O Retorno dos Jedis
— Lula 13 (@LulaOficial) October 31, 2022
Brazil’s democratic institutions have long been under siege by President Jair Bolsonaro. As a result, millions of citizens have now questioned the credibility of Brazil’s elections. You’re not alone if you see a pattern closer to home. Bolsonaro is referred to as the “Tropical Trump” for various reasons, this being just one of them.
One of the reasons the world has been missing Brazil is the destruction of the Amazon, the world’s lungs. Lula and Bolsonaro envisioned opposite fates for the Amazon at a crucial moment. If deforestation continues at current rates, as favored by Bolsonaro, the Amazon will pass an irreversible threshold in just a decade or two. Scientists warn that it would transform the rainforest into a savanna that would release billions of greenhouse gases.
As president, Lula demonstrated great success in drastically reducing Amazon rainforest deforestation. Sadly, Bolsonaro has openly supported clear-cutting and burning in the Amazon for agriculture, reversing this trend. Additionally, he undermined current environmental safeguards and legalized unlawful activity. In protected regions and Indigenous territory, illegal mining and logging grew during his watch, leading to pollution, destruction, and violence. READ the entire article here. His newsletter is good weekly read.
Democracia. pic.twitter.com/zvnBbnQ3HG
— Lula 13 (@LulaOficial) October 30, 2022
Lula the Leftist, Lula the trade unionist, Lula the people's leader. It's Lula da Silva who defeated fascist Bolsonaro with 50.9% votes and becomes the new President of Brazil. It's the people only the people who creates history. Fascism won't speaks last.#LulaPresidente2022 pic.twitter.com/y1Y4r7JjVJ
— Shibam Sarkar (@ShibamSrkr) October 31, 2022
More on this at a later date when I can read up more on his policies and the impact this will have on the planet’s “lungs”.
*as of the writing of this, Bolsonaro has yet to concede.
Open thread
The Moar You Know
Just think: if this election had been run here in the states, with a final outcome of Lula 51% – Bolsanaro 49%, Bolsanaro would have won, and Lula lost.
jonas
Grateful that Lula squeaked out a win here, but scary how close this was. Depressing how many Brazilians still think Bolosanaro is a credible leader. *shakes head*
Not that we’re any different, mind you, but you’d still like to think that folks in other countries who are a bit more cosmopolitan and less self-centered would be better at this, but apparently not.
mrmoshpotato
South American Shitstain! would be better.
Kent
@jonas: What makes you think Brazilians are more cosmopolitan and less self-centered than Americans?
WaterGirl
@jonas: They have their own issues with voter suppression and voter intimidation.
Elizabelle
@WaterGirl: Yes, thank you.
Jonas: very possible Bolsonaro held down the votes for Lula.
But the fascist still lost. Or, let’s put it more happily: Lula still triumphed.
WereBear
Today, Mr WereBear and I joined a monthly giving program where we pay $8 to help RE-forest all over the world. Part of some Black Friday sales released into the wild has been getting a Roku to replace our suspiciously aging and refurbished-in-the-first-place FireCube.
Roku folks, represent if moved so: I got a lower-powered kind (super sale) for the small old flatscreen, and when I program that, will the higher powered one, for the bigger, newer, set, pick that programming up when we login with our Roku device for that TV?
Jackie
@WereBear: What organization is helping reforestation? That sounds great!
different-church-lady
It all sound familiar enough that it can’t be just a coincidence.
WereBear
@Jackie: Here you go, help reforestation.
I am now Lady WereBear.
NotMax
@WereBear
So long as you register the new device on Roku’s web site using the same account as you did for the older one, yes, it will replicate all the particulars.
RaflW
Congressional elections are a bit different than for a national leader, but I hope this result (even if Bolsonaro tries to contest it) puts a spring in the step of US Democratic candidates and voters!
Lady WereBear
Might as well make it official here, as seen above :)
SFAW
Has anyone done a wellness check on Glemmy Greenwald?
No, I don’t care, actually.
Lady WereBear
@NotMax: Awesome, thank you!
I thought so, but the poor caliber of instructional manual competence always makes me question what should be obvious.
But then, it took a helpful Youtube top-ranked for help with the first problem with the brand-new Firecube we pre-ordered. But while the old one was plug and play, this one was confusing and even the nice man on the video held his hand so the camera didn’t show the right button for agonizing seconds…
Which only led to more problems. We’ve sent it back. My research indicated the Roku was actually better, for less money. With the sale on the site, I could add that second old TV to the package and still pay a third of what we did the Firecube.
Whatever we lost we didn’t use.
Tony G
“As of the writing of this, Bolsonaro has yet to concede.” I’m going to bet that Bolsonaro follows the example of his mentor, Trump, and NEVER concedes. Nevertheless, this is a great outcome.
Tony G
@SFAW: I won’t be surprised if Glemmy soon works with Bolsonaro on a Brazilian “Stop the Steal” movement.
Omnes Omnibus
@The Moar You Know: Not necessarily true.* Don’t exaggerate.
*Which is sad in and of itself.
Geminid
Israel holds its parliamentary elections tomorrow. People there get a little bit of a break today because no campaigning is allowed the day before. They need it; this is their fifth election since 2019.
The election law also prohibits public release of polls in the final three days before an election. The last polls showed Benjamin Netanyahu’s 4-party coalition winning 59, 60, or 61 Knesset seats. He needs 61 to form a government, so there is a lot of suspense.
If “Bibi” does not get to 61, it is thought that the two Ultra-Orthodox parties will defect to a coalition led by current Defense Minister Benny Gantz. The alternative is another election.
Baud
@Omnes Omnibus:
Yeah, IIRC, the electoral college has never made a difference when one candidate has gotten more than 50%.
It could happen, but hasn’t.
frosty
I recognize this playbook. “I didn’t like the results so we’re going to keep doing the election again until I win.”
Omnes Omnibus
@frosty: No, in a parliamentary system, if no one one can form a government (that is, cobble together a coalition that has a parliamentary majority) the only option is to have another election. Britain can get away with sacking PMs right and far right because the Tories hold a majority on their own.
Geminid
@frosty: Netanyahu would certainly want another election, but it would be out of his hands. The Ultra-Orthodox, or “Haredi” parties have been out of government for almost two years and they don’t like it out there. If they join a coalition led by Gantz it would be comprised of 8 parties like the last one, but it probably would be more durable.
different-church-lady
@SFAW: Every time he posts is wellness check that he fails.
NorthLeft
Bolsonaro supporters were calling for the military to intervene on his behalf. I would hold my breath on this until Lula is firmly ensconced in the Presidential home and his people are in the government.
I don’t know all that much about Brazil’s history and current conditions, and what I do know is viewed through a left leaning filter, but how can this vote be so close? WTF has Bolsonaro actually done that has improved life in Brazil?
frosty
@Omnes Omnibus: @Geminid: Thanks for the education! I intended the comment as a little tongue-in-cheek but it’s good to have real facts now and again.
trollhattan
Disaster avoided. Now, we get to find out if it’s not too late for Lula to reverse the worst of Bolsonaro’s monstrosities.
Bill Arnold
@NorthLeft:
He has made some things worse. He willfully, deliberately fucked up Brazil’s SARS-CoV-2 pandemic response, personally killing at least 10s(probably hundreds) of thousands of human beings, and causing permanent damage of varying degrees to like 10 times that.
Geminid
@NorthLeft: I read about a lot of voter suppression and intimidation by police. Da Silva may have been deprived of a substantial number of votes.
And Bolsonaro and his supporters leaned heavily into scare tactics centered on cultural and social issues in order to peel off working class and middle class voters who would benefit economically from a da Silva presidency.
Brit in Chicago
@Baud: The reason for this is that in many countries, including Brazil, there are two rounds for the election, and in the second round there are only two candidates—so unless they are in an exact tie one of them is bound to get more than 50% of the vote. In the US, by contrast, there are always more than two candidates, so to candidate who gets most votes, even if by a considerable margin, may get under 50%.
But the important point of the original comment was that in this country if the Dem beat the Repub by 1.8% of the popular vote, the Repub would almost certainly win, because of the EC. And that’s true.
trollhattan
@Bill Arnold: Plus, in contravention of Brazilian law, he has accelerated destruction of the rain forest in favor of logging, mining and agriculture: cattle, soy, palm oil, etc. This is not only putting the Amazon itself on the brink, but also its indigenous people. Being an environmentalist in Brazil puts your life more at risk than most any other occupation.
Amir Khalid
@Omnes Omnibus:
Strictly speaking, it’s the Tories who are getting away with it, not Britain. I can’t imagine there’s anyone left in the country, even among Tory members, who feels confident that the party still has a mandate to govern. Polling 30 points behind Labour means they’ll get wiped out as a Parliamentary party if a GE is held early. The way Rishi Sunak’s premiership is going, I don’t expect them to win in 2024 either; maybe they’re hoping that time will mitigate the damage, and they’ll keep a few more seats.
Benw
Every election the fascist loses is the people themselves beating back authoritarianism. We did it here in the US; Brazil just did it; Ukraine is putting their lives on the line to do it. It’s inspiring!
Baud
@Brit in Chicago: FWIW, in 2016, the difference was 2.09 percentage points.
ian
@Baud:
AFAIK, only once, in 1876.
Samuel Tilden got 50.9% of the vote. The reconstruction states of Florida and South Carolina cast their electoral votes for Hayes instead of Tilden (both sent contested delegations, resulting in the Compromise of 1877.)
Colorado’s three electoral votes were awarded to Hayes, without Colorado holding any kind of popular vote. Colorado had been admitted to the Union months before the election and did not have time to organize an election. Without the 3 votes from Colorado in the EC, Tilden would otherwise have won.
Jay C
@Amir Khalid:
Well, as far as the Tories’ “mandate” is concerned, “hoping that time will mitigate the damage” (and just IMHO, I think it will actually make it worse) is really the only option they have. The next GE isn’t required for another two years: if the Conservatives can’t improve things (like the economy) more-or-less quickly (say by next summer), I think their main option -public opinion be damned – will be to wreak as much damage as they can, and institute as many of their pet policy changes as they can shove through, and leave it for the next Government to have to clean up. If that will even be possible….
Baud
@ian:
Thanks!
Cacti
Speaking as someone with firsthand knowledge of Brazil, I can tell everyone that the danger is not over, and won’t be until Bolsonaro leaves office on January 1.
He still hasn’t conceded.
Omnes Omnibus
@Cacti: We can still be happy that Lula won the election. That is the first step.
Amir Khalid
@Jay C:
I agree. I don’t understand why Sunak won’t cut Suella Braverman loose; surely no deal he made with her to win the party leadership is worth the damage she’s causing right now by remaining as Home Secretary.
Anastasio Beaverhausen
My husband is Brazilian so we had an election watch feijoada here last night. No bolsaminions were invited so it was a crowd firmly behind Lula. And maybe not completely behind Lula, but definitely against the self-styled Trump of the Tropics. His homophobia, misogyny and indifference to the environment did not play well with this crowd. Plus they told me he’s just plain dumb. (remind you of anyone?) His one claim to fame is that he wasn’t caught up in the corruptions scandals of the last few years….because he was such an inconsequential, impotent congressman nobody thought he was worth bribing! It was interesting because early voting from the south favored Bolsonaro and our crowd was on edge. But the northeast, where my husband is from, is solidly Lula. But how solid? Would they decide the election? He reassured us, “Miss Northeast is still backstage fixing her hair and makeup, but she’ll be out soon!” And as predicted, his state went 68% Lula and the election commission called the race at about 7 o’clock. Whew! Fingers crossed for similar good news here in 8 days.
Jinchi
@Amir Khalid: I didn’t think Rishi Sunak had been in office long enough for his premiership to be going in any direction at all.
SFAW
@different-church-lady:
OK. I was talking about physical wellness, but your point is also valid.
Baud
@Anastasio Beaverhausen:
Happy for your hubby.
Cacti
@Anastasio Beaverhausen: I haven’t seen all of the State returns, but he must have really run up the score in the north. Bolsonaro won São Paulo by 11 points and Rio by 13. 😞
Baud
@Cacti:
Interesting that the urban/rural divide is reversed.
Frankensteinbeck
@NorthLeft:
I am not Brazillian, but my understanding from a large distance is that they have racial and gender bigotry issues as or more savage than ours. We tend to think of South Americans as one ethnicity. They very much don’t. Like Trump, he hates who they hate, and that has improved their life.
trollhattan
Hot douche-on-douche action. Was there ever any doubt?
I’ll be on the fainting couch for the next several minutes.
Amir Khalid
@Jinchi:
I wouldn’t have thought so either, but for Suella Braverman — sacked as Home Secretary by Liz Truss, for a serious breach of data security, and appointed to the same post by Rishi Sunak a week later. Braverman has admitted to emailing a sensitive document to a political ally, and emailing other sensitive documents to her personal account. This was the straw that broke the back of Truss’ premiership. Braverman has become a serious liability to two PMs in quick succession.
Ken
@SFAW: There’s this from Popehat, but it may be parody.
Ultimately Bolsanaro’s good policies, like censoring and jailing shitlibs, could not outweigh his bad policies, like trying to jail and censor me. —Glenn Greenwald
Geminid
@Geminid: The Israeli election campaign sure ended on a high note! Former Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu told an Army Radio interviewer that under no circumstances would he join a coalition with current Defense Minister Benny Gantz (as if Gantz would ever trust that crooked asshole again):
Netanyahu also accused Gantz of deliberately endangering soldiers’ lives during the 2014 Gaza war, when Gantz was Israeli Defense Force Chief of Staff and Netanyahu was PM. According to the Times of Israel:
Mike in NC
Is there a plane load of right wing consultants led by Steve Bannon heading to Brazil to help Bolsonaro try to steal the election? If so it would be nice if it crashed in the Amazon jungle.
Paul in KY
@Bill Arnold: If there was any justice in the world, a mob would rip him limb from limb…
Paul in KY
@Amir Khalid: I think they’re hoping for NuLabour to step on their dick 4 or 5 times between now & elections.
After what Tony writes about them, I can see why they are going with that strategery.
Paul in KY
@trollhattan: Maybe had had Hershel on his fantasy teams back in the day? Or maybe he is a POS MAGA choad?
Bruce K in ATH-GR
@trollhattan: My shock rivals that of Captain Renault at the discovery of illicit gambling at Rick’s Café Americain.
mrmoshpotato
@Mike in NC:
Not necessarily good eating for the local wildlife, but bon appetit!
Geminid
@Paul in KY: West was a Trump supporter and visited Trump in the Oval Office. In 2020, Trump allies tried to get West on the ballot as an independent in several states. They hoped to siphon off votes from Biden, but they started too late to succeed. Now that West has talked himself out of public esteem and private contracts, building his MAGA cred is a way for him to come back some.
cain
@Cacti:
He paid for a lot of votes there I reckon
rikyrah
Dahlia Lithwick (@Dahlialithwick) tweeted at 11:32 AM on Mon, Oct 31, 2022:
2.5 hours in. Kagan asks why nobody seems to care about originalism in this case
(https://twitter.com/Dahlialithwick/status/1587120296737341443?t=xoM7raJ7B4XsrtF6yaEsjg&s=03)
rikyrah
Leah Litman (@LeahLitman) tweeted at 9:35 AM on Mon, Oct 31, 2022:
Justice Kagan to the lawyer challenging affirmative action: All over your brief is the claim that “it just doesn’t matter if our institutions look like America … uh… DOESN’T IT???”
Leah Litman (@LeahLitman) tweeted at 9:35 AM on Mon, Oct 31, 2022:
“I THOUGHT PART OF WHAT IT MEANS TO BE AN AMERICAN IS THAT OUR INSTITUTIONS SHOULD REFLECT WHO WE ARE AS A PEOPLE”
(https://twitter.com/LeahLitman/status/1587091000920485888?t=vPluxNJn_ydHUCeJZ8R5dw&s=03)
rikyrah
CLAP CLAP CLAP
Quentin James (@QJames) tweeted at 4:31 PM on Sun, Oct 30, 2022:
Stop what you’re doing and watch this complete takedown of @HerschelWalker by pastor @jamalhbryant. #WeDontNeedAWalker https://t.co/TOGnFxliLe
(https://twitter.com/QJames/status/1586833202764812292?t=3wwhSByytt2wZhsFDDa9ow&s=03)
rikyrah
Marisa Pyle (@marisapk) tweeted at 7:57 AM on Mon, Oct 31, 2022:
Tonight at midnight, Atlanta Medical Center will close its doors for good. For over 100 years, it has served GA residents – critically, as a stroke unit and Level 1 Trauma Center. There will now be only ONE Level 1 trauma hospital in ATL and North GA. Brian Kemp has failed us.
Marisa Pyle (@marisapk) tweeted at 7:57 AM on Mon, Oct 31, 2022:
What does this mean?
– worse outcomes for patients
– longer wait times and travel times for care
– stress on GA’s already overburdened remaining hospitals
Kemp’s refusal to expand Medicaid and address GA’s hospital crisis is deadly. In ONE WEEK, we can vote him out.
(https://twitter.com/marisapk/status/1587066321002528768?t=51i4Wdkp5m_5aAQ-II2DzQ&s=03)
Paul in KY
@Geminid: So MAGA Choad it is! That’s how I was leaning.
Kay
\
He basically confessed. US media missed the story of the attempted assault and kidnapping of the House speaker because they are too brittle and conventional to IMAGINE that something like this could happen here.
They’re reduced to linking to the criminal complaint. No one needs to pay them or pay for them. They add no value. You can read the complaint yourself.
Kay
@Geminid:
West should run for Senate as a Republican. He wouldn’t even be among the most extreme Senators. He’s a moderate in that party. I bet he backs exceptions for the LIFE OF THE MOTHER, for example. The centrist GOP will just kill the mother.
Anti-semite? No problemo. He’s probably LESS of an anti-semite than their candidate for the Pennsylvania governor. He’s a centrist Republican.
Jackie
@rikyrah: WOW!!
I hope this gets picked up by the MSM! MSNBC?
Thanks for finding this, rikyrah!
WaterGirl
@rikyrah: Stacey had a great line in the debate. Something about Atlanta Medical Center being open for 100 years and it couldn’t survive 4 years of Kemp.
Geminid
@Anastasio Beaverhausen:
@Cacti: The Guardian put up an article about Bolsonaro just a couple of hours ago. He’s been silent, but some of his principal political allies are saying that Lula won and that “the people’s will is sovereign.”