Latin America
Related: About this forumAs Corruption Engulfs Brazil’s “Interim” President, Mask Has Fallen Off Protest Movement
Momentum for the impeachment of Brazils democratically elected president, Dilma Rousseff, was initially driven by large, flamboyant street protests of citizens demanding her removal. Although Brazils dominant media endlessly glorified (and incited) these green-and-yellow-clad protests as an organic citizen movement, evidence recently emerged that protests groups were covertly funded by opposition parties. Still, there is no doubt that millions of Brazilians participated in marches demanding Rousseffs ouster, claiming they were motivated by anger over her and her partys corruption.
But from the start, there were all sorts of reasons to doubt this storyline and to see that these protesters were (for the most part) not opposed to corruption, but simply devoted to removing from power the center-left party that won four straight national elections. As international media outlets reported, data showed that the protesters were not representative of Brazilian society but rather were disproportionately white and rich: In other words, the same people who have long hated and voted against PT. As The Guardian put it in its description of the largest Rio protest: The crowd was predominantly white, middle class and predisposed to supporting the opposition. To be sure, many former PT supporters turned against Dilma with good reason and PT itself has indeed been rife with corruption. But the protests were largely composed of the same factions who have long opposed PT.
Thats why a photo of a wealthy, white family at an anti-Dilma protest trailed by their black weekend nanny decked in the all-white uniform many rich Brazilians make their domestic servants wear went viral: because it captured what these protests were. And while these protests rightly denounced the corruption scandals inside PT and there are many they largely ignored the right-wing politicians drowning in far worse corruption scandals than Dilma.
Plainly, these were not anti-corruption marches but rather anti-democracy marches: conducted by people whose political views are a minority and whose preferred politicians lose when elections determine who leads Brazil. And, as intended, the new government is now attempting to impose an agenda of austerity and privatization that would never be ratified if the population had any say (Dilma herself imposed austerity measures after her 2014 re-election, after running on a campaign against them).
https://theintercept.com/2016/06/16/as-corruption-engulfs-brazils-interim-president-mask-has-fallen-off-protest-movement/
Judi Lynn
(160,450 posts)Thank you for this exceptional Intercept article.
rladdi
(581 posts)Guanabara Bay. The largest polluter Petroleo Brasileiro who dumps oil waste in the bay. Communities along the bay dump all the raw waste into the bay too, There are no sewage plants for waste. The Government and the Prosecutors support Petroleo and indicated to the new reporter they see no problems or issues, blind to the fact it just take a boat ride on the bay to see. Many protesters have been killed or disappeared. THIS IS THE SAME BAY THAT THE OLYMPIC BOAT AND WATER SPORTS WILL BE USING. fILLED WITH TRASH AND GARAGE AND OIL SLICKS.
Many families have gotten ill or have passed from that water pollution.
Big oil tankers docked spilling or washing oil waste dock side. In fact, the reporter and boat owner was threaten as they viewed and took picture. They sped away afraid of being shot.
This is what happens when a party gets control and destroys the country. I feel this is what the Republicans would do to America if they could. The courts and prosecutors corrupt by the oil industry. as they would be in USA.
Money really does count, as the GOP and Blood money of the NRA goes hand in hand.
Judi Lynn
(160,450 posts)to do the hard work pushing their two lumps of children around in their stroller, looking after them,
the couple had free hands to drag along their Pomeranian, and wave to other elitist anti-Dilma dregs, as well.
That's so sick. Those children won't remember any part of that day, but their nanny is going to be exhausted, spent, at the end of the day, and for what?
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Why bring the dog? It wants to see more pointless racist snots than it ordinarily sees at home?
I can see why the photo went viral. It anyone with an attached brain had seen this long ago, he/she might have been able to come to a clearer understanding about who these impeachment wastes of skin are.