Suchergebnisse

Backed by Brazil's wealthy agribusiness groups, a growing evangelical movement, and an emboldened military and police force, Jair Bolsonaro took office in 2019. Driven by the former army captain's brand of controversial, aggressive rhetoric, the divisive presidential campaign saw fake news and misinformation shared with Bolsonaro's tens of millions of social media followers. Bolsonaro promised simple solutions to Brazil's rising violent crime, falling living standards and widespread corruption, but what has emerged is Latin America's most right-wing president since the military dictatorships of the 1970s. Famous for his racist, homophobic and sexist beliefs and his disregard for human rights, the so-called 'Trump of the Tropics' has established a reputation based on his polemical, sensationalist statements. Written by a journalist with decades of experience in the field, Beef, Bible and bullets is a compelling account of the origins of Brazil's unique brand of right-wing populism. Lapper offers the first major assessment of the Bolsonaro government and the growing tensions between extremist and moderate conservatives.

Reviews are presented of: 1. Enemies: Argentina and the IMF, by Ernesto Tenembaum, and 2. A Country in Debt, by Marcelo Bonelli.

Lapper reviews 'The Failure of Political Reform in Venezuela' by Julia Buxton.

Reviewed are economic & political developments in El Salvador since the late nineteenth century, in an attempt to clarify issues germane to the coup of 1979. The government decision of 1880 that all common land should be privately owned made way for the domination of the coffee economy by fourteen families, who employed the bulk of the Salvadorean peasantry. The drastic drop in coffee prices in the early 1930s & subsequent devastation of the economy caused a popular revolt, soon broken by the military, which has since been in control of the country. Reflecting popular optimism over events in Nicaragua, the 1979 coup was a seizure of power by progressive military officers who promised political, agrarian, & social reforms. But the historical pattern of insurrection & repression threatens to be repeated once more in the confrontation between popular organizations & right-wing military forces trying to regain control of the army & the country. D. Dunseath.

Ruchir Sharma ("Bearish on Brazil," May/June 2012) argues that Brazil's incredible rise over the past ten years has depended on the sale of commodities, and that as commodity markets begin to slow, so, too, will Brazil's growth. Sharma correctly notes that in the coming years, Brazil will likely need to confront a decline in commodity purchases from China. But he fails to recognize that economic stability has also driven Brazil's growth. Throughout the late twentieth century, Brazil suffered from failed stabilization policies and devastating bouts of hyperinflation. In 1994, however, Brazil introduced a new currency, the real, which has kept inflation in check. Around this time, the government also began lowering tariffs, opening up markets, and privatizing industries, policies entrenched over the next decade by former Brazilian President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva. Brazil faces many problems, from poor education and infrastructure to a complex bureaucracy and complicated tax regulations. Adapted from the source document.