Brazil
Brazil’s Workers Party government mobilizes troops against striking oil workers
By Rafael Azul, 23 October 2013
Brazilian President Dilma Rousseff called out the army against protests over the sale of offshore oil concessions.
Canada spied on Brazil’s government as part of global commercial espionage campaign
By Keith Jones, 9 October 2013
The government is seeking to contain the fallout from the revelation, arising from documents leaked by whistleblower Ed Snowden.
Brazilian president cancels White House visit over NSA spying
By Bill Van Auken, 19 September 2013
President Dilma Rousseff canceled a state visit to the Obama White House in protest over a series of revelations concerning massive NSA spying on Brazil.
Spying on Brazilian oil company Petrobras exposed
By Bill Van Auken, 13 September 2013
Top secret documents released by ex-NSA contractor Edward Snowden have exposed the agency’s spying on Brazil’s state-owned Petrobras, the fourth largest oil company in the world.
One-day protest strike in Brazil
By Rafael Azul, 4 September 2013
Brazilian trade unions sponsored a day of protest on August 30 against new labor legislation.
US spied on presidents of Brazil, Mexico, documents from Snowden reveal
By Tom Eley, 3 September 2013
Documents leaked by whistleblower Edward Snowden reveal that the NSA specifically targeted for surveillance leaders of the two largest Latin American countries.
Letter from Rio: The Pope’s visit and Brazil’s mass upheavals
25 July 2013
After the mass protests that erupted last month, Brazil’s ruling establishment sees the papal visit as “providential relief.”
Brazil’s unions, “left” parties and the July 11 “general strike”
By Rafael Azul, 24 July 2013
The low turnout at protests held on July 11 reflected the inability of Workers Party and trade unions to marshal support.
Brazil target of massive NSA spying operation
By Bill Van Auken, 10 July 2013
New revelations provided by the former National Security Agency contractor Edward Snowden have exposed a US spying operation targeting millions of Brazilians.
Workers Party and pseudo-left work to dissipate protest movement in Brazil
By Dorian Griscom, 8 July 2013
The mass protests have thrown the Workers Party government and all those in its orbit into crisis.
The mass protests in Brazil and the crisis of revolutionary leadership
By Bill Van Auken, 22 June 2013
Over the past week, Brazil has witnessed its largest protests since the end of the military dictatorship in 1985. This eruption of mass struggles has exposed the crisis of revolutionary leadership in the working class.
Massive protests sweep Brazil after transit fare rollback
By Rafael Azul, 21 June 2013
Despite a rollback in transit fares, hundreds of thousands took to the streets Thursday in cities across Brazil, demanding greater spending on health, education and social services.
Hundreds of thousands protest throughout Brazil
By Dorian Griscom, 19 June 2013
Monday’s mass protests broadened a wave of smaller protests that were initially launched in response to transit fare hikes.
Sao Paulo teachers’ strikes confront union betrayal
By Bill Van Auken, 18 May 2013
Teachers remain on strike in the municipal school system of the city of Sao Paulo after the strike by their counterparts in the Sao Paulo state system was betrayed by their union.
Brazil’s economy beset by inflation, lagging production
By Bill Van Auken, 11 April 2013
The inflation spike has been driven by a sharp rise in the price of food and other consumer items, with the impact felt acutely by Brazil’s working class and poor.
Fire in Brazil night club kills 245
By Rafael Azul, 28 January 2013
A lack of fire equipment and fire exits, the use of cheap building materials, and inadequate inspections combined to push up the number of casualties.
Brazil’s public workers end strike
By Bill Van Auken, 31 August 2012
The majority of Brazil’s federal unions have called off a nearly four-month strike that pitted some 350,000 workers against the Workers Party government of President Dilma Rousseff.
Tensions deepen as Brazil federal strike grows
By Bill Van Auken, 10 August 2012
Tensions between the government of Workers Party President Dilma Rousseff and hundreds of thousands of striking federal workers deepened as federal police and other sectors of the public workforce joined the walkout.
Brazilian public sector strike challenges PT government’s economic policy
By Bill Van Auken, 7 August 2012
A prolonged strike by 350,000 university professors, electrical workers and other federal employees poses a direct challenge to the economic policies initiated by the Workers Party government in response to the global crisis.
Brazilian army, police occupy Rio de Janeiro slums
By Rafael Azul, 15 November 2011
On Sunday Brazilian police and Government troops occupied three slums in Río de Janeiro as part of a pacification program in preparation for Soccer and Olympic competitions in 2014 and 2016.
Latin stock markets hit hardest by US credit downgrade
By Luis Arce, 12 August 2011
Latin America’s financial markets suffered the most severe losses of any in the world in the “Black Monday” global sell-off that followed the downgrading of US debt.
Brazil’s poor evicted to make way for Olympics
By Bill Van Auken, 4 May 2011
In preparation for the 2014 World Cup and the 2016 Olympic games, authorities in Brazil are carrying out mass expulsions of favela (shantytown) residents in Rio de Janeiro and other cities.
BRICS summit denounces “use of force” against Libya
By John Chan, 18 April 2011
Global economic shifts are behind the push by the BRICS grouping for the Western powers to make room for the “emerging economies”.
Human rights report cites Brazil for torture, police killings
By Bill Van Auken, 27 January 2011
A report released this week by Human Rights Watch cited Brazil for widespread torture, police killings and a continuing amnesty for crimes carried out under the military dictatorship.
Hundreds dead in Brazilian flooding
By Bill Van Auken, 15 January 2011
The death toll from flooding and mudslides rose past 500 Friday, with hundreds more missing, as Brazil confronted its worst ever natural disaster.
Cables bare US operations in Brazil
By Bill Van Auken, 14 December 2010
Scores of cables between the US State Department and the American embassy in Brasilia released by WikiLeaks have laid bare the ruthless pursuit of US imperialist interests in Latin America’s largest country.
Brazil stock market rises on Workers Party election victory
By Rafael Azul, 2 November 2010
The Brazilian stock market reacted favorably to the victory of the PT candidate Dilma Rousseff in Sunday’s election. Eight years in power have confirmed the so-called Workers Party as a stalwart defender of capitalism.
Workers Party candidate fails to win first-round victory in Brazil
By Bill Van Auken, 5 October 2010
Workers Party candidate Dilma Rousseff, incumbent President Lula da Silva’s hand-picked successor, failed to win an outright majority in Sunday’s Brazilian election, forcing her into a run-off with José Serra, the candidate of the right.
Brazilian election points to continuity of “Lulaism”
By Bill Van Auken, 1 October 2010
Brazil’s October 3 election appears set to deliver the presidency to the Workers Party candidate Dilma Rousseff and cement the continuity of the pro-capitalist policies pursued by incumbent President Lula da Silva.
Hundreds killed in Rio de Janeiro mudslides
By Rafael Azul, 14 April 2010
For the second time this year, scores of Brazilians have been victimized and left homeless by storms in Rio de Janeiro state.
Brazil: Evangelical leader tied to Lula government charged with wholesale fraud
By Ali Ismail, 15 September 2009
Last month, prosecutors in Brazil charged the founder of one of the country’s largest evangelical churches with committing fraud against its followers, many of them poverty-stricken, as well as the church itself.
Brazil: students resist attacks by shock troops at University of Sao Paulo
By Julio Maia, 11 July 2009
On June 9, the University of Sao Paulo (USP), the largest university in Brazil, with nearly 80,000 students, was the scene of events that have not taken place in the country in 30 years, since the darkest days of the military dictatorship.
Brazil, China deals challenge US position in Latin America
By Luis Arce, 6 June 2009
Last month’s visit to Beijing by Brazil’s president pointed to the vast political-economic shifts taking place globally as economic rivals seek to fill the vacuum left by a US tied down in two wars and struggling to confront its deep financial crisis.
Brazil-Ecuador clash bares tensions between “left” governments
By Roger Silva, 5 December 2008
Relations between South America’s so-called left governments appear fraught with growing tensions in advance of the Union of South American nation’s meeting in Brazil later this month.
Brazilian workers demonstrate against social security cuts
By Bill Vann, 13 February 1998
On February 11 the lower house of the Brazilian parliament approved sweeping cuts in Brazil's social security system while thousands of workers confronted heavily armed police outside the parliament building in Brasilia.
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