Latest news with #BrazilPolitics
Reuters
18-07-2025
- Politics
- Reuters
Exclusive: Brazil's Bolsonaro expects lawmaker son to seek U.S. citizenship -Reuters interview
BRASILIA, July 18 (Reuters) - Brazil's former President Jair Bolsonaro told Reuters on Friday he expects his son Eduardo Bolsonaro, a Brazilian congressman, to seek U.S. citizenship instead of returning from the United States. In an interview with Reuters after federal police searches of his home and party headquarters, Bolsonaro said he has been speaking at least every other day with his son, an outspoken ally of U.S. President Donald Trump who has sought support in Washington for his father. The former president said there has been no "strategy" behind their discussions.
The Guardian
09-07-2025
- Politics
- The Guardian
Apocalypse in the Tropics review – how Brazilian politics succumbed to rightwing fundamentalism
Petra Costa's documentary tells a grim story about modern Brazil and leaves it up to us to decide if it has a happy ending. Apocalypse in the Tropics is about the country's political leaders' addiction to rightwing Christian fundamentalism, US-style prayer breakfasts, and a particular enthusiasm for the Book of Revelations, whose apocalyptic rhetoric is used to amplify all manner of conspiracist, xenophobic screeching. The politicians have a close association to televangelists like the always angry Pastor Silas Malafaia, interviewed at some length here, a strange man thrilled and energised by his own national celebrity and wealth, though irritated by questioning about his private plane, whose value, he says, has depreciated from over a million dollars new to about $800,000. Malafaia is someone for whom an ear-splittingly shrill and boorish rant about gays and communists is a natural mode of communication. The Christian caucus helped deliver the fiercely reactionary, blandly self-satisfied Jair Bolsonaro to the Brazilian presidency in 2019, though Bolsonaro's callous and incompetent handling of Covid probably sowed the seeds for discontent with his posturing rule. But the film also shows how the Workers' Party ex-president Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva – known universally as 'Lula' – ran again for the presidency in 2021 and was careful to court the evangelical vote. Lula won in 2022 – and Bolsonaro, in Trumpian style, refused to concede, encouraged a coup and incited his supporters to storm government buildings. But what now? Is Lula simply the Brazilian Biden, ageing and uninspiring? Will someone else be the second coming of the Brazilian far right? Could it be the gruesome Pastor Malafaia himself perhaps? Or would he find the subsequent press scrutiny of all his personal dealings disagreeable? Democracy has never looked so vulnerable. Apocalypse in the Tropics is in cinemas from 11 July and on Netflix from 14 July.
The Guardian
09-07-2025
- Politics
- The Guardian
Apocalypse in the Tropics review – how Brazilian politics succumbed to rightwing fundamentalism
Petra Costa's documentary tells a grim story about modern Brazil and leaves it up to us to decide if it has a happy ending. Apocalypse in the Tropics is about the country's political leaders' addiction to rightwing Christian fundamentalism, US-style prayer breakfasts, and a particular enthusiasm for the Book of Revelations, whose apocalyptic rhetoric is used to amplify all manner of conspiracist, xenophobic screeching. The politicians have a close association to televangelists like the always angry Pastor Silas Malafaia, interviewed at some length here, a strange man thrilled and energised by his own national celebrity and wealth, though irritated by questioning about his private plane, whose value, he says, has depreciated from over a million dollars new to about $800,000. Malafaia is someone for whom an ear-splittingly shrill and boorish rant about gays and communists is a natural mode of communication. The Christian caucus helped deliver the fiercely reactionary, blandly self-satisfied Jair Bolsonaro to the Brazilian presidency in 2019, though Bolsonaro's callous and incompetent handling of Covid probably sowed the seeds for discontent with his posturing rule. But the film also shows how the Workers' Party ex-president Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva – known universally as 'Lula' – ran again for the presidency in 2021 and was careful to court the evangelical vote. Lula won in 2022 – and Bolsonaro, in Trumpian style, refused to concede, encouraged a coup and incited his supporters to storm government buildings. But what now? Is Lula simply the Brazilian Biden, ageing and uninspiring? Will someone else be the second coming of the Brazilian far right? Could it be the gruesome Pastor Malafaia himself perhaps? Or would he find the subsequent press scrutiny of all his personal dealings disagreeable? Democracy has never looked so vulnerable. Apocalypse in the Tropics is in cinemas from 11 July and on Netflix from 14 July.
Irish Times
15-05-2025
- Politics
- Irish Times
Brazil's €1bn pension fraud casts shadow over Lula re-election hopes
A billion-dollar pension scandal has rocked Brazil's government in advance of elections next year, forcing a minister to resign and recalling memories of past corruption cases under the party of president Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva . Older voters are a key constituency for Mr Lula and, at least until recently, were one of few groups where the veteran politician maintained a net positive approval rating. Investigators probing the scandal have said officials colluded with fraudsters to siphon as much as R$6.3 billion (€1 billion) from payments to an estimated six million retirees between 2019 and 2024. Neither the president nor cabinet members are alleged to have been involved in the scheme, which began during former president Jair Bolsonaro's term. But the opposition has accused the government of failing to tackle the scam swiftly, seizing the chance to attack Mr Lula just as some polls showed a slight rise in his popularity after a nearly year-long slide. READ MORE Pensioners 'complained and nothing happened', right-wing congressman Nikolas Ferreira said in a video viewed more than 130 million times on Instagram. 'We're talking about embezzlement in the billions [of reais] from sick or elderly people.' A polls aggregator by CNN Brasil and Ipespe Analítica last month showed an overall 53 per cent disapproval of Mr Lula's administration. Despite economic growth and low unemployment, stubborn inflation has sparked widespread discontent. 'It couldn't be worse news for the government,' said Andrei Roman, founder of data consultancy AtlasIntel. 'This event is very negative, not only in terms of approval, but also for the president's chance of being re-elected.' Police arrested six people last month on suspicion of fraudulently signing retirees up to unions and other associations supposedly providing services such as healthcare discounts or funeral care, which then took small deductions from their monthly cheques. The average state pensioner in Brazil receives R$1,882 (€299) a month. Critics point out the social security minister was first alerted to complaints in 2023, but only last year began taking measures such as changing the rules on pension deductions. The extent of the alleged fraud was revealed in an investigation by federal police and the comptroller-general, an anti-corruption authority. It seems the government was more concerned with avoiding blame, transferring responsibility and debating where it started, than clarifying to society what was actually going on — Rafael Cortez, political analyst Half the respondents in an AtlasIntel survey believed the government took too long to act, and then did so incorrectly. Mr Lula (79) is widely expected to be the candidate for his Workers' Party in next year's general election, despite questions about his age and fitness after emergency surgery last year on a brain bleed . His once-famed political judgment has been called into doubt by a ponderous response to the scandal. 'It seems the government was more concerned with avoiding blame, transferring responsibility and debating where it started, than clarifying to society what was actually going on,' said Rafael Cortez, political analyst at Tendências Consultoria. The president took heat for backing the minister in charge for more than a week, in an apparent attempt to keep the Democratic Labour Party (PDT) in his governing coalition. It withdrew when the minister resigned this month. 'The PDT's exit signals a political weakening of the government, which is already facing difficulties in maintaining loyalty among its allies,' said Carlos Pereira, professor at the Getúlio Vargas Foundation. Former union boss Mr Lula governed for two terms between 2003 and 2011, earning international acclaim for lifting millions out of poverty with welfare programmes. [ Brazil police foil bomb plot targeting Lady Gaga concert in Rio Opens in new window ] But corruption is considered a weak spot for his party. Its last period in office ended with a vast bribery scandal that led to the imprisonment of dozens of businessmen and politicians of all stripes, including Mr Lula. His convictions were later overturned, paving the way for a dramatic comeback against hard-right populist Jair Bolsonaro in 2022. The pension scandal 'will have an impact in 2026, because corruption is the most problematic issue for the Workers' Party', said Mr Roman. Among 11 organisations targeted by police was a pensioners' union whose management includes Mr Lula's older brother. He was not personally investigated, but the president's adversaries leapt on the connection. The government has promised to reimburse victims and sought to blame its predecessor. 'It was during the Bolsonaro administration that gangs created shell entities to rob retirees, without anything being done to investigate them,' said cabinet minister Gleisi Hoffmann. [ Brazil's former president Jair Bolsonaro to stand trial for alleged coup attempt Opens in new window ] Yet the issue has provided rare cheer to supporters of Mr Bolsonaro, who is due to stand trial on charges of plotting a coup to remain in power. Right-wing lawmakers are seeking a parliamentary inquiry into the fraud, which could prolong negative publicity for the government. José Antônio Mateus, a pensioner in São Paulo, noticed an unexplained charge of R$77 (€12) on his pension slip in 2024 and believes he was defrauded for two years. The 75-year-old said the scandal was a symptom of Brazil's rotten political establishment. 'The whole system is to blame,' he said. 'We've been suffering from corruption for a long time.' − Copyright The Financial Times Limited 2025
