Mass Protests in Brazil Call for Jair Bolsonaro’s Impeachment

THE GUARDIAN: Crowds parade through cities as polling shows president’s ratings sinking to new depths

Protesters in Rio de Janeiro were addressed by politicians calling for a united opposition to Jair Bolsonaro.Photograph: António Lacerda/EPA
Tens of thousands of protesters have returned to the streets of Brazil’s biggest cities to demand Jair Bolsonaro’s impeachment, as a poll showed the Brazilian president’s ratings had plumbed new depths.

Huge crowds paraded through downtown Rio on Saturday to voice their outrage at Bolsonaro’s response to a Covid outbreak that has killed nearly 600,000 people and dealt a heavy blow to the South American country’s economy.

“We have come to shout at the top of our voices: Bolsonaro’s place is behind bars,” Carlos Lupi, the president of Brazil’s Democratic Labour party, told thousands of flag-waving demonstrators who had gathered outside Rio’s municipal chamber under a ferocious midday sun.

“This crook who uses the Bible to trick the people … This worm! This wretch! He must go to jail!” Lupi bellowed to cheers of approval. » | Tom Phillips in Rio de Janeiro | Saturday, October 2, 2021

Beim Kampf ums politische Überleben wird Bolsonaro einsam – und radikaler

NEUE ZÜRCHER ZEITUNG: Der brasilianische Präsident Bolsonaro hat seine Anhänger am Feiertag zur Unabhängigkeit dazu aufgerufen, ihn mit Protesten zu unterstützen. Viele sind gekommen. Nun will der Rechtspopulist einen Verfassungsrat einberufen, der über den Ausnahmezustand entscheiden könnte.

Der brasilianische Präsident Jair Bolsonaro (Mitte) grüsst seine Unterstützer bei einer Demonstration in São Paulo am 7. September.| Fernando Bizerra / EPA
Mit einem offenen Rolls-Royce Silver Wraith aus dem Jahr 1952 liess sich der brasilianische Präsident am gestrigen Unabhängigkeitstag zum Fahnenappell vor den Präsidentenpalast fahren. Der mehrfache Formel-1-Gewinner Nelson Piquet – ein erklärter Bolsonaro-Fan – steuerte die Limousine mit dem Präsidentenpaar und einigen Kindern. Doch danach war es vorbei mit der fast höfischen Eleganz: Der Rechtspopulist hielt vor seinen meist schon am Vortag angereisten rund 120 000 Fans eine Ansprache, wie sie es von ihm erwarteten. «Wir haben Ordnung und Fortschritt auf unsere Fahne geschrieben», bellte er im Kommandoton. Die wolle er auch durchsetzen. Die Demonstration sei ein Ultimatum an die Machthaber der Republik. Das sind für ihn die Richter des Obersten Gerichtshofs. Weil diese Machtkonzentration einzelner Mitglieder der Justiz nicht akzeptabel sei, wolle er schon am heutigen Mittwoch einen Verfassungsrat einberufen. » | Alexander Busch, Salvador | Mittwoch, 8. September 2021

Brazil’s President Bans Social Networks from Removing Some Posts

THE NEW YORK TIMES: The new rules in Brazil appear to be the first national policy that restricts how tech companies can control their sites, analysts say.

Supporters of President Jair Bolsonaro of Brazil in São Paulo on Tuesday. Victor Moriyama for The New York Times
President Jair Bolsonaro of Brazil is temporarily banning social media companies from removing certain content, including his claims that the only way he’ll lose next year’s elections is if the vote is rigged — one of the most significant steps by a democratically elected leader to control what can be said on the internet.

The new social media rules, issued this week and effective immediately, appear to be the first time a national government has stopped internet companies from taking down content that violates their rules, according to internet law experts and officials at tech companies. And they come at a precarious moment for Brazil. » | Jack Nicas | Thursday, September 9, 2021

Les partisans de Bolsonaro dans la rue

Les supporteurs du président brésilien, Jair Bolsonaro, sont venus, mardi, à Brasilia, pour écouter et soutenir le leader d’extrême droite. SERGIO LIMA/AFP
Rio de Janeiro
LE FIGARO : Des centaines de milliers de manifestants ont affiché leur soutien au président, qui traverse une mauvaise passe.

Des centaines de milliers de personnes à travers le Brésil ont répondu présentes à l’appel du président brésilien, Jair Bolsonaro, mardi 7 septembre, lors de vastes manifestations en soutien au leader d’extrême droite. Ces derniers mois, Bolsonaro a vu sa popularité chuter dans les sondages, ses projets de loi rejetés par le Parlement, et l’étau judiciaire se resserrer autour de son clan. Une sécheresse record menace la reprise économique du géant latino-américain, ainsi que l’approvisionnement en eau et en énergie de millions de familles, d’entreprises et d’agriculteurs.

À un peu plus d’un an de l’élection présidentielle, l’ancien capitaine de l’armée est dans l’impasse. Sa seule issue: convoquer les foules pour montrer à ses critiques et adversaires politiques qu’il reste un candidat à craindre en 2022. De Rio de Janeiro à Recife, de Sao Paulo à Brasilia, le socle dur du «bolsonarisme» - environ 30 % de l’électorat - a pris d’assaut les capitales, vêtu de jaune et de vert, couleurs du drapeau brésilien, pour encourager celui qu’ils surnomment «mito» («le mythe»). «Bolsonaro est un président de droite qui montre que le Brésil a un futur, une direction», estime Sonia Olives, 67 ans, sirotant une noix de coco en marge des rassemblements considérables à Copacabana, quartier emblématique de Rio. » | Par Diane Jeantet | mardi 7 septembre 2021br />
À LIRE AUSSI :

Au Brésil, une sécheresse historique plombe la reprise »

Le Brésil confronté à une forte inflation »

Brazil: Warning Bolsonaro May Be Planning Military Coup amid Rallies

THE GUARDIAN: Former world leaders and public figures say nationwide marches are modelled on US Capitol insurrection

Jair Bolsonaro warned on 21 August that the rallies were a ‘necessary counter-coup’ against Congress and the supreme court. Photograph: Adriano Machado/Reuters
THE GUARDIAN: Former world leaders and public figures say nationwide marches are modelled on US Capitol insurrection

The Brazilian president, Jair Bolsonaro, and his allies could be preparing to mount a military coup in Brazil, according to an influential group of former presidents, prime ministers and leading public figures on the left.

An open letter claims rallies that Bolsonaro followers are staging on Tuesday represent a danger to democracy and amount to an insurrection modelled on Donald Trump supporters’ attack on the US Capitol on 6 January.

They assert the nationwide marches by Bolsonaro supporters against the supreme court and Congress, involving white supremacist groups, military police, and public officials at every level of government, are “stoking fears of a coup in the world’s third largest democracy”. » | Patrick Wintour, Diplomatic editor | Monday, September 6, 2021

Fears of Violence on Brazil’s Streets as Millions Rally to Back Bolsonaro

THE OBSERVER: His rural voters see the embattled president as a ‘messenger from God’. And this week they will march in the cities to support him

Supporters of President Jair Bolsonaro take part in the ‘march of the Christian family for freedom’, in Brasilia, Brazil, on 15 May. Photograph: Joédson Alves/EPA
Jair Bolsonaro supporters aren’t hard to find in Sinop, an agricultural boomtown in the Brazilian Amazon where nearly 80% of voters backed the country’s ultra-conservative leader in the 2018 election.

“He’s a president of the people,” said Marcos Watanabe, the head of the city’s conservative association, sporting a T-shirt stamped with Bolsonaro’s name.

Few, however, are as passionate as the president of Sinop’s farmers’ union, Ilson José Redivo, who has placed a billboard of his leader outside its headquarters with the slogan: “We believe in God and we value the family. We’re with Bolsonaro.”

“He’s trying to change Brazil,” said the 64-year-old corn and soya bean farmer who hosted the rightwing populist in Sinop last year at an event attended by members of the region’s powerful agribusiness elite.

Redivo is one of millions of Bolsonaro devotees expected to hit the streets on 7 September for one in a series of mass rallies that have jolted Brazilian politics and left many citizens fretting over the future of their country’s young democracy.

“It will be the largest demonstration Brazil has ever seen,” Redivo claimed on Friday as he prepared to make the 780-mile journey to Brazil’s capital, Brasília, where one of the largest mobilisations will be held. » | Tom Phillips in Sinop | Sunday, September 5, 2021

Brazil's Jair Bolsonaro Says He Will Be Killed, Arrested or Re-elected

Mr Bolsonaro is planning to run for a second term next year | AFP
BBC: Brazilian President Jair Bolsonaro has said he sees three alternatives for his future: prison, death or victory in next year's presidential election.

The right-wing populist leader is trailing left-wing former President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva in the polls.

"I have three alternatives for my future: being arrested, killed or victory," he told evangelical leaders.

But the former military officer said there was no chance of prison because "no man on Earth will threaten me".

Mr Bolsonaro was nearly stabbed to death on the campaign trail in 2018. His remarks come amid fierce tensions between him and the country's judiciary and election authorities. » | BBC | Sunday, August 29, 2021

Brésil : la justice électorale va enquêter sur Bolsonaro

Le président brésilien, Jair Bolsonaro. ADRIANO MACHADO / REUTERS
LE FIGARO : Le Tribunal supérieur électoral va se pencher sur les attaques du chef de l'État brésilien sur la légitimité du système de vote électronique.

Le Tribunal supérieur électoral (TSE) du Brésil a décidé lundi 2 août d'enquêter sur le président Jair Bolsonaro pour ses attaques constantes et sans preuves sur la légitimité du système de vote électronique, en place depuis 1996. La haute juridiction électorale a également accepté de demander au Tribunal fédéral suprême (STF) d'enquêter sur le leader d'extrême droite pour avoir propagé de fausses nouvelles sur les élections lors d'une diffusion en direct sur Facebook jeudi dernier. Pendant plus de deux heures, il s'était dit convaincu qu'il y avait eu des fraudes lors des deux dernières élections présidentielles.

L'enquête du TSE déterminera si le président Bolsonaro a commis des délits «d'abus de pouvoir économique et politique, d'utilisation abusive des médias, de corruption, de fraude, de veto d'agents publics et de propagande extemporanée dans ses attaques contre le système de vote électronique et la légitimité des élections générales de 2022». » | Par Le Figaro avec AFP | mardi 3 août 2021

YouTube retire des vidéos de Jair Bolsonaro pour désinformation

LE MONDE : La plate-forme souligne qu’elle a pris sa décision « après un examen minutieux » et sans tenir compte de l’idéologie politique du président brésilien.

YouTube a déclaré, mercredi 22 juillet, avoir supprimé des vidéos de la chaîne du président brésilien pour avoir diffusé de fausses informations sur l’épidémie de Covid-19. La plate-forme souligne qu’elle a pris sa décision « après un examen minutieux » et sans tenir compte de l’idéologie politique de Jair Bolsonaro. » | Le Monde avec AFP | jeudi 22 juillet 2021

YouTube pulls videos by Bolsonaro for spreading misinformation on the virus. »

Brazilians Take to Streets to Demand Removal of Jair Bolsonaro

THE GUARDIAN: Calls for president’s impeachment grow amid claims government sought to profit from Covid jabs

Huge crowds of protesters have returned to the streets of Brazil’s biggest cities to demand the removal of a president they blame for more than half a million coronavirus deaths.

Tens of thousands of demonstrators hit the streets of Rio de Janeiro on Saturday morning as calls for Jair Bolsonaro’s impeachment intensified after allegations that members of his government had sought to illegally profit from the purchase of Covid vaccines.

“The people have awoken,” said Benedita da Silva, a 79-year-old congresswoman and veteran of the Brazilian left, as she joined the rally.

“I’m here because we absolutely have to get this monster out of power and reclaim Brazil,” said Magda Souza, a 64-year-old dissenter, as she marched through downtown Rio with her husband, José Baptisa. “We’re surrounded by barbarism,” Souza added as a police helicopter circled over the throng. » | Tom Phillips in Rio de Janeiro | Saturday, July 3, 2021

Bolsonaro's Foul-mouthed Rant to Cabinet over Security Forces

A profanity-laced video emerged on Friday showing Brazilian President Jair Bolsonaro expressing frustration at his inability to get information from police.

In the video released by the Supreme Court, Bolsonaro vowed to change Cabinet ministers if needed to protect his family.

The two-hour video of a Cabinet meeting, with portions redacted, was released as part of a probe into allegations that the president was trying to illegally interfere in a criminal investigation of his sons, a claim made by former Justice Minister Sérgio Moro when he resigned last month.

The former minister told investigators Bolsonaro openly demanded he make changes in key federal police positions, including the head of the agency as a whole.

Moro resigned after Bolsonaro fired the federal police director-general without consulting him.

Brazilian Government In Turmoil after Justice Minister Resigns

THE GUARDIAN: President Jair Bolsonaro denies he sought to influence federal police inquiries

Brazil’s government has been plunged into turmoil after the resignation of one of Jair Bolsonaro’s most powerful ministers sparked protests, calls for the president’s impeachment and an investigation into claims he had improperly interfered in the country’s federal police.

In a rambling televised address late on Friday, Brazil’s embattled president denied claims from his outgoing justice minister Sérgio Moro that he had sought to appoint a new federal police chief in order to gain access to secret intelligence reports – for reasons that remain murky.

“Sorry Mr Minister, you won’t make a liar of me,” Bolsonaro declared, flanked by an almost entirely male group of backers, including his politician son Eduardo. » | Dom Phillips in Rio de Janeiro | Friday, April 24, 2020

Jair Bolsonaro Says Criminals Will 'Die Like Cockroaches' under Proposed New Laws

THE GUARDIAN: Brazil’s president calls for security forces and citizens who shoot alleged offenders to be shielded from prosecution

Brazil’s far-right president, Jair Bolsonaro, has said he hopes criminals will “die in the streets like cockroaches” as a result of hard-line legislation he is pushing to shield security forces and citizens who shoot alleged offenders from prosecution. In an interview broadcast on Monday, Bolsonaro said he hoped Congress would approve his controversial plans to expand the so-called excludente de ilicitude – an article in Brazil’s criminal code that makes some normally illegal acts permissible. » | Tom Phillips, Latin America correspondent | Tuesday, August 6, 2019

Brazil Governed by ‘Lunatics’ and US ‘Lackeys’, Says Ex-president Lula

THE GUARDIAN: Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva, Brazil’s president from 2003 and 2011, is in jail over corruption charges that he disputes

Brazil is being governed by “a bunch of lunatics” and United States “lackeys” who have shattered its international reputation, former president Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva has claimed in his first interview since being jailed one year ago.

Lula, Brazil’s president from 2003 and 2011, surrendered himself to police last April after being convicted on corruption charges he disputes.

The 73-year-old leftist had been forbidden from giving face-to-face interviews until Friday, when two Brazilian journalists were allowed to visit him at his prison in southern Brazil following a lengthy legal battle.

Lula told them Brazil needed to undergo period of “self-reflection” after what he described as the “crazy” fake news and hate-filled election of far-right populist Jair Bolsonaro last year. “What we can’t have is this country being run governed by a bunch of lunatics. The country doesn’t deserve this and above all the people do not deserve this.” » | Anna Jean Kaiser in São Paulo and Tom Phillips | Saturday, April 27, 2019

Brazil Must Not Become a 'Gay Tourism Paradise', Says Bolsonaro

THE GUARDIAN: LGBT campaigners say Brazilian president’s comments risk inciting hatred

Brazil’s far-right president, the self-declared homophobe Jair Bolsonaro, has been accused of inciting hatred towards LGBT people after declaring the South American country should not become a “gay tourism paradise”.

“If you want to come here and have sex with a woman, go for your life,” Bolsonaro reportedly told journalists in the capital, Brasília. “But we can’t let this place become known as a gay tourism paradise. Brazil can’t be a country of the gay world, of gay tourism. We have families,” Bolsonaro added, according to the Brazilian magazine Exame.

The comments – made during a breakfast meeting with Brazilian reporters – sparked an immediate reaction from LGBT campaigners. » | Tom Phillips and Anna Jean Kaiser in São Paulo | Friday, April 26, 2019

Trump Holds Joint Press Conference with Brazilian President

Glenn Greenwald on Bolsonaro: Brazil Has Elected “Most Extremist Leader in the Democratic World”

Far-right leader Jair Bolsonaro has been elected Brazil’s next president, marking the most radical political shift in the country since military rule ended more than 30 years ago. Bolsonaro, a former Army officer, openly supports torture and dictatorships, has a history of making racist, misogynistic and homophobic comments, and has threatened to destroy, imprison or banish his political opponents. He defeated Fernando Haddad of the leftist Workers’ Party with 55 percent of the vote. His ascendance to power is leading many to fear the future of democracy in Brazil is in danger. We speak with Glenn Greenwald, Pulitzer Prize-winning journalist and one of the founding editors of The Intercept, in Rio de Janeiro. He says that Bolsonaro is “by far the most extremist leader now elected anywhere in the democratic world.”

Jair Bolsonaro: A Wrecking Ball for Brazil's Media? | The Listening Post | Full