Private interests and foreign influence helped to pave the path toward Brazil’s military dictatorship (1964-1985). The armed forces is not an institution separate from society...It’s a reflection of that violent and authoritarian society. However, they are more dangerous because they have the prerogative to legally use firearms. —Priscila Brandão An...

“This pact exists throughout Brazil. It’s not privileged to Rio de Janeiro. Truth be said, it’s a very organic, structured relationship between Rio de Janeiro politicians, militia groups and the police. How does it function? Militias control growing amounts of territory. Approximately one million to 1.9 million people (in Rio...

“Blindness that affects the other side also affects us.” — Mano Brown The saying goes: Um negócio pra boi dormir.” Literally, the Brazilian aphorism means: (To give) something for the bull to sleep. In practical layman’s terms it pre-figures social interactions where somebody, a group of people or an entity, says...

BRAZIL—As if: questions shrouding the loyalty of Brazil’s armed forces toward the country’s federal government did not persist; the potential of being affected by a colonial-inspired conflict involving Venezuela and Guyana over the oil-rich region of Essequibo; and Operation Shield, a police offensive following the death of a military...

Flashbacks, possibly nightmares, haunt the ghost of an old empire. In December 2023, 57 years after the sun and Union Jack descended over British Guiana, Britain’s HMS Trent, a Royal Navy patrol vessel, was spotted sailing into a Guyanese harbor. “Nothing that we did in the past or we will...

BRAZIL—Over the past few days and weeks, rumors of war, as if global conflict were an inevitable contagion bound to reach Indoamerica (South or Latin America), swirled at an uncanny, feverish pitch. The case for armed conflict has subsided only slightly. An unspoiled, beautiful region known as Essequibo has taken...

On August 22-24, the BRICS organization (Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa) held its 15th Summit in Johannesburg, South Africa. BRICS Chairman Cyril Ramaphosa, who is president of South Africa, made concluding remarks about the Summit in a media briefing:  “Leading up to the Summit, there was a wide-ranging BRICS business...

After their highly-watched 15th summit, the core member nations of Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa have accepted six new members: Argentina, Egypt, Ethiopia, Iran, Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates, who will become members on January 1, 2024. More than a dozen other countries have applied for membership....

Evidence collected by The Intercept revealed that Operation Car Wash, an anti-corruption investigation led by Brazilian Federal Prosecutors and the Federal Police from 2014 to 2021, received support from the U.S. Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI). The operation had a significant impact on Brazilian politics, including the undermining of the...

Newly elected President Luíz Inácio Lula da Silva remains in hotel accommodation in Brasília, still unable to reside in the Alvorada Palace due to material damage and security concerns. On the 21st of January, Brazilian president, Luíz Inácio Lula da Silva, sacked general Júlio César de Arruda as head of...