I am not an expert on Brazil and don't pretend to be. It, frankly, has been several years since I followed developments in that country very closely. My once pretty good Portuguese has morphed into a sloppy mix of Spanish and Portuguese, what Latin Americans call portuñol.
I am, furthermore, not an expert on Brazil's president-elect Jair Bolsonaro. I look forward to comments from people who know more than I do on Brazil and Bolsonaro.
I am, however, pretty good at reading through media hit jobs. Bolsonaro has the international media, political, and academic elite in a mad spin. We see the usual labels trotted out, "authoritarian," "far right," hater of the Amazonian Indians, lethal for the environment, etc. My favorite, of course, is "fringe" politician. Interesting how a fringe politician can get 56% of the popular vote. I guess 56% of Brazilian voters are on the fringe--helluva fringe, that . . . seems, in fact, more akin to a majority, but then I've never been good at math.
The absolute worst thing about Bolsonaro, of course, is that he is suspicious of China and Iran, and--WORSE!--seems to like and admire both the United States and--HORRORS!--Donald Trump! Yes, that very same anti-semitic Trump who moved the US embassy to Jerusalem; that same racist and misogynist Trump who has created the best job market for blacks, Latinos, and women in our history! How could he like somebody who does those horrid things?
Bolsonaro wants to put Brazil first! Shame! Shame!
As noted above, I am not keenly familiar with Brazil's politics. I do know, however, that preceding years of corruptocrat leftism have been disastrous for Brazil. The country's economy is in a mess and poverty is growing. I also think I know that Bolsonaro is going to have a a very tough time getting his agenda of privatization and deregulation through. Turning that Brazilian ship around is a massive undertaking and he will be resisted every step of the way. If you think we have a Deep State here, you need to check out Brazil.
In my many years in the Foreign Service I had the opportunity to encounter Brazil's diplomats. They are very well trained, speak many languages, and know their way around and through international organizations better than Bill Clinton does interns. They are also exceedingly anti-American, pro-socialist, and seek to undermine the West's positions wherever they can. The arrogance and smugness of Brazilian diplomats is hard to match. At both the UN and the OAS, they were among our toughest opponents, missing no opportunity to undermine us. They were totally unscrupulous, in other words they openly lied to get what they wanted. You could not trust them at all. The Brazilain Itamaraty (foreign ministry) is a hive of old Third World think. Cleaning that out will prove a task bigger than Hercules' assignment to cleanse the Aegean Stables. You need to run the Amazon through it. I can only imagine what Bolsonaro will run into with the nationalized industries and the huge bureaucracy that chokes the life out of what should be one of the world's richest countries.
Anyhow, I wish President-elect Bolsonaro all the best. Brazil needs a genuine patriot who will get Brazil's house in order before it tries playing global superpower. I hope that he and Trump can establish a good relationship.
The old toast: To Brazil, the country of the future. And it always will be.
ReplyDeleteBrazilian Leftists will expose themselves even more if the Trump model holds. I think there will be gun fire in the streets before the year is over. If the Left can't have it, they will destroy it.
ReplyDeleteWait, are you saying Brazilian diplomats are pretty much the same as US State Department flunkies? Shocking...
ReplyDeleteThis might be Brazil's last chance before they turn into the next Venezuela. Let us hope that this moment isn't followed by the all-too-familiar South American assassination plot.
I was thinking the same thing - including the assassination which would be the second on Bolsonaro, in case you'd forgotten the knife attack that sent him to the hospital during the campaign.
DeleteYes, I should have mentioned the almost successful attempt to murder him.
DeleteBut to the extent that Brazil can function like a first world country, it has always been under some kind of military rule...Otherwise, the left always tries to turn it into Venezuela. Look what happened to Petrobras...One day the Brazilian military will fail, and it will become Venezuela, with probably the southern provinces seceding.
DeleteSo portuñol? That would make you at least 1/0048 Brasilian.
ReplyDeleteAs long as I'm thinking about Brazilians, don't get one. When Elizabeth the 1/0024th got one she had to stop making jokes about Bush and that's impossible for a Massachusetts Dem. Sorry, I had to.
As for the Trump of the Tropics, I don't have any particular insights though I've heard that he is an adherent of the Chicago school of economics and has said that he hopes to repeat the success of that philosophy in Brazil as was done in Chile. I wish him well and I hope the United States does not pass up this opportunity to build a better relationship with Brazil.
You might be more accurate than you know, tfhr. I gather that our host here is a Sephardi.
DeleteI wonder what happened to the $billions that Obama lent (gave) Brazil years back to develop that huge offshore oil discovery? Perhaps Swiss bank accounts? Clinton Foundation?
ReplyDeleteOur buddy Soros has Petrobras as one of his largest, if not the largest holdings, so in a round-about way, you could say much of Obama's investment in Brazil's off-shore oil venture is making it's way back to our own economy, if by "economy", you mean corrupt politics.
DeleteHaving spent the last 4 years before retirement working with customers (military) in Brazil, I can tell you that Jair Bolsonaro has a few aces up his sleeve. He is ex military, he is a successful businessman and he has tapped the absolute disgust a majority of the country has with the socialists that milked it dry. To answer Mr. Potts, much of the "investment" made by Obama into Petrobras is in the pockets of certain former government officials, industrialists and bankers, some of whom have been prosecuted in the "lava jato" case and in part is likely in offshore accounts. How much of it kicked back to Obama and the Clintons we may never know. If the generals stay clean there is a slim chance the economy can be placed back on track.
ReplyDeleteI wish him loads of luck, he is going to need it. I hope he succeeds. The Brazilian people deserve better than thier lot.
ReplyDeleteBrazil has been an up-and coming superpower for about 100 years now. Wish them well nonetheless.
ReplyDeleteMost emerging countries don't emerge.
DeletePerhaps they can absorb a bunch of the Central American miscreants?
DeleteThey say Brazil is always the country of the future.
DeleteThe average IQ in Brazil is in the high 80s, and probably declining due to immigration and demography, which is not an encouraging fact.
DeleteHe was also nearly killed prior to the election when some socialist nut stabbed him at an event. Tells me he's the right man for the job.
ReplyDeletehttps://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2018-09-06/brazil-presidential-hopeful-bolsonaro-stabbed-on-campaign-trail
Snif snif ~~~~ Amateur video footage of the attack shows Bolsonaro being stabbed in the stomach ...he was being carried through the streets by his supporters...clutched his stomach and grimaced in pain.
DeleteThe suspect, ...Adelio Bispo de Oliveira, is ...in custody, according to the press office of the local military police.
Okay, so other news stories had his son blurting out after the event, that his papa, el Capitano was only slightly injured... Cooler political heads apparently prevailed and the crisis story told by Docs became his liver was nicked and colonoscopy bag attached till a later f/u surgery removed. However, I wasn't able to locate photos. Expect thatIf the Bolonsaro team did their jobs well, then I'd sure expect some graphic photos are out there somewhere, no?
I only inquire since I found this in a 'US News & WR' piece reporting, at the time of the Bloomberg article (sept) that:
"Bolsonaro, an admirer of Brazil's 1964 to 1985 military regime, has accused the Workers Party of trying to rig the elections. His running mate, retired General Hamilton Mourão, has said the armed forces should carry out a coup if the country's judiciary cannot end political corruption."
Sounds much like the alleged or so called botched HIT by the fall guy, left the LEFTist voters between a ROCK and a HARD place. AnyhOWl, with all these false flag dirty deeds floating around in the Politusphere should we, as a famous humorist once said, " I only believe what I read in the NEWSpapers? Do hope they can handle the Chinese without our help... Who's going to Carnival this year? No worries No Olympics!
ON Watch~~~
My first instinct about Bolsonaro is also to wish him well. To think, what would a close US-Brazil relationship look like?
ReplyDeleteWhen your "democracy" looks like Mexico, Venzuela or Brazil, one has to wonder what the downside is to a strongman regime in the likes of earlier Chile or Argentina.
ReplyDeleteI *wish* that sticking to a kelptocracy wound up with democracy, I just don't see much, if any, evidence that such happens.
What's amazing is that Brazil produces actual jets, like how Venezuela used to produce oil.
Mexico, on the other hand, only produced desperation and poverty, yet every fifth of May we're supposed to celebrate the country of Mexico.
- reader #1482
Or we're condemned for celebrating Mexico by SJW's who get bent out of shape by Americans eating Mexican food, wearing sombreros, or drinking Mexican beer.
DeleteWhile wishing him well (and helicopter rides for the embedded commies in his admin), I hope he doesn't seek out Pres. Trump's advice on cleaning out one's cabinet. Not an adequate bench-mark at this point.
DeleteDip,
ReplyDeleteI really think the world is at a change point on the order of the one around 1500. But South America is going to be South America.
JH
The current situation in Brazil can oppress every local resident. This applies to the economic development and other areas.
ReplyDelete