known as the BRICS Bank. She opened a 5.75-billion-real funding line for the state’s reconstruction work.

During the week, the plenary of the Federal Senate fast-tracked the approval of a bill that creates guidelines for drawing up climate change adaptation plans. The intention is to adopt measures to reduce environmental, social and economic vulnerability in episodes of climate upheaval. “In addition to actions and public policies that affect real life, we need to improve the mental health support network, because we are discovering that psychic life is just as important and can have just as many effects on reality as concrete life,” Maria Homem recalled. “Solidarity is the most important good at this time and should be deepened if we want a fairer, more developed and interesting country.”

[Lee Thompson-Kolar edited this piece.]

The views expressed in this article are the author’s own and do not necessarily reflect Fair Observer’s editorial policy.

The post Great Compassion Shines in Brazil Following Its Horrific Floods appeared first on Fair Observer.

On October 23 last year, the Carioca militia — a sort of hybrid mafia and extralegal police force — set fire to 35 buses and a train, interrupted part of traffic with trucks, besieged seven neighborhoods and harmed around a million people. Such violence is no longer a mere criminal attack. Instead, it is an act of terrorism.

The Carioca militia engaged in this terrorist act to retaliate against the killing of Matheus da Silva Rezende, the number two in their dreaded organization. Note that Rezende was the nephew of Bonde do Zinho, the leader of the Carioca militia. 

The militia’s fireworks were a message to Rio’s public authorities about the Carioca militia’s power. This organization dominates more than half of the city’s area, holding nearly two million people hostage. Violence continues to rise and only a quarter of the capital is free from the yoke of violent criminals. 

To retain authority, the Brazilian state has to crack down on illegal activities and impose rule of law. The city, state and federal governments came together to respond. Yet each proposed a different solution. As long as a lack of consensus continues, Rio de Janeiro will continue to be terrorized by violent militias.

How government agents turned into vigilantes

Brazil’s militia groups (milicias) are not ordinary gangs, but criminalized groups of government agents and ex-agents. They were born in housing estates offered by the government for security personnel. Some agents created the first groups with the justification of providing security for residents against drug traffickers. In the 2000s, militias saw the accessibility vacuum to public services as an opportunity. By offering vans to travel to central regions, the militias increased their financial power. Soon enough other opportunities were added to the militias’ menu. They began to charge for gas, water, electricity, cable TV and real estate services, solidifying an illegal parallel power.

Thus, Rio became divided between militias and drug cartels. However, in 2014, the last of the five militia commanders who had originated from police forces was arrested. The leadership of the militia group went to former drug trafficker Carlinhos Três Pontes. In a modality known as narcomilicia, the business also expanded into the drug trade. 

This merger proved successful for the expansion of Carioca militias. Between 2017 and 2021, militias doubled the size of the area they occupy in the city. The most recent study by GENI (New Illegalisms Study Group) and the Fogo Cruzado (Crossfire) institute shows that a total of 73% of Rio’s land area is occupied by militias and drug cartels. 

This is why the retaliation of the Carioca militia in response to the killing of da Silva Rezende is so important to the paramilitary group. Not only was it important to the group’s line of succession, but also because da Silva Rezende was the negotiating link between traffickers and militiamen. 

Criminal control trumps legal authority in Rio’s streets

With narcomilicia, criminal power becomes the de facto legislative, judicial and executive power without regard for legal authority. It doesn’t help that the city has only one police station specializing in this type of crime, the Police Station for the Repression of Organized Criminal Actions (DRACO). It has 40 police officers. 

However, it is not only the lack of resources that has led to the rise of criminal control. The dominance of militia power comes as no surprise when even legal powers escalate outside the law. The issue of violence has been the responsibility of the Civil Police since Governor Wilson Witzel abolished the Public Security Secretariat (SSP) in 2019. With the extinction of the SSP, the police forces no longer had to follow state policies and began to act on their own. This scenario led to a second explosion of militia groups, except that in this case they infiltrated all spheres of power. 

“The extinction of the secretariat was decisive since it eliminated the institution of police coordination and the question of civil and political control. It favors the logic of expansion of the [militia] groups since they can develop freely within the security forces and there is no proper control of police activity,” says Daniel Hirata, a sociologist who heads the New Illegalisms Study Group (GENI/UFF). With less oversight, Rio’s Civil Police have formed connections with paramilitary groups. It is clear that police deployment within the city is not an adequate solution. 

Fighting violence with violence and police corruption

Despite this clear connection, Minister of Justice and Public Security Flávio Dino advised President Lula da Silva to deploy federal forces in the city. A total of 300 National Public Security Force agents and 270 federal highway police were deployed. Dino sent Executive Secretary Ricardo Cappelli, National Secretary for Public Security Tadeu Alencar and Commander of the National Force Fernando Alencar de Medeiros to the state. 

After a meeting with Rio’s Governor Cláudio Castro, Cappelli announced the creation of a group to investigate money laundering and “financially asphyxiate criminal organizations and reduce their offensive potential.” According to Cappelli, expanding the Federal Police’s intelligence work is the focus. However, Cappelli has also stated that the government will continue to expand the presence of the Federal Police and the National Force within city limits. “We have increased the number of personnel with a group led by the National Secretariat for Public Security investigating the connections between factions in Rio and other states,” said Flávio Dino. He ruled out federal intervention, but the case reinforced opinions in favor of dividing his ministry between Justice and Public Security. Clearly the federal government believes that increased military presence will stop the violence on Rio’s streets. However, data groups such as GENI think differently.

In regards to violence, Daniel Hirata suggests data-based planning: “We need to work in a regulatory and not just a repressive way, investigating links between criminal groups and politicians, so that those who should be tackling crime are not co-opted by it. Only repressive action brings poor results in dismantling criminal networks.”

Political scientist Emmanuel Nunes agrees. “Overt policing must have the same presence regardless of the social profile of the locality,” he states. “Finally, the investigation and punishment of those involved with paramilitary groups. The role of the Civil and Federal Police is central to this process.” 

Rio de Janeiro should be focused on confronting violence at the source. Fighting violence with violence, as Dino and Cappelli suggested, will not work when militias have pervaded multiple spheres of power. Only when the government confronts the issue of corruption shall the city make progress tackling violence.

[Cheyenne Torres edited this piece.]

The views expressed in this article are the author’s own and do not necessarily reflect Fair Observer’s editorial policy.

The post Surging Violence and Corruption Poison the “Marvelous City” of Rio appeared first on Fair Observer.

Jair Bolsonaro’s Image Crisis

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The accusations against Flavio Bolsonaro pertain to the period between 2007 and 2018, when he served four terms as state deputy. The chronology of the facts and the characters involved expose the shadowy political trajectory of his father’s path to the presidency of Brazil.

Splitting the Salary

Jair Bolsonaro has five children. His three eldest sons — 01, 02 and 03, as he refers to them — followed their father into politics. Flavio was born in 1981; Carlos, in 1982, and Eduardo in 1984. At the time, Bolsonaro Sr. was a paratrooper in the army, where he met Fabricio Queiroz, who became a military police officer in 1987, serving in the rank of lieutenant until 2018. Jair Bolsonaro’s military career ended after he threatened to plant bombs in army barracks in retaliation for low wages. He was tried, acquitted and sent to the reserves in 1987, entering public life the following year.

Upon winning his first term as state deputy in Rio de Janeiro, in 2003, Flavio Bolsonaro hired Mariana Mota, a friend of his mother (to whom Jair Bolsonaro was no longer married) as an adviser. The public prosecutor designated her as the first operator of the so-called rachadinha (salary split), a scheme where employees are “hired” only to return most of their income to the employer. These “salary splits” constitute the main charges against the president’s eldest son.

In 2007, Flavio Bolsonaro began his second term and hired his father’s army friend, Fabricio Queiroz — as well as Queiroz’s wife and daughter. He also hired the wife and mother of the leader of one of Brazil’s largest militias, Office of Crime, Adriano da Nobrega, who ran an extortion racket in ​​Rio. Flavio Bolsonaro had already awarded Nobrega the Tiradentes medal, the highest honor of the legislative assembly of Rio de Janeiro, in 2005, when the former policeman captain was serving jail time for murder. In 2007, Nobrega was released after Jair Bolsonaro, then a federal deputy with the right-wing Progressive Party, appealed to the chamber of deputies in his favor.

Nobrega was killed in a police ambush earlier this year, when he was on the run after being accused of the murder of Councilwoman Marielle Franco. The case caused widespread national commotion. Nobrega and Fabricio Queiroz were friends. 

Debt and Real Estate

The list of suspected criminal activity in connection with Flavio Bolsonaro is lengthy. Mainly, it entails cash payments for real estate and debts, in a country where cash is notoriously linked to illegal activities such as drug trafficking and extortion. In 2008, Flavio Bolsonaro paid 86,779.43 reais (around $40,000 at the time) in cash for the purchase of 12 commercial offices in a high-end shopping mall in Rio, which he resold less than a month later at a healthy profit. The following year, he spent 31,000 reais in cash to pay off his losses on the stock exchange.

In 2012, 638,000 reais in cash went toward the purchase of two properties in Copacabana, on which Bolosnaro Jr. declared a profit of nearly 300% when they were sold in 2014. In 2016, he acquired a franchise branch of luxury chocolate stores. An investigation by the public prosecutor’s office concluded that the establishment was used for money laundering since it sold products below the list price while filling invoices with integral values.

Fabricio Queiroz, meanwhile, was investigated until 2018, when the public prosecutor’s office pointed out suspicious movements on his accounts in the order of 5.3 million reais between 2014 and 2015, and a further 1.2 million in 2016 and 2017. A businessman in charge of Jair Bolsonaro’s presidential campaign, Paulo Marinho, said that the Bolsonaros were warned of the federal police operation to detain Queiroz on the eve of the election. Queiroz fled, remaining at large until June this year, when he was found and arrested at the country home of Flavio Bolsonaro’s lawyer, Frederick Wassef. 

Another explosive testimony by Flavio’s former adviser, Luiza Souza Paes, revealed that between 2011 and 2017, she passed on more than 90% of her salary back to Queiroz, providing bank statements as evidence. Between December 2014 and November 2017, she was at her designated workplace at Rio de Janeiro’s assembly just three times.

The investigation into Flavio Bolsonaro has continued in parallel over the past two years, tracking the suspicious hiring of advisers by the family. In 2018, Flavio was elected senator, Carlos councilman, Eduardo deputy, and Jair Bolsonaro president. An investigation by O Globo revealed last year that since 1991, the Bolsonaros — nicknamed “familicia” in Brazil — had hired 102 people with family ties to work in their four respective offices. In total, 15 of Flavio Bolsonaro’s aides were denounced. If the court accepts the motion against the president’s eldest son, he will become a defendant in a criminal case. Fabricio Queiroz has served a month in jail and currently remains under house arrest.

Downward Spiral

With these revelations, the downward spiral of Jair Bolsonaro’s government seems to be increasing. Bolsonaro was elected on the promise of ending corruption in the country, distancing himself from “old politics” that distributed high posts to politicians with a questionable past in exchange for support, as well as ending benefits and privileges for those in public office.

In the first month of the COVID-19 pandemic, after trying to interfere in the federal police investigation into his children, his main asset in the fight against corruption, Judge Sergio Moro, who was responsible for the arrest of former President Luis Inácio Lula da Silva, resigned his post as minister of justice, accusing the president of political interference for personal reasons.

Bolsonaro sought help from party politicians he said he disliked, who are known for shifting positions and accepting money for support, and recently faced public embarrassment when his deputy in the senate, Chico Rodrigues, was caught by the federal police with 33,000 reais in his underwear, some of which was stashed between his buttocks. In addition to the detention of Fabricio Queiroz, Flavio Bolsonaro faces possible arrest; the public prosecutor has demanded that the senator give up his mandate at the end of the investigation if he is convicted.

All of these events betray Jair Bolsonaro as a politician trying to balance himself in a tightrope of popularity. He was elected on the right-wing wave that has swept many parts of the globe in recent years, spurred on, to a degree, by the election of Donald Trump in the United States. The Bolsonaro family even hired Trump’s controversial campaign strategist, Steve Bannon. Adopting strategies seen in the 2016 US election, Bolsonaro’s campaign employed bots to influence social media narratives at an opportune time when Brazil’s leftist government opened the black box of corruption, which started by exploding the then-ruling Workers’ Party from within. Bolsonaro assumed the position of his middle name, Messias — the savior — who would rid the country of corruption, with guns if necessary; his campaign gimmick was to make a weapon gesture with both hands.

Tightrope of Popularity

Bolsonaro took office with a 50% approval rating. When the first signs of family corruption began to appear, the index dropped to around 40%. Much of this falling popularity was sustained on creating smoke screens, making fiery speeches against imaginary opponents and trying to divert attention. At the end of 2019, when the rachadinha case made headlines, ratings dropped further, to around 30%. As Bolsonaro fumbled with the response to the COVID-19 pandemic, following Trump in denial of the seriousness of the threat and disdain for preventative measures against the virus, Sergio Moro’s resignation brought the president’s popularity down to the 20% range.

During this nadir of his government, the national congress demanded emergency aid for the population unable to work and who could not survive without financial assistance. Approximately $100 in monthly allowance was approved and, as a consequence, Bolsonaro realized that he could buy back his popularity since most of those who received it believed they have the president to thank for it.

Bolsonaro then began to fight for the maintenance of emergency aid, which diverted attention from the problems of corruption in the family. But Brazil is not a rich country, and financial assistance is being reduced gradually; it is now at $50.

Without the purchase of popularity, with nothing to conceal the tenebrious connections that marked his entire political trajectory and that of his children, and without his idol in power — Bolsonaro even said “I love you” to Trump during the UN General Assembly last year — the clouds appear to be gathering above the heads of the Bolsonaro familicia.

The views expressed in this article are the author’s own and do not necessarily reflect Fair Observer’s editorial policy.

The post The Bolsonaro Family’s Downward Spiral of Corruption appeared first on Fair Observer.

The latest political crisis in the country broke out on September 9, when Bolsonaro’s middle son Carlos (02) tweeted that the expected reforms “won’t happen quickly enough through democratic methods,”openly flirting with dictatorial notions. This is an attitude that goes hand in hand with Bolsonaro Sr.’s vote in favor of former President Dilma Rousseff’s controversial impeachment and posing for photos at the national congress wearing a T-shirt bearing the image of Colonel Carlos Brilhante Ustra — the brutal head of the notorious Department of Information Operations-Center for Internal Defense Operations during the Brazilian military dictatorship of 1964-85, who died in 2015.

In keeping with the family tradition, on September 8, Bolsonaro’s youngest son, Eduardo (03), posed for a picture next to his father’s hospital bed after surgery with a pistol tucked into his waist. Eduardo currently finds himself at the heart of a diplomatic dispute: The president waited until his son turned 35 in July — the minimum age required — to appoint him as Brazil’s ambassador to the United States. Some 70% of Brazilians disapprove of the appointment.

The US seems to serve as a benchmark for Jair Bolsonaro, so much so that he hired Donald Trump’s former adviser and strategist Steve Bannon during his own campaign and hardly ever misses an opportunity to hail Trump.

In recent months, the political scene has become equally hot for the clan’s eldest son, Flavio (01). Earlier this year, Brazil’s Council for Financial Activities Control (COAF) detected suspicious transactions on the account of Flavio’s former adviser Fabricio Queiroz at the time when he was state deputy for Rio de Janeiro. Queiroz was summoned to testify but failed to appear in court, alleging health problems. He promptly disappeared from the scene until the president changed the designation of the council, which went from being under the jurisdiction of the Ministry of Justice to being under the control of the Central Bank, with no possibility of conducting effective investigations. The investigation was consequently suspended by the president of the supreme court, Dias Toffoli, on the basis of what he considers to be judicial overreach on the behalf of COAF, which constitutes a threat to civil liberties. He did so, however, at the request of Flavio Bolsonaro.

Fabricio Queiroz is a former police officer suspected of liaisons with the armed militias that are one of the main security problems in Rio de Janeiro. Formed primarily by former police officers, they carry out extortions, murder and drug trafficking. Brazil’s first lady, Michelle Bolsonaro, has an uncle who was arrested for joining a militia in the capital Brasilia. Her mother and grandmother also have criminal records, for forgery and drug dealing respectively. One of the suspicious transactions detected by COAF was Fabricio Queiroz’s deposit in the first lady’s account.

Let us not forget that during the Amazon crisis, Eduardo shared a video in which he calls the French President Emmanuel Macron an idiot, and that during Jair Bolsonaro’s visit to Israel last April, criticized by the Palestinian fundamentalist organization Hamas, Flavio expressed the wish that the armed group would “explode.”

Likewise, the federal police did not escape retribution for meddling in the family business. When the force began investigating Helio Negão — a deputy from Rio de Janeiro and the president’s friend — Jair Bolsonaro took the opportunity to change the police command in order to send a clear message. The change of command also gave the president more control over the police investigation into his son, effectively ensuring that it doesn’t happen.

The problem is that the Bolsonaros are a big family. The president has five children; apart of the three already mentioned, there are also an underaged son and daughter. (In reference to the latter, the president had said that he “failed” to produce all male offspring.) But the relatives have guaranteed privileges, regardless of gender. News from the daily O Globo points out that in 28 years of public life, the president was able to appoint 102 people to public office, all of whom have family ties to him.

With so many political and family problems to solve, it is difficult for the Bolsonaro government to realize to its main campaign proposal — the fight against corruption. So much so, that complete disapproval of his government doubled between February and August, growing from 28% to 54%. Those who approve of the current administration have dropped from a majority to just 29%, and this downward curve shows no sign of stopping.

The views expressed in this article are the author’s own and do not necessarily reflect Fair Observer’s editorial policy.

The post Jair Bolsonaro’s Image Crisis appeared first on Fair Observer.

Tropical rainforests occupy about 7% of the world’s surface area and are estimated to be home to 50% of the planet’s biodiversity. Every year, fires break out in the Amazon, a practice allowed by Brazilian legislation. In a controlled way, of course. Or it’s supposed to be at least. The fires are meant to clear land for pastures and crops. But, this year, the number of fires has increased by 84% compared to 2018.

So much so that, on August 19, the day turned to night in the middle of the afternoon and it rained a dark liquid in São Paulo, the city where I live in. The straight-line distance from São Paulo to Manaus, the capital of the state of Amazonas, is almost 3,000 kilometers. This route was contaminated by the fire soot.

There are two issues to take into account when looking at the burning Amazon rainforest. First, the growth rate of deforestation in the Amazon this year was 80%. Historically, forests have been burned in dry conditions to transform them into pasture land.

Second, the Brazilian government has refused to accept any opinion that is contrary to the political discourse of development. When Ricardo Galvão, the director of the National Institute for Space Research that regulates deforestation control in the Amazon, warned less than two months ago that deforestation had grown at an alarming rate, the government fired him. Why? For disclosing information to the public before consulting his superiors.

When the black rain fell in São Paulo, the media questioned the government about its responsibility to contain the fires. The answer was that government officials suspected criminal arson by disgruntled NGO workers undergoing cuts to their funding.

Only when the situation gained worldwide attention did the Brazilian government decide to show that it was doing something about it. Of course, this didn’t go without offending the French president and anyone who dared to say that deforestation of the Amazon is a problem for the whole world.

The Lungs of the World

The Amazon rainforest is not the “lungs of the world.” In fact, it is kind of the opposite. Lungs capture oxygen from the atmosphere and transform it into carbon dioxide. The forest captures carbon dioxide from the atmosphere to perform photosynthesis. And between the uptake and emission of pure oxygen into the air, the bill is sort of balanced. What deserves credit for oxygen production is seaweed, which makes 55% of the gas we breathe.

The Amazon rainforest is important for its biodiversity. Scientists estimate that only 0.5% of the flora has been studied medicinally. Who knows what cures have yet to be discovered? Not to mention, of course, the richness of the local wildlife.

Each year, 7 trillion tons of water is produced in the evapotranspiration process, responsible for water and climate control in many regions of the world. The Amazon River alone discharges 20% of the planet’s fresh water into the Atlantic Ocean.

Let us not forget the “inverted lung” effect, since the forest carbon stock is sufficient to justify the position of the world’s only conserved rainforest. Still preserved, it must be said.

The prediction is that if Amazon deforestation exceeds 20% of its area, it will threaten the rainforest and can start the process of transformation into other vegetation — making it much less significant to the world. The deforestation account is at 15%, before the current fires. That is why it is so important for the international community to keep watch and protest against any process of local degradation.

We have political issues and global issues. In Brazil, political issues often determine the strongest congressional seats. They almost always trump other issues, to tell the truth. Among the strongest political issues is agribusiness, and politicians support it over the Amazon. The core of agribusiness operations is the pasture area. So, it is not difficult to understand why the government tries to cover up deforestation growth.

But politicians come and go while the world stays. We are talking about a global issue. The Amazon rainforest is a global issue.

The views expressed in this article are the author’s own and do not necessarily reflect Fair Observer’s editorial policy.

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