[Sithsaber]

Brazilian President Dilma Rousseff 'proud' of protests

Dilma Rousseff: "These people must be heard"
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Brazilian President Dilma Rousseff has said she is proud of the tens of thousands of people who have taken to the streets to demand better education, schools and transport.

"My government is listening to the voices calling for change," said Ms Rousseff in her first comments since Monday night's protests.

The protests began with demands for bus fare hikes to be revoked.

They have turned into a nationwide demonstration against bad governance.

"Brazil has woken up a stronger country," said President Rousseff.

"The size of yesterday's marches is evidence of the strength of our democracy."
Continue reading the main story
“Start Quote

Many of the headlines in recent years about Brazilians have been about millions lifted out of poverty... But for many Brazilians the raised expectations do not seem to have been matched by results”

image of Gary Duffy Gary Duffy Executive editor, BBC Sao Paulo

Brazil's leaders caught out by mass protests

"It is good to see so many young people, and adults - the grandson, the father and the grandfather - together holding the Brazilian flag, singing our anthem and fighting for a better country," said Ms Rousseff.

She said her government had lifted "40 million people into the middle class" but more needed to be done to improve access to free health and education.

The demonstrations are Brazil's largest since 1992, when people took to the streets to demand the impeachment of President Fernando Collor de Mello.

Thousands of people gathered in front of Sao Paulo Cathedral on Tuesday for a new protest which was largely organised through social media. A demonstration was also taking place in the state of Rio de Janeiro.

Sao Paulo Mayor Fernando Haddad, was said to be heading for a meeting with President Rousseff, apparently to discuss options that would enable him to meet protesters' demands and cut public transport fares, says the BBC's Gary Duffy.

'It's really an honour to host the cup - but I don't think we have the conditions for it."

The mayors of Cuiaba, Recife, Joao Pessoa and other cities have announced a reduction in bus fares in response to Monday's protests.

A major rally is set to take place in Rio on Wednesday.
'Isolated violence'

The current wave of protests began earlier this month, with marches in Sao Paulo against a hike in the price of bus fares, from 3 reals ($1.40, £0.90) to 3.20.

They have been organised largely by young people through social media. The organisers called the movement Passe Livre (or Free Access).

Monday night saw the biggest demonstrations since the movement began.

In Brazil's largest city, Sao Paulo, about 65,000 people took to the streets.

The largest march was in Rio de Janeiro, where some 100,000 people marched peacefully through the city centre.

Towards the end of the evening in Rio, there were violent clashes between groups of protesters and police.

There were violent clashes overnight in Brasilia and Rio

The Rio de Janeiro state assembly was attacked, shops were vandalised and a car was set alight.

There were also isolated incidents in Sao Paulo, Brasilia, Porto Alegre and other cities.

"The isolated acts of violence, carried out by a minority, should be vigorously condemned," said Ms Rousseff.

The demonstrations gathered pace as Brazil hosts the Confederations Cup, a curtain-raiser event for next year's football World Cup.

Many complained of the huge amounts spent on construction for the World Cup and the 2016 Olympics, which will be hosted by Rio de Janeiro.

"We need better education, hospitals and security, not billions spent on the World Cup," said one mother who attended the Sao Paulo march with her daughter.

Deputy Sports Minister Luis Fernandes said the World Cup had provided an opportunity for the country to invest in infrastructure which will benefit everyone.

"There is widespread support in the Brazilian population for the World Cup and the Confederations Cup," said Mr Fernandes.

What is this?

Rise of the Proletariat and far left elements who want to end the role of the Bourgeoisie in politics?

Venting of frustrations that will lead to the relatively left wing Brazilian government's fall to more conservative parties due to blowback?

The army's time to shine in the name of Fuutbol?

Or a temporary movement led by those smart enough to dislike the waste the Olympics et al megaevents usually involve, but who also won't go anywhere due to the influx of European money and the masses turning on them in the name of the spectacle?


PS: It's the last one.

[Poelmo]

Or a temporary movement led by those smart enough to dislike the waste the Olympics et al megaevents usually involve, but who also won't go anywhere due to the influx of European money and the masses turning on them in the name of the spectacle?

PS: It's the last one.

I agree. The protestors have good reason to be protesting and they're not extremists who want to make Brazil communist.

[Sithsaber]

Here's a weird cunter argument frm some commies on reddit, who seem to take the line that this is situation is being manipulated by "fascists" and that reactionary "infiltrators" are trying to use this situation to force the army to start a coup.

http://www.reddit.com/r/communism/comments/1gremb/brazils_protests_have_become_fascist/

Brazil's protests have become fascist (self.communism)

submitted 1 day ago* by starmeleon★





Hello comrades.

I am here to give you information about what is currently going on in Brazil. I am brazilian, born and raised in the city of São Paulo, where I am currently speaking to you from.

The first thing I will tell you is that you should not pay attention to what the rest of reddit is telling you about the protests, and from what I hear comrades around the world telling me about their media reports, do not listen to them either.

The protests which are currently going on are severely dynamic, but they have taken a definite turn towards fascism.

The context of the protest is as follows:

The initial wave of protests were organized by the MPL, Movimento Passe-Livre, which is an autonomist anarchist movement, based primarily in public universities. Their main goal is and always was free, public funded transportation. The protests were organized in response to (left-wing, social democrat/liberal PT Worker's Party) mayor Fernando Haddad's and (right-wing, conservative, social democrat in name only PSDB governor) Geraldo Alckimin's hikes in bus and metro fares.

The protests were instantly joined by communist parties PSTU, PSOL and PCB. The MPL, due their anarchist ideology, denounced party participation. This will become important later on.

The media, at first, launched a total offensive against the protests, accusing it of vandalism, and of being made-up by extreme leftists. This is a prime example. They justified the actions of the armed Military Police of Brazil (which is a Gendarme), which was, at the time, shooting rubber bullets at people's faces (which is lethal), beating up primarily women, using lots of tear gas and pepper spray to disperse the movement, as well as several intimidation tactics, such as baseless arrests (including the famous arrests for vinegar posession).

The media realized that despite all of their efforts, the movement had a popular agenda and had been garnering support accross progressive sections of the population. One very popular ultra-conservative pig-loving anchor attempted to ask the extremely loaded question to his viewers: do you support vandalism in ongoing protests? only to have his primarily reactionary audience humiliate him live by voting yes. The media, realizing they could no longer discredit the movement, and noticing that their most reactionary viewers were ready to take the street, switched strategies.

As I predicted in this post, the raging anti-communist pundit withdrew his previous opinion and started favoring the protests, but also started claiming that the protests were about "much more", and started to tell his viewers that the protests were about the long running list of anti-leftist complaints that were traditionally presented by the media against the left leaning worker's party and used electorally by the right-wing PSDB. The rest of the media did exactly the same thing. They even set up the narrative on the international level, using this video that became the means through which reddit became aware of the protests. This would later serve to legitimize the fascist coup in the eyes of the international audience.

Now here is the tricky part. As I said in a previous post about that particular video you will notice that there is nothing intrinsically socialist about the video. Socialists, just as much as conservatives, are loathe to corruption, wasteful spending and the degradation of public services. HOWEVER, this has to be looked at in the context that the media has built over the years that the semi-leftist PT government has been in the presidency of the country.

Maybe one example most socialists here will be more familiar with is the Venezuelan media and it's participation in the attempted 2002 coup against Hugo Chavez, who was a friend to pink-tide brazilian president Lula who was current president Dilma's predecessor. What was the Venezuelan media's strategy? To constantly pound on the viewer's minds the idea that all leftism is corrupt, to fabricate accusations daily and to create the general feeling of constant crisis. The same has been absolutely true of Brazilian media since 2000.

In fact, Rede Globo, which has the near-monopoly of TV audiences, which is owned by the billionaire heirs of Roberto Marinho, who had a personal fortune of 60 billion dollars, had previously attempted in 2007 to spark an artificial "popular" march against the PT government led by several celebrities on its payroll.

I SHOULD ALSO STRONGLY REMIND EVERYONE THAT THE 1964 MILITARY COUP WAS PRECEDED BY A MILLION STRONG REACTIONARY MARCH ON THE STATE OF GUANABARA ASKING FOR FASCISM AGAINST THE REFORMIST SOC-DEM JOÃO GOULART. So to those who are simply enamoured by any public protest thinking its impossible that the right can muster popular support, stop being so fucking naive.

Now, you're probably asking, "how can you suggest that the current protests are fascist? You're out of your mind!". Well you are reading this and you are probably not in Brazil, watching how giddy the media is with the whole thing. You are probably not aware that the agenda against "corruption" was suggested by the military chief of police when negotiating with MPL You are also probably not aware that the large majority of the opposition to the Worker's Party does not come from the radical left, as I wish it did, as MPL does, but it comes from PSDB and half of their electors are nostalgic of our fascist dictatorship. So they are going out there and asking for a new one.

The sign says "military intervention now. For the democratic government of civilians and military" which is, I'm sure, how he remembers the 1964-1986 period to be.

As I write this, thousands of right wing militants are BURNING RED FLAGS in Paulista Avenue and demanding the impeachment of brazilian president Dilma Roussef. These militants are those who think that democracy only exists when married to neoliberalism, so in her place they want to install PSDB or the brazilian equivalent of Pedro Carmona.

Many leftists are only now waking up to this fact, there have been some interesting attempts to make people aware of the oncoming fascist coup by some artists, which are conscious of the media and right wing hijacking of the initial protests.

Context: The toucan is the mascot for the right wing party. The other comic shows how the protest's agenda was hijacked by right wing demands.

Now, the leftist parties have attempted to reclaim their movement and to fight against the reactionary agenda which always masquerades as "apolitical" demands for the moralization of politics. The right wing and the media have as such appropriated the anarchist "anti-party" discourse to denounce the left-wing in the protests, and some radical right wingers are demanding the extinction of parties, much like the 1964 military dictatorship proceeded to do. MPL and the anarchists are failing to react to this and are fueling the right wing rhetoric.

There are also sections of the left which are too isolated in their group of friends and comrades to realize that the majority of people participating in the marches are not their friends. The majority of people joined in after the calls of reactionary media pundits. In many cities which the protests were not started by the left the protests are solely about the right wing protesting against left-politics. Do not be naive, communists would not gather up and protest near former president Lula's house.

Meanwhile, the Federation of Industries of São Paulo State (a business owner union, if there was ever full fascism in an organisation, its this one) is supporting the protests. The brazilian Pedro Carmona sharpens his fangs.

So I find it extremely upsetting that clueless redditors, especially those who claim to be socialist inclined, are basically providing international support for a fascist coup.

So when the judiciary, which the media has built up as the great moralizing institution, its hero being the Supreme Court Justice Joaquim Barbosa, does some kind of maneuver to oust the left-leaning Dilma Roussef in favor of elections or whatever that bring back the neo-liberal PSDB to power, the international community will be ready to validate the coup. I should remind you all that this is the textbook tactic of 21st century fascism, as taught to us by Honduras.

Brazil is in danger of going fascist, and I am sick of clueless foreigners which find out about what is going on through some stupid youtube video sponsored by some think tank like the Millenium Institute or by the brazilian equivalent of Miami Cubans and think that this is an overall positive development.

Reddit disgusts me.

Although the bias is obvious and seems to miss some points, it does bring up some fears about this, like Brazil may end up isolationist and that the media and the elites will use the upheaval as a way to get rid of the Brazilian ruling party, which may occasionally seem radical in comparison to the old order but is basically just old school social democracy.


PS:
This may link up with that one poster hear talking of "communist infiltrators" and the protesting segments which started burning red flags.

[Sithsaber]

Another (and somewhat more sane) view:

The protesters in Brazil refuse to be taken for suckers

The anger of the cariocas of Rio de Janeiro towards Brazil's ruling class has been building for years
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Damian Platt

Damian Platt

The Guardian, Friday 21 June 2013 12.19 EDT

Jump to comments (34)



A demonstrator in Rio is shot by rubber bullets
A demonstrator is shot by rubber bullets as anti-riot police officers charge in Rio de Janeiro on Thursday night. Photograph: Christophe Simon/AFP/Getty Images


The first surprise about the Brazilian protests is that they have taken place at all. The second surprise is their scale. On reflection, they should have taken place years ago. The recent hike in bus fares was simply the last straw for a nation tired of being treated like otários ("suckers") – as a taxi driver put it to me on Sunday – by its ruling classes.

Demonstrations in modern Brazil are usually left to small groups belonging to the country's beleaguered "social movements" and therefore easily ignored by the media, which is dominated by the all powerful Globo conglomerate. Protesters depicted as troublemakers, lazy students, leftists and rich kids without a cause – as one prominent social commentator in Rio described them last week – are quickly discredited and forgotten.

But this time round Globo and its allies are on the back foot. In Rio de Janeiro cracks in the "cordial" facade presented by the city's leaders to the world have been showing for some time. Sérgio Cabral, the once popular state governor, has kept a low profile ever since footage of him engaging in Bullingdon Club-style buffoonery in the Paris Ritz emerged in 2012. Images of him cavorting with powerful business associates (known locally as the "napkin gang", because of what they wore on their heads during the escapade) enraged a substantial proportion of the electorate. The reputation of the city's mayor, Eduardo Paes, previously disliked but respected for his work ethic, has also been dented after an unseemly brawl outside an uptown restaurant last month.

Long, uncomfortable hours in crowded sweaty buses on congested roads, and difficult access to substandard public health and education facilities have been grinding down the patience of easygoing Rio residents, the cariocas, for years. A modern but stuffed-to-the-hilt underground service, and an ancient and absurdly overcrowded overground suburban train service do not ease matters. With a soaring cost of living – many prices in Rio are now comparable to European cities – rapid gentrification of housing, and favela-removal programmes shunting the poor out to the most distant suburbs, the frustration of a large swath of cariocas is understandable.

One Brazilian friend who visited London recently told me of his amazement because the British capital's public transport system was open to all. "In Rio, use of public transport is a sign of failure – it's for people who can't afford better," he told me wistfully. Despite (or because of) its history of inequality, Brazil is a fiercely status-driven society where car ownership is prized. Lack of confidence in Rio's public infrastructure is near universal. Anyone who can afford to takes out a health plan, puts their children into private education, and sits in traffic in an air-conditioned car.

Rio's apparently successful public relations exercise to convince the world of its capacity to change has rested on the much-publicised "pacification" programme. This has seen police take control of some of the city's most famous and violent favelas. Formerly controlled by heavilyarmed gangs, communities like Rocinha and Vidigal near the exclusive beach districts, and Mangueira, near the Maracanã football stadium, are now patrolled by young police recruits – bringing homicide rates down to zero in some neighbourhoods. In the Alemão favela complex in the north of the city, this process has reduced the number of bullets fired by police in the region from 23,355 in 2010 to a mere 2,395 in 2012. No one can deny that Rio is less violent today than during any period in the past 30 years.

However, the logic behind the "pacification" programme adheres to a long-established practice of placing the poor at the root of Brazil's problems, sidestepping the deep-rooted corruption and political inefficiency that delay progress throughout the country. As if by magic, "pacification" is alleged to restore Rio to a Peter Pan past of tranquility – a time when genteel samba echoed across the hills, before volleys of automatic weapon fire brought terror and sleepless nights to cariocas in the 1980s.

These protests are proof that Rio's politicians must do more than militarise the city's most vulnerable communities to make life bearable for all cariocas. This is why the protests are so important. By focusing discussion on problems of transport and infrastructure, protesters are forcing politicians to face difficult questions about how they manage the city. The close relationship between the mayor's office and Rio's bus operators is apparent, but opaque.

Having forced the mayor to back down over the fare increase, some protesters are now calling for a parliamentary commission to investigate the city's bus syndicates. In doing so they hope to prevent the movement from disintegrating, or morphing into a nebulous anti-corruption exercise. The escalation of the protests on Thursday night, and attempts by political groups to hijack them, suggest this might prove difficult.

The final surprise may be that Brazil's politicians are forced to address their conduct of public affairs. Meanwhile, for the taxi driver in Rio de Janeiro, the dream of not being taken for a sucker stays alive.

http://www.guardian.co.uk/commentisfree/2013/jun/21/protesters-brazil-suckers-rio-ruling-class

[Sithsaber]

Another (and somewhat more sane) view:

The protesters in Brazil refuse to be taken for suckers

The anger of the cariocas of Rio de Janeiro towards Brazil's ruling class has been building for years
Share 335




inShare.5
Email

Damian Platt

Damian Platt

The Guardian, Friday 21 June 2013 12.19 EDT

Jump to comments (34)



A demonstrator in Rio is shot by rubber bullets
A demonstrator is shot by rubber bullets as anti-riot police officers charge in Rio de Janeiro on Thursday night. Photograph: Christophe Simon/AFP/Getty Images


The first surprise about the Brazilian protests is that they have taken place at all. The second surprise is their scale. On reflection, they should have taken place years ago. The recent hike in bus fares was simply the last straw for a nation tired of being treated like otários ("suckers") – as a taxi driver put it to me on Sunday – by its ruling classes.

Demonstrations in modern Brazil are usually left to small groups belonging to the country's beleaguered "social movements" and therefore easily ignored by the media, which is dominated by the all powerful Globo conglomerate. Protesters depicted as troublemakers, lazy students, leftists and rich kids without a cause – as one prominent social commentator in Rio described them last week – are quickly discredited and forgotten.

But this time round Globo and its allies are on the back foot. In Rio de Janeiro cracks in the "cordial" facade presented by the city's leaders to the world have been showing for some time. Sérgio Cabral, the once popular state governor, has kept a low profile ever since footage of him engaging in Bullingdon Club-style buffoonery in the Paris Ritz emerged in 2012. Images of him cavorting with powerful business associates (known locally as the "napkin gang", because of what they wore on their heads during the escapade) enraged a substantial proportion of the electorate. The reputation of the city's mayor, Eduardo Paes, previously disliked but respected for his work ethic, has also been dented after an unseemly brawl outside an uptown restaurant last month.

Long, uncomfortable hours in crowded sweaty buses on congested roads, and difficult access to substandard public health and education facilities have been grinding down the patience of easygoing Rio residents, the cariocas, for years. A modern but stuffed-to-the-hilt underground service, and an ancient and absurdly overcrowded overground suburban train service do not ease matters. With a soaring cost of living – many prices in Rio are now comparable to European cities – rapid gentrification of housing, and favela-removal programmes shunting the poor out to the most distant suburbs, the frustration of a large swath of cariocas is understandable.

One Brazilian friend who visited London recently told me of his amazement because the British capital's public transport system was open to all. "In Rio, use of public transport is a sign of failure – it's for people who can't afford better," he told me wistfully. Despite (or because of) its history of inequality, Brazil is a fiercely status-driven society where car ownership is prized. Lack of confidence in Rio's public infrastructure is near universal. Anyone who can afford to takes out a health plan, puts their children into private education, and sits in traffic in an air-conditioned car.

Rio's apparently successful public relations exercise to convince the world of its capacity to change has rested on the much-publicised "pacification" programme. This has seen police take control of some of the city's most famous and violent favelas. Formerly controlled by heavilyarmed gangs, communities like Rocinha and Vidigal near the exclusive beach districts, and Mangueira, near the Maracanã football stadium, are now patrolled by young police recruits – bringing homicide rates down to zero in some neighbourhoods. In the Alemão favela complex in the north of the city, this process has reduced the number of bullets fired by police in the region from 23,355 in 2010 to a mere 2,395 in 2012. No one can deny that Rio is less violent today than during any period in the past 30 years.

However, the logic behind the "pacification" programme adheres to a long-established practice of placing the poor at the root of Brazil's problems, sidestepping the deep-rooted corruption and political inefficiency that delay progress throughout the country. As if by magic, "pacification" is alleged to restore Rio to a Peter Pan past of tranquility – a time when genteel samba echoed across the hills, before volleys of automatic weapon fire brought terror and sleepless nights to cariocas in the 1980s.

These protests are proof that Rio's politicians must do more than militarise the city's most vulnerable communities to make life bearable for all cariocas. This is why the protests are so important. By focusing discussion on problems of transport and infrastructure, protesters are forcing politicians to face difficult questions about how they manage the city. The close relationship between the mayor's office and Rio's bus operators is apparent, but opaque.

Having forced the mayor to back down over the fare increase, some protesters are now calling for a parliamentary commission to investigate the city's bus syndicates. In doing so they hope to prevent the movement from disintegrating, or morphing into a nebulous anti-corruption exercise. The escalation of the protests on Thursday night, and attempts by political groups to hijack them, suggest this might prove difficult.

The final surprise may be that Brazil's politicians are forced to address their conduct of public affairs. Meanwhile, for the taxi driver in Rio de Janeiro, the dream of not being taken for a sucker stays alive.

http://www.guardian.co.uk/commentisfree/2013/jun/21/protesters-brazil-suckers-rio-ruling-class

[Sithsaber]

Paulo Ribeiro
I’m a strategist. Interested in building a better world, creating wealth ,good relationships and learning a lot along the way. Founder of Estrategistas.com


Published
June 22, 2013
in I.M.H.O.·
7 min read

“Feel Free To Kill Protesters”, said Brazilian Public Prosecutor

What the heck is happening in Brazil, why and how is going to end. By a Brazilian.




Brazil is known for its happy, hard-working and welcoming people. Brazilians are obsessed with soccer, they have nice beaches, the most beautiful women in the world and, so far, a strong economy, one of the few that hasn't suffered terribly with 2008 crisis. Brazil will host Fifa 2014 World Cup and 2016 Olympics games.

Well, that’s the Brazil you knew.

What we see now is a lot of protests for couple of weeks in several cities. Dozens of thousands of people going to streets to protest, closing avenues, making noise, claiming for change.

What happened? What made all that change?

How Everything Started

It was all really simple, actually: the bus fare of São Paulo city was raised in R$ 0,20 (~U$ 0,10) by the government. Some studies indicate it was a fair raise, below the inflation; others, considering a historical perspective of the last decades tell us it was above inflation. Whatever way, it wasn't an overwhelming raise; nothing completely out of proportion. Just the fact it existed bothered the population, who is used to inefficiency and bad quality in public transportation.

Against the raise, protesters went to the streets of São Paulo. A simple parade, a lot of noise to draw attention of the government. It was then that all hell broke loose.
Too much violence, I’d say.
The police came after the protesters with overwhelmingly-out-of-proportion force. I’m not stupid: I know how police officers can be hurt by protesters, starting the conflict; however, in this case was ridiculous: there are several dozens of videos around showing police attacking press, innocents, bystanders, everyone. The people who were supposed to be protected, after all.

Some videos are so ridiculous that give me rage (and fear) by watching: protesters marching and singing “no violence” at the street, when the police troop comes around the corner and starts shooting everybody.

The police truculence spread in a few hours through social media (the synchrony with the releasing of Facebook tags came in handy) and that was the trigger. People started to organize more and more parades in several cities: Rio de Janeiro, Brasília, Belo Horizonte, Curitiba, Recife.

In some cases, the reaction from the respective state police was similar, what has driven people crazy in internet and inspired more and more movements, getting more people to the streets.

What’s Behind All This

In the recent times, you probably never heard about social disturbance in Brazil. It seems that’s not characteristic of the last two generations, specially with the economy growing well in a steady pace and with a populist/assistentialist government.

People’s revolt was not about the 20 cents raise. The Brazilian revolt is about the Brazil and how it was built corruptly in the past 4 decades, especially after the fall of the military regime.
“Enough”
It’s about paying one of the biggest taxes in the world, but not having hospitals to go for, not having decent public transportation, not having safe streets neither good education.

It’s about having all this huge, expensive and overpriced soccer stadiums through the country, while people struggle with a U$ 300 minimum monthly salary and suffer without a State to offer basic services.

Sure, the current economic situation played a major role in this case too. Inflation, a ghost that has haunted the country in the end of last century, came back strong, after a brief moment when it seemed Brazil would recover faster and well from 2008 World Crisis.

Why, you may ask.

The structural reforms to host the sport events. A really strong factor. In the past 3 years, the value in notes circulating grew 40%. The government, noticing it didn't have money for the works necessary, just went on and printed more and more money.

All that without mentioning the pornographic raise of 60% the parliamentarians gave to themselves, what created a cascade event raising the payment of most politic employees in Brazil.

Why Is This Uprising So Incredible

As I've already pointed out, the last two Brazilian generations or so were really passive. I mean, cattle-like passive. We had the biggest scandal of the democracy with Parliamentarians stealing hundreds of millions of reals through corruption and the population took that lightly.

Main figures went unpunished (and still are) and for your shock: some of them got reelected. Renan Calheiros, one of the corrupted, is even now the head of Senate.
“Installing the new patch for Brazil”, Recife Streets, in Pernambuco. @hrxm
So, when we saw the people going to protest for something that started as a 20 cent raise in the bus fare, it was a shock.

What’s Making The Population So Pissed Off

A list of some good stuff happening here now (without going into recent history):
The initial police truculence (the trigger) in managing the protests.
Public prosecutor saying on his Facebook that’s okay to kill protesters.

This one was scary as hell. If someone with that much power in the Justice system says something like that, you should get really worried.He (Rogério Zagallo) posted:

“I’m trying to get home for the past two hours, but I can’t because there’s some protesters blocking off traffic […] please, somebody tell the police that this area is under the jurisdiction of my court and, if any of them kill a protester, I’ll just archive the case”
PEC-33 and PEC-37

PEC is the short version of Projeto de Emenda Constitucional - Constitutional Amendment Project.

The PEC-37 removes the right of initiative, in terms of opening judicial processes, from the Public Prosecution, making them submitted to the Police.Since the Police is already submitted to other powers, that will mean no more independent regulation of the actions of the government.

The PEC-33 will submit the Supreme Tribunal Court, the Tribunal responsible to judge processes directly related to Constitutional cases, to the Congress. The proposition violates the principle of independence among Powers (executive, legislative and judiciary). All without mentioning the Congress is the most corrupted sector of the Brazil, while the STC, on the other hand, seems to be a honest to good sector and has the good grace of the population. So, an imminent disaster.
Renan Calheiros

Corrupted politician as Head of Senate, a really strong political position for someone who should be at the jail.
The law draft to be voted about ‘curing gay people’

The Health Global Organization has already established homosexuality as a variation of human sexuality not a pathological condition almost 20 years ago. Some legislators here are considering a law project that would allow therapy for changing the sexual orientation. As if it was a condition that should be returned to normality.

The project was approved by The Human Rights Commission of the House of Representatives, a fundamentalist protestant .
The fact we have Marcos Feliciano, a fundamentalist protestant, as head of Human Rights Commission at the Chamber of Deputies

This Chamber is the equivalent of the House of Representatives. That guys is known by saying women shouldn't have the same rights as men and black people from Africa are cursed by (his) god.
The crazy expenses in organizing the World Cup.

This was already explained by another Brazilian fellow.

How All This Movement Is Going To End

The president just went to TV and made a official announcement. As expected, it was evasive.

The thing is that Brazil is a democracy. A well formed and structured democracy. Yes, lots of corruption and imperfections, but still, a democracy. At this point the Brazilian movement differs from the Arab Spring, where most people were fighting against a oppressive governments, a lot of which were dictatorships.

In the Arab Spring cases, popular uprising was able to make permanent changes, like throwing people away from the power.In Brazil, this won’t happen. Popular uprising can only show how pissed off the population is; the real change can come next year, in the elections (especially the presidential one).

It’s hard to tell what’s gonna happen from now on. The movements will probably lose force or dilute away in the middle of violence from vandals and sacks. Since there’s no political flag behind the movement(people were rejecting political flags, probably because the average Brazilian was too traumatized with politics anyway), it’s hard that all this force will be translated in the elections.

I don’t know, I went to the streets to help the march in my city, Recife. More than 120 thousands of protesters in a Thursday afternoon. Deep down, I know this will be inefficient in the long term, but I felt like it’s part of my duty as citizen to show my dissatisfaction with all the wrongness around.
Recife Streets, Pernambuco. @paulorrj
Now I can only hope we can educate people enough to get decent changes in the election next year.

It’ll be unique in Brazilian history and interesting to watch.

Paulo Ribeiro is a Brazilian blogger and entrepreneur. He talks about strategy, lifestyle, personal developement and success at Estrategistas.com.

https://medium.com/i-m-h-o/d2e5f1f632ef

[Soulflytribe]

Best moment of the protests so far:

[youtube]e5GsD_-LuzY[/youtube]

Run, bourgeois commie, run! The masses are pissed with your ilk!

After watching this I could only think about that Herman Hesse's quote:

“Man's life seems to me like a long, weary night that would be intolerable if there were not occasionally flashes of light, the sudden brightness of which is so comforting and wonderful, that the moments of their appearance cancel out and justify the years of darkness.”

[Sithsaber]

Yeah the ruling govt isn't anywhere near communist; reactionaries and radicals seem to have settled in to differing sides of the protest and threaten to push this all into a populist mess.

[Soulflytribe]

Yeah the ruling govt isn't anywhere near communist;

Who cares? Dilma Rousseff and her party say that they are socialists. The PCB (Communist Brazilian Party) is part of the government coalition and is known for being extremely corrupt. The angry mobs are pissed because their lives suck and since that fat pig above supports the government, they are blaming him for their problems. It's really that simple.

The upper classes can live pretty well here in Brazil. We go to the best doctors, best schools, best Universities, our cars are bulletproof, our neighbourhoods are extremely safe. But what about the middle class? Yes, they are the ones who are fed up with this Government.

reactionaries and radicals seem to have settled in to differing sides of the protest and

No, they are not radicals and reactionaries. Look at them again in the video above. They are just middle class, lower middle class Brazilians extremely tired of paying high taxes and not receiving anything in return.

threaten to push this all into a populist mess.

The country already is in a populist mess since 2002.

[Sithsaber]

1. The line between the masses and the mobs can be quite small.

2. You were the one to first bring up "infiltrators". The protestors seem to now have a lot of conflicting goals.

3. All Brazilian politics is touched by corruption, as is the media there.

4. A problem with this is that the current government initiated many of the reforms that helped create the Brazilian middle class; i'm not sure the opposition would keep things like subsidies and Bolsa Familia.

[Rei Murasame]

If no one is organised under any particular 'political flag', then how are any of the needed changes going to be enacted? Given that Brazilians are not into overthrowing governments, and given that there is no party that represents their list of demands, what is the plan here?

To take those - legitimate - concerns and demands and walk into the election booth at the next election in some hope that some mainstream politician will have taken notes on these protests and sought to get votes by concretely addressing the concerns expressed therein? Pigs will also grow wings and fly, maybe.

[Soulflytribe]

You were the one to first bring up "infiltrators".

Yes, the commie tried to join (infiltrate) the protests, but he was identified at 0:01 and beaten.

All Brazilian politics is touched by corruption, as is the media there.

Maybe with exception of the Vatican, I guess this the norm for the whole world, right? Sure, some countries more, others less, but I had already shown you that Italy is more corrupt than Brazil, so there's nothing unusual about corruption here.

A problem with this is that the current government initiated many of the reforms that helped create the Brazilian middle class; i'm not sure the opposition would keep things like subsidies and Bolsa Familia.

Actually, the opposition had created the "bolsa família" way before the worker's party took office, it used to be called "bolsa escola". And most of the ones protesting do not receive subsidies and bolsa família, but they do pay taxes.

When the president appears on TV now, this is the reaction:

[youtube]qZoZ6al0U8w[/youtube]

Those screaming in the video are not poor, but they are not rich either, since the rich don't live in such crowded buildings.

what is the plan here?

I don't know.
High inflation, low economic growth, crime, corruption, poor public services, high taxes and public money being used to build modern stadiums took its toll and made the people lose their temper. It's not a "rational" movement. What I feel is that the people are angry.

walk into the election booth at the next election in some hope that some mainstream politician will have taken notes on these protests and sought to get votes by concretely addressing the concerns expressed therein? Pigs will also grow wings and fly, maybe.

Well, there is no other option. If we want to remain a civilised society, we must be patient and change the country's path on October 2014 (next presidential elections). The opposition has been out of power for 10 years now. There are new political forces coming in. Patience is the key.

[Sithsaber]

Bolsa Familia was formed through a merger of many initiatives Courtesy wikipedia:

Bolsa Escola, a predecessor which was conditional only on school attendance, was pioneered in Brasilia by then-governor Cristovam Buarque. Not long after, other municipalities and states adopted similar programs. President Fernando Henrique Cardoso later federalized the program. In 2003, Lula formed Bolsa Família by combining Bolsa Escola with Bolsa Alimentação and Cartão Alimentação (all part of Lula's Fome Zero anti-hunger program) and Auxílio Gas (a transfer to compensate for the end of federal gas subsidies). This also meant the creation of a new Ministry – the Ministério do Desenvolvimento Social e Combate à Fome (Ministry for Social Development and War Against Hunger). This merger reduced administrative costs and also eased bureaucratic complexity for both the families involved and the administration of the program.

hOW biig is the middle class in Brazil? Is it still seen as having risen due to Lula? Did anyone check how the protests differ in traditional government and opposition power centers? Wouldn't the opposition just divert money to big office buildings rather than big stadiums? To most, wasting cash on big ass status symbols is a given in the modern world.

Could you supply some details on the evolution of the opposition? Has it condensed around a Caprilles like figure or are there still multiple factions? Do you really think established politicians would renege on the olympics and lose themselves billions in tourist/infrastructure money? Could the differences between the PT and the PSDB be summed up with the difference between old school social democracy and the scaling back of today?How nostalgically do people view the military dictarship years? Are some getting a wet dream about reenacting the coups? wHAT ARE THE ALTERNATIVES?

[Sithsaber]

A summation of everything that's been said here:

What happens next? Brazil protest movement at a crossroads

Guest blogger Andy Martin reports on developments on the ground in São Paulo as millions hit the streets in Brazil.

In my post on Thursday I pondered what might happen once the initial objectives of the Brazilian protests – which were sparked after an increase in bus fares – had been achieved. Would the demonstrations dissipate or having tasted success would they move on to target one of the many other grievances protesters had subsequently raised?

Well, further protests on Thursday, Friday and Saturday suggested that for the moment at least, it certainly wasn’t the former.
DSC_6350

On Thursday, over a million people across 80 cities formed what were the largest protests to date. Here in São Paulo over 100,000 people, including myself, poured onto Avenida Paulista – the city’s main avenue – in what felt like part celebration and part call to arms to demand action on other issues, including corruption, the cost of the World Cup, FIFA, poor public services and creaking infrastructure.

What was most notable in São Paulo was that whilst Monday and Tuesday’s demonstrations appeared to mainly consist of young middle class students, Thursday’s was a far more diverse affair, with it seemingly being the first of the protests many of those present had attended. Along Paulista there were noticeably many more people draped in Brazilian flags than I had seen previously and there were frequent and spontaneous renditions of the national anthem.

Along with a change in the protest’s demographic came a shift in its tone. There was a noticeably strong anti-Dilma Rousseff (Brazil’s President) and PT (Dilma’s party) sentiment – something that had not previously been evident. PT and other leftist marchers were harangued and labelled ‘opportunists’, even though many of these same activists had been on the streets throughout the previous protests – unlike many of those who were now joining in and giving their own two pennies’ worth.

And so as I arrived home, the giddy optimism that I had felt on Monday and Tuesday was now one of slight concern. Were the protests, as was being suggested on social media sites like Reddit and Twitter, now being hijacked by the right?

An overreaction? Maybe, but with memories of 1964, when anti-government sentiment – including a huge demonstration in São Paulo – led to a coup and imposition of a military dictatorship that remained in place until 1985, you could perhaps understand the left feeling a little jittery about the prospect of a large number of disaffected people wearing nationalistic symbols, and with a message of ‘no to everything’, being nefariously co-opted. For an extreme example, see this Facebook group requesting the return of a military dictatorship.

What’s going on here?: “Enough! We’re tired of being spectators”: Brazil protests come to London

I spoke to an activist who describes himself as neither left nor right and without affiliation to a political group or party and asked what his thoughts were about this: “I understand their concern, but it’s not about parties. The people are making it clear,” he said.

“Now it’s not a dumb nationalism. It’s a very different situation. The left is too traumatised by the dictatorship.”

“I think it’s positive, because it unites people,” he said of the nationalistic symbols becoming more apparent at the demonstrations. “Brazilians weren’t united until now and people are scared because it reminds them of the dumb nationalism we saw during the dictatorship, but now it’s not a dumb nationalism. It’s a very different situation. The left is too traumatised by the dictatorship.”

Then on Friday, President Dilma, who was arrested and tortured in 1970 for being part of the resistance movement during the dictatorship, addressed the nation to criticise those who had looted and caused violence on Thursday (the protest in São Paulo had remained relatively peaceful, but not elsewhere), but also to reaffirm her support for those who had demonstrated peacefully.

Yet, despite some promises in relation to new proposals for education and public transport, her speech did not prevent further protests from occurring around the country on Saturday – with one in Belo Horizonte, close to the stadium where a Confederations Cup game was being played, turning particularly nasty.

The question still remained then: what happens now?

Well, tonight (Monday) came further proposals from the President. After first meeting with protesters and later local mayors and governors, she proposed a referendum on political reform (no specific details as yet), a programme for public transport (with £17bn of funds) and plans for the economy, health and employment.
president dilma

Initial reaction seems to be that she has played her cards well, knowing that if her proposals are rejected by Congress, particularly those relating to political reform to tighten up on corruption, then she can point her finger elsewhere if there are further or sustained demonstrations.

As ever though, the situation remains fluid and given how quickly things changed last week there is no way of knowing for sure how Dilma’s proposals will be received – either by Congress, the nation or the markets (Brazil’s currency has plunged in recent weeks).

What is for sure though is that as foreigner in Brazil it is certainly an extremely interesting time to be living here, with the thought in my mind being that I might just be witnessing a important moment in country’s history.

Whether it plays out that way… well, I guess we’ll just have to wait and see.

http://planetivy.co.uk/offbeat/53158/what-happens-next-brazil-protest-movement-at-a-crossroads/

How independent is the army right now? Would it even matter? Worst comes to worst, could the state break up?

[Soulflytribe]

Bolsa Escola, a predecessor which was conditional only on school attendance, was pioneered in Brasilia by then-governor Cristovam Buarque. Not long after, other municipalities and states adopted similar programs. President Fernando Henrique Cardoso later federalized the program.

See, Sithsaber? Why would the opposition remove something that they themselves have implemented?

How independent is the army right now?

There are Generals saying that the Army will not fight the protestors under any circumstance. And don't forget that Brazil is not Venezuela or Bolivia.



"Wake up Brazil!
We stand behind you"

Worst comes to worst, could the state break up?

I don't think so. The country is stable. We just have a terrible and corrupt president that will be expelled from office in one year.

And the worst is over, the protests are being quite small now. The population has already released the anger against socialism/communism/corruption/obsolete ideologies/stupidity/mismanagement. The point has been made.

[Sithsaber]

I culd bring up videos of protestors complaining of a betrayal of old PT (and kind of commie) ideals so you may be taking a somewhat simplistic line. Or maybe years of listening to the Tea Parties bullshit about Obama being a evil islamonazi communist has made me a stickler for labels.

[Soulflytribe]

culd bring up videos of protestors complaining of a betrayal of old PT

Yes, you could. The 1% who was beaten in the streets and had their flags burned.

[Sithsaber]

1. I'd worry more about the military repeating the last coup and using protests as an excuse to overthrow the government.

2. What about Fome Zero?

3. The movement is not yet streamlined and still in its infancy. We don't really know what can happen next and a potential class divide in the protests could end up leaving Brazil more like Venezuela and Argentina than like Mexico. I also haven't ever really heard about rampant regionalism and ethnic divides in Brazil, so a Santa Cruz, Bolivia situation seems very unlikely.
4. Brazil isn't like Venezuela, with its numerous foreign policy experiments. Seeing how no one seriously thinks Brazil would embarrass itself internationally by dropping the spectacle, how will the govt come up witht all the money necessary to enact the proposed programs and maintain all its growth?

5. How bad is your congress?
Either way, you'd have to be retarded to think the established political parties would be stalwarts against corruption.

President's promises fail to calm Brazil






Protesters return to Sao Paulo's streets, while police detain nine people over deadly shootout in Rio de Janeiro slum.



Last Modified: 25 Jun 2013 23:07












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Protesters in Sao Paulo do not appear appeased by Rousseff's $23bn new spending proposal [Reuters]


Protesters in Brazil have returned to the streets in low-income suburbs of Sao Paulo to demand better education, transport and health services, one day after President Dilma Rousseff proposed a wide range of actions to reform the country's political system.

Police said at least 500 people blocked streets for several hours on Tuesday in a peaceful protest in the districts of Capao Redondo and Campo Limpo on the outskirts of Brazil's largest city.

The protesters did not appear appeased by Rousseff's proposals, which shifted some of the burden for progress onto Brazil's unpopular Congress by calling for a referendum on reform politicians will have to approve.

The divided Congress is likely to struggle to take any quick action on such a referendum.

Protesters have filled cities to air a number of grievances including poor public services and the high cost of hosting next year's World Cup soccer tournament and the 2016 Olympics.






Al Jazeera's Gabriel Elizondo reports on why Rousseff may not be able to appease protesters with reforms.

Protests expected

About 100,000 people were expected to march in the city of Belo Horizonte on Wednesday before Brazil played Uruguay in the semifinals of the Confederations Cup.

City officials have declared a holiday in Belo Horizonte, and authorities said they were expecting confrontations with demonstrators.

Sepp Blatter, president of soccer organising body FIFA, is scheduled to attend the game.

FIFA officials have said security has been boosted because of the protests, but it was not immediately known if any changes were expected in Belo Horizonte because of Blatter's presence.

In Porto Alegre, Ronaldo Sielichow, president of the local Association of Store Owners, asked law enforcement to tighten security after looting hit the southern city over the past few days during demonstrations.

Favela shootout

Against this backdrop of continued unrest, authorities have deployed about 1,000 security personnel near a slum in Rio de Janeiro where a shootout left at least nine people, including a police officer, dead on Monday.

The officer had been called to the Nova Holonda favela after a group of people set fire to rubbish in the street to create a roadblock in order to rob stranded motorists on a major thoroughfare cutting through the city, police said.

The dead included five robbery suspects and three residents besides the officer, police said, adding that at least nine others were injured.

Nine people were detained, including the main suspect in the police officer's killing.

Al Jazeera's Adam Raney, reporting from the favela on Tuesday, said he saw blood splattered on the walls of the homes of the dead.

"It's unclear if it was a gunshot that killed these suspects in these houses or if it was something more in closed quarters," he said.

He said people in the neighbourhood would not speak to him because police there are feared rather than respected.






Inside Story Americas - Brazil: Protests of discontent

Spending proposal

The violence in Rio occurred as Brazil remained in the grip of the protests over poor governance.

Rousseff told governors and mayors on Monday that her administration would allocate $23bn for new spending on urban public transport, but did not provide details on what the new projects would be.

Four leaders from the free-transit activist group that launched the demonstrations more than a week ago said she also gave them no concrete plans while meeting them.

She said her government would focus on five priorities: fiscal responsibility and controlling inflation; political reform; health care; public transport, and education.

In her weekly column posted on Tuesday on the presidency's website, Rousseff said: "The money spent to build or renovate stadiums for the World Cup is not part of the federal budget and does not affect funds earmarked for health and education."

She said the World Cup cost was financed and will be paid back by the companies and state governments that use these stadiums.

http://www.aljazeera.com/news/americas/2013/06/2013625191232435439.html How divided I the current government? I assume there aren't near deadlock.

[Sithsaber]

Come to think of it all of LA has a potentially implosive streak. This goes beyond ALBA weakness without Chavez or the root causes of the Colombian Conflict. Chile's got its demands for education reforms et cetera, Brazil's got this, Peru still has quite a few pissed off peasants and Fujimori people, and everything north of Panama can be left hostage by organized drug gangs at a drop of the hat.

[Social_Critic]

Chavez's gig was up anyway. He had a humongous corruption machine, they stole billions of USD per year. So they were going to pay the price for all the mistakes he made. Dying when he did was sort of lucky for him. He had terminal cancer, it was eating at him, and he barely managed to keep his garbage going with wire and chewing gum.

If you keep up with the news, you'll see Maduro had to devalue the currency even before the election where he suposedly won. Now he's running around making deals with oil companies such as Chevron Texaco, and trying to put in jail the lower castes in the price control agency, the tax collectors, customs and ports, and so on. They won't go after the higher level officials because it could unleash a civil war. But catching up with corruption, putting the army on the streets to fight crime, and the other half measures he's taking won't save his ass. The economy is too screwed up now. I don't think there's a solution and there's going to be serious unrest before this is over. For example right now all the universities are closed because they don't pay the staff, the students are backing the strike, and they'll be hitting the streets in force within the week.

What Brazil has is nothing compared to what may be about to explode in Venezuela. In Brazil inflation is 6 to 7 %, in Venezuela it's running 30 to 40 %. And even though Dilma is a bit goofy she hasn't got nearly as bad as Maduro who likes to threaten everybody, doesn't even appear legitimate, likes to praise Castro all the time, and is suspected of not even being born in Venezuela.