By Jeffrey R. Rubin
The Guardian (10/8/18)
Voters in Brazil and the US face elections in the coming weeks whose outcomes will directly influence the future of democracy in the Americas.
In Brazil, the candidate who captured 46% of the votes in Saturday’s first-round presidential elections, Jair Bolsonaro, is pro-torture and speaks in favor of military rule as a way to solve deep societal problems. Bolsonaro will face leftist Fernando Haddad, who gained 29.3% of the first-round votes, in final elections on 28 October.
Like Trump, Bolsonaro follows the demagogues’ playbook and makes a sham out of previously respected norms, signaling his contempt for media and institutions that oppose him.
In the US, the process of filling Anthony Kennedy’s seat on the supreme court underscored the indifference, if not contempt, with which President Trump and Republicans in Congress treat basic democratic norms. Pro- and anti-Trump forces have mobilized voters around this and other crucial issues, such as immigration and women’s rights, for the 6 November elections.
Despite differing histories and cultures, recent political events and electoral campaigns in Brazil and the US exhibit striking similarities. In North and South America alike, they raise a haunting question: in the human rights struggles of the 21st century, who will count as citizens? …
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‘We Are Afraid’: Anti-Bolsonaro Voters, Journalists Targeted in Wave of Political Violence Across Brazil, Activists Call for Action
TeleSur (10/12/18)
Thousands of activists, women and young Brazilians marched in Sao Paulo Thursday to protest against right-wing presidential candidate Jair Bolsonaro, who won the first round of the Brazilian presidential election on Oct. 7.
Angered by Bolsonaro’s sexist, misogynist, and homophobic comments, along with a wave of violence against persons unwilling to support Bolsonaro, protesters used the hashtag #EleNao, or #NotHim to drum up support against the former army captain.
The #NotHim hashtag, which has become increasingly popular over the last few weeks, has seen people in 24 countries and 52 cities show solidarity with Brazilian women and other at-risk groups. According to the Facebook account of “Women United Against Bolsonaro,” which now has over two million followers, the demonstrations are nonpartisan. International rallies have also been organized through the “Brazilian Women Abroad Against Bolsonaro” Facebook account and incorporated the #EleNão hashtag and “No to Fascism” slogan on social media.
According to Agencia Publica, an independent investigative journalism agency based in Brazil, Bolsonaristas have been behind at least 50 separate attacks targeting left-wing activists and groups since 30 September, with several other unconfirmed cases reported. Another group the Brazilian Association of Investigative Journalism (Abraji) has also registered more than 60 physical attacks on reporters, which took place “in a political, partisan and electoral context”.
In one such attack, a Workers Party (PT) supporter was murdered in Salvador, Bahia state, after a disagreement with a Bolsonaro supporter. In another, a 19-year-old girl was attacked and marked with a swastika for wearing a t-shirt that read “Ele Nao” (“Not Him”).
Radical change
The acts of violence have led to fear and a general sense of uneasiness about life under Bolsonaro’s presidency since he has repeatedly expressed support for Brazil’s military dictatorship.
“The election has divided the country amongst a population that after four elections is tired of the government in power, and who wants radical change. This radical change is the far right. They (far-right supporters) defend Nazis, fascists, racists, homophobes, human rights ideals,” protester Gabriela Gomez told Reuters in an interview.
Caroline Salgao, another anti-Bolsonaro voter, told Al Jazeera: “I was really sad when I voted, I cried because of what is going to happen in this country.”
While protester, Vitor Nascimento, who has been attacked previously, said: “Being LGBTI, I am afraid of his supporters beating us up. It has happened to me.”
‘Let’s take her off and rape her.’
Members of the media have also come under attack in recent weeks, in one case a 40-year old female reporter was assaulted with a knife while attempting to vote. According to local media, two Bolsonaristas attacked the journalist after seeing her press credentials hanging from her neck. One of the attackers, while waving a knife and a Bolsonaro T-shirt, grabbed her and said: “When my commander wins the election you lot in the press will die.”
“The other one said, ‘Let’s take her off and rape her,’ and the one with the knife, said, “‘No, let’s cut her,’” according to a statement made by the journalist, who has pleaded for anonymity fearing further attacks.
Bolsonaro has also attacked the media labeling them as “trash” in a Twitter post Thursday and dismissed instances of violence saying they have been exaggerated by members of the media. He later attempted to walk back the comments in another post to the platform.
Bolsonaro claimed 46.03 percent of the votes in the first round of the election, with Worker’s Party candidate Fernando Haddad taking 29.28 percent. Both candidates will contest the run-off on Oct. 28.
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Brazil’s Presidential Election Is Part Of A ‘Global Reactionary Cycle’
The Real News (10/9/18)
With the near first-round election of Jair Bolsonaro as president of Brazil last Sunday, the country is on the precipice of a neoliberal neofascism, which fits into a very dangerous larger global cycle towards the right, says Prof. Boaventura de Sousa Santos [Of the University of Wisconsin-Madison. –Ed].
