Lula: Brazilian Democracy and Sovereignty Are Non-Negotiable

https://www.nytimes.com/2025/09/14/opinion/lula-da-silva-brazil-trump-bolsonaro.html

by marcodiego • 10 months ago

21 19 10 months ago

nytimes.com

slater• 10 months ago

https://archive.ph/jPSMw

slwvx• 10 months ago

Nice!

0xy2• 10 months ago

The Brazilian Supreme Court brought its own case and decided upon on it in a way that banana republics could only dream of doing.

0xy2• 10 months ago

The institution itself is known to be corrupt, unwinding major corruption convictions and notably freeing the corrupt president.

https://www.ft.com/content/c0d84b0f-1f0b-40d0-8ebe-8bf6c60b4...

matheusmoreira8• 10 months ago

The brazilian supreme court is such a kangaroo court, they were brazen enough to set up a "fake news" inquisition where they were victims, investigators, prosecutors, judges and executioners in a case of wildcard crimes against themselves covering the whole brazilian territory.

https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=39966382

That is the state we find ourselves in. As far as I know, that "fake news" inquisition is still ongoing.

sonicggg• 10 months ago

Kangaroo court

clydethefrog• 10 months ago

Could you explain why?

I have been following the evidence that was shared in the trial the last years. The summary is clear [0] - there is plenty of evidence Bolsanaro and several higher military members tried to stage a coup.

[0] https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/2022_Brazilian_coup_plot

matheusmoreira8• 10 months ago

"Tried" is too strong a word.

A military coup is when the military deploys its forces and deposes the government. A military coup attempt consists of the military's forces being defeated while trying to seize power.

I'm sure they planned a military coup. I don't think they actually tried it. An attempt actually has a chance of succeeding. Bolsonaro was in the USA while his fans were protesting in Brasília. When the military finally showed up, it was to arrest them.

ZeroGravitas• 10 months ago

Banana Republic is an interesting term to use:

In the early 20th century, the United Fruit Company, a multinational corporation, was instrumental in the creation of the banana republic phenomenon.[6][7] Together with other American corporations, such as the Cuyamel Fruit Company, and leveraging the power of the U.S. government, the corporations created the political, economic, and social circumstances that led to a coup of the locally elected democratic government that established banana republics in Central American countries such as Honduras and Guatemala;[8] No official apology has ever been done by any banana company or the U.S. with only the C.I.A. backed dictator of Guatemala apologizing in 2011.[9]

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Banana_republic

matheusmoreira8• 10 months ago

This is just the new normal.

They have been doing it since at least 2019 when they started the "fake news" inquisition where they were victims, investigators, prosecutors, judges and executioners in a case involving wildcard crimes against themselves covering the entire brazilian territory. A literal kangaroo court.

That's not enough, they went even further. They perpetrated a silent coup. These unelected judge-kings have usurped so much power they have essentially taken over the legislative and executive branches of government. They openly legislate despite not a single brazilian having voted for them. They are so brazen as to raise taxes. Politicians can impeach them but they don't dare to do it because they are the ones who judge politicians for corruption.

matheusmoreira8• 10 months ago

He speaks of democracy but rules through the unelected supreme court. Every time his party is defeated democratically, they bring it to the supreme court and they force it through. Our representatives blocked his attempt to raise taxes and the supreme court raised them on his behalf. The only reason they don't dissolve these expensive institutions is they let him pretend that this country is a democracy.

He speaks of sovereignty despite being a pro-crime socialist and globalist. It was under his party's 20+ year rule that drug trafficking organized crime gangs came to dominate over a quarter of our territory, create a parallel state, pull off a stealth secession and infiltrate society and even the official government at every level. He makes a show of not submitting to the USA and then turns around and kowtows to China. He openly disdains the military, nationalism and the very concept of arming and defending oneself, then he turns around and starts speaking of sovereignty as if he had nuclear weapons to deter adversaries with.

The sheer dishonesty, the sheer number of contradictions in this delusional communist's politics is enough to test my sanity. I feel like I'm being gaslit.

dakial12• 10 months ago

Every time his party is defeated democratically, they bring it to the supreme court and they force it through.

What? When did this happen? He won democratically, through the vote, all the times he became president. This seems some wild MAGA-like conspiracy stuff.

matheusmoreira8• 10 months ago

What? When did this happen?

I explained in the comment. I wasn't referring to elections, I was referring to his presidential acts and political maneuvers. Our other elected representatives have blocked his plans many times but he always forces them through via the supreme court.

Consider this relatively recent episode: his minister tried to raise taxes on all financial operations and was blocked by other elected politicians. What did his party do? They brought the issue to the supreme court which promptly "validated" the tax hike. They even applied it retroactively which is unconstitutional.

He uses the supreme court to bypass our elected representatives when they block him, thereby ruling through it. Not a single brazilian voted for those judges. This is not democratic.

He won democratically, through the vote, all the times he became president.

Plenty of doubt can be raised regarding the trustworthiness of elections conducted via our voting machines. Especially since these exact same judges also control the electoral courts and through them the electoral process. They have rejected two proposals by our elected representatives to add a paper trail to the system for totally unconvincing reasons such as "it's too hard to implement in a timely manner".

I wasn't talking about that though. Not in this case.

This seems some wild MAGA-like conspiracy stuff.

These are my honest opinions on what's going on in my country. I really don't care if they sound "conspiratorial", my only concern is that they are coherent and logical.

My world view can change if I'm presented with convincing evidence. Every single thread about brazilian politics, I post my views, secretly hoping that someone will show me that I'm wrong and that things are not as bad as I think they are. Nobody's done it yet.

Lula: Brazilian Democracy and Sovereignty Are Non-Negotiable

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