NP Brasil

[ish mailian]

The article I posted-- " Brazil Is Engulfed by Ruling Class Corruption
— and a Dangerous Subversion of Democracy" -- is an excellent one.

Greenwald & Co. begin by countering the media in and out of Brazil:
Western media coverage mimics the propaganda coming from Brazil’s
homogenized, oligarch-owned, anti-democracy media outlets and, as
such, is misleading, inaccurate, and incomplete, particularly when
coming from those with little familiarity with the country (there are
numerous Brazil-based Western reporters doing outstanding work).

The outstanding work rarely makes it to a U.S. or to a Western
audience.  Most of what one reads in US and Western news about Brazil
these days is on Zika and how Brazil won't be ready for the Olympic
Games and how corruption and the failure of the government to invest
the boom time monies and the collapse of commodities and China have
put the nation is the greatest stagflation recession since the 1930s
and that Dilma is the least popular president and that Lula is
threatening to run for the presidency again and should be stopped.

I posted the Greenwald article because it is an exceptional one.


Greewald writes:

Put simply, this is a campaign to subvert Brazil’s democratic outcomes
by monied factions that have long hated the results of democratic
elections, deceitfully marching under an anti-corruption banner: quite
similar to the 1964 coup. Indeed, much of the Brazilian right longs
for restoration of the military dictatorship, and factions at these
“anti-corruption” protests have been openly calling for the end of
democracy.  None of this is a defense of PT.

He's right.

I happen to admire Lula and I give him high marks for a lot of what he
has done. I'm not naive and will not be surprised if he and Dilma are
found guilty of corruption.

But the protests expose the major divides in Brazil along race and
class lines. The yellow duck is a symbol of the anxiety and anger the
wealthy and new to wealth citizens are expressing there, inflation is
back, unemployment is rising, the traffickers are emboldened, crack is
spreading, the kids with guns are in control of the streets....  but
the taxes they paid to the duck, foolishly they say, was not all
stolen by the corrupt, it was also used to lift the poor out of
poverty, and, unfortunately, the duck also represents this sentiment,
that we were fools to fund programs to help the poor, they should work
hard and pull themselves up. This is the sadness that is felt by the
sullying of Lula. Not that a hero or saint or legend is needed or
wanted, but that a poor person, an uneducated poor person could be
heard and could run for office and win, could be be a good, even a
great president, one who would not forget where he comes from and who
he is, a man who knows that working hard is not enough, that people
need a government that will fund and support programs for the people
so that they may live better.



On Mon, Mar 21, 2016 at 7:35 AM, Richard Romeo <richard.romeo at gmail.com> wrote:
> I'd be foolish to say I'm not since I do not live there but we all make
> assumptions based on the evidence we come across. I hope to think I'm not
> cherry picking. I do try to read broadly enough.
> I happen to think the world is a chaotic mess and not the result of the evil
> shenanigans of a small elite
>
>
>
> On Mar 20, 2016, at 11:28 PM, David Morris <fqmorris at gmail.com> wrote:
>
> Do U know? Or R U projecting?
>
> On Sunday, March 20, 2016, rich <richard.romeo at gmail.com> wrote:
>>
>> your words:
>>
>> However, the fact that the protests are largely organized and funded
>> by the elite, including the powerful elite outside the country who are
>> desperate to get their greedy fingers on the resources of the nation
>> and to put an end to one of the most successful efforts to support the
>> poor, the landless, and the rights of the indigenous peoples calls for
>> a closer examination of the protest objectives and its composition.
>> ----
>> successful? hardly.
>>
>> ----
>> yr words:
>> That the protesters embrace the prosecution of elites and of corrupt
>> politicians is a common ground, but that they reject Lula/Dilma work
>> to support the poorest members of the society must be analyzed and
>> debated.
>> ----
>> how hard is that to understand? the poor are fed up with them all.
>> corruption under dilma has been just as bad as any free-market government.
>>
>>
>>
>>
>>
>> On Sun, Mar 20, 2016 at 6:53 PM, ish mailian <ishmailian at gmail.com> wrote:
>>>
>>> I still don't know what your opinion on Lula and Chavez has to do with
>>> what I have posted. I've not even mentioned Chavez. On Lula we disagree.
>>> Other than that I have no idea what you are talking about.
>>>
>>>
>>> On Sunday, March 20, 2016, rich <richard.romeo at gmail.com> wrote:
>>>>
>>>> the socialist experiments are also dismal failures in south
>>>> america--lula, chavez, that's what
>>>>
>>>> On Sun, Mar 20, 2016 at 5:19 PM, ish mailian <ishmailian at gmail.com>
>>>> wrote:
>>>>>
>>>>>  What?
>>>>>
>>>>>
>>>>> On Sun, Mar 20, 2016 at 12:46 PM, rich <richard.romeo at gmail.com> wrote:
>>>>> > from what i've read the corruption re; Petrobas has not stopped under
>>>>> > Lula
>>>>> > and Dilma.
>>>>> >
>>>>> > you sure dont give poor people credit for thinking for themselves do
>>>>> > you?
>>>>> > being led by their noses by faceless elites. I dont buy it.
>>>>> >
>>>>> >
>>>>> >
>>>>> >
>>>>> >
>>>>> >
>>>>> >
>>>>> > On Sat, Mar 19, 2016 at 8:01 AM, ish mailian <ishmailian at gmail.com>
>>>>> > wrote:
>>>>> >>
>>>>> >> An excellent point.
>>>>> >> However, the fact that the protests are largely organized and funded
>>>>> >> by the elite, including the powerful elite outside the country who
>>>>> >> are
>>>>> >> desperate to get their greedy fingers on the resources of the nation
>>>>> >> and to put an end to one of the most successful efforts to support
>>>>> >> the
>>>>> >> poor, the landless, and the rights of the indigenous peoples calls
>>>>> >> for
>>>>> >> a closer examination of the protest objectives and its composition.
>>>>> >> That photograph of the wealthy white couple and the nanny has become
>>>>> >> a
>>>>> >> symbol of the need for such scrutiny. The PT, as the article points
>>>>> >> out, has a very loyal electorate, mostly poor and powerless and
>>>>> >> darker
>>>>> >> in complexion. The poor have hammered by the press, the government
>>>>> >> programs that helped to lift 50 million from abject poverty have
>>>>> >> been
>>>>> >> demonized by the rich, the affluent and their constituency, by the
>>>>> >> churches, by the business classes and even by the Vice president,
>>>>> >> who
>>>>> >> is, by strange workings of politics, not of the PT party. That the
>>>>> >> protesters embrace the prosecution of elites and of corrupt
>>>>> >> politicians is a common ground, but that they reject Lula/Dilma work
>>>>> >> to support the poorest members of the society must be analyzed and
>>>>> >> debated.
>>>>> >>
>>>>> >> On Sat, Mar 19, 2016 at 5:40 AM, Kai Frederik Lorentzen
>>>>> >> <lorentzen at hotmail.de> wrote:
>>>>> >> >
>>>>> >> >> None of this is a defense of PT. Both because of genuine
>>>>> >> >> widespread
>>>>> >> >> corruption in that party and national economic woes, Dilma and PT
>>>>> >> >> are
>>>>> >> >> intensely unpopular among all classes and groups, even including
>>>>> >> >> the
>>>>> >> >> party’s
>>>>> >> >> working-class base. But the street protests — as undeniably large
>>>>> >> >> and
>>>>> >> >> energized as they have been — are driven by those who are
>>>>> >> >> traditionally
>>>>> >> >> hostile to PT. The number of people participating in these
>>>>> >> >> protests —
>>>>> >> >> while
>>>>> >> >> in the millions — is dwarfed by the number (54 million) who voted
>>>>> >> >> to
>>>>> >> >> re-elect Dilma less than two years ago. In a democracy,
>>>>> >> >> governments are
>>>>> >> >> chosen by voting, not by displays of street opposition —
>>>>> >> >> particularly
>>>>> >> >> where,
>>>>> >> >> as in Brazil, the protests are drawn from a relatively narrow
>>>>> >> >> societal
>>>>> >> >> segment. <
>>>>> >> >
>>>>> >> > When millions are marching the streets it's not nothing, yet a
>>>>> >> > strong
>>>>> >> > manifestation of democracy. And while it's true that in
>>>>> >> > parliamentarism
>>>>> >> > "governments are chosen by voting", the democratic possibilities
>>>>> >> > of the
>>>>> >> > people, as the subject of the constituent power, can never be
>>>>> >> > reduced to
>>>>> >> > taking part in elections and plebiscites. As Carl Schmitt says:
>>>>> >> > The
>>>>> >> > people
>>>>> >> > are an immediately present and real entity.
>>>>> >> >
>>>>> >> >
>>>>> >> > -----------------------------------------------------------------------
>>>>> >> >
>>>>> >> > "Nach der demokratischen Lehre von der verfassungsgebenden Gewalt
>>>>> >> > des
>>>>> >> > Volkes
>>>>> >> > steht das Volk als Träger der verfassungsgebenen Gewalt außer und
>>>>> >> > über
>>>>> >> > jeder
>>>>> >> > verfassungsgesetzlichen Normierung. Wenn ihm verfassungsgesetzlich
>>>>> >> > gewisse
>>>>> >> > Zuständigkeiten (Wahlen und Abstimmungen) übertragen werden, ist
>>>>> >> > damit
>>>>> >> > seine
>>>>> >> > politische Handlungsmöglichkeit in einer Demokratie keineswegs
>>>>> >> > erschöpft
>>>>> >> > und
>>>>> >> > erledigt. Neben allen solchen Normierungen bleibt das Volk als
>>>>> >> > unmittelbar
>>>>> >> > anwesende - nicht durch vorher umschriebene Normierungen,
>>>>> >> > Geltungen und
>>>>> >> > Fiktionen vermittelte - wirkliche Größe vorhanden."
>>>>> >> >
>>>>> >> > Carl Schmitt: Verfassungslehre [1928], § 18,  p. 242, Berlin 1993:
>>>>> >> > Duncker &
>>>>> >> > Humblot.
>>>>> >> >
>>>>> >> >
>>>>> >> > On 18.03.2016 21:16, ish mailian wrote:
>>>>> >> >
>>>>> >> >
>>>>> >> >
>>>>> >> > https://theintercept.com/2016/03/18/brazil-is-engulfed-by-ruling-class-corruption-and-a-dangerous-subversion-of-democracy/
>>>>> >> > -
>>>>> >> > Pynchon-l / http://www.waste.org/mail/?list=pynchon-l
>>>>> >> >
>>>>> >> >
>>>>> >> >
>>>>> >> -
>>>>> >> Pynchon-l / http://www.waste.org/mail/?listpynchon-l
>>>>> >
>>>>> >
>>>>> -
>>>>> Pynchon-l / http://www.waste.org/mail/?listpynchon-l
>>>>
>>>>
>>
>
-
Pynchon-l / http://www.waste.org/mail/?list=pynchon-l