To See the Real Story in Brazil, Look at Who Is Being Installed as President and Finance Chiefs

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GLENN
_GREENWALD

Glenn Greenwald
Apr. 22 2016, 1:01 p.m.

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Photo: Eraldo Peres/AP

why the world should be deeply disturbed.

The New York Timess Brazil bureau chief, Simon Romero, interviewed
Temerthis week, and this is how hisexcellent article begins:
RIO DE JANEIRO One recent poll found that only 2 percent of
Brazilians would vote for him. He is under scrutiny over testimony
linking him to acolossal graft scandal. And a high court justice ruled
that Congress should consider impeachment proceedings against him.
Michel Temer, Brazils vice president, is preparing to take the helm of
Brazil next month if the Senate decides to put President Dilma
Rousseff on trial.

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who is accused of corruptionfar more seriousthan she is? Its an obvious

farce. But theres something even worse.
The person who is third in line to the presidency, right
behind Temer, has been exposed as shamelesslycorrupt:
the evangelical zealot and House speaker Eduardo
Cunha. Hes the one who spearheaded the
impeachment proceedings even though he got caught
last year squirreling awaymillions of dollars in bribes in
Swiss bank accounts, after having lied to Congress when
falsely denying that he had any accounts in foreign
banks. When Romero asked Temer abouthis posture
toward Cunha once he takes power, this is howTemer
responded:
Mr. Temer defended himself and top allies who are
under a cloud of accusations in the scheme. He
expressed support for Eduardo Cunha, the scandalplagued speaker of the lower house who is leading

House Speaker Eduardo Cunha. Photo: Dida

Sampaio/Estadao via AP

the impeachment effort in Congress, saying he

would not ask Mr. Cunha to resign. Mr. Cunha will be the next in line

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By itself, this demonstrates the massive scam taking place here. As my

partner, David Miranda, wrote this morning in hisGuardian op-ed: It has now
become clear thatcorruption is not the cause of the effort to oust Brazils
twice-elected president; rather, corruption is merely the pretext. In
response, Brazils media elites will claim (as Temer did) that once Dilma is
impeached, then the other corrupt politicians will most certainly be held
accountable, but they know this is false,and Temers shocking support for
Cunhamakes that clear.Indeed, press reports show that Temer is planning to
install as attorney general the key government contactforthe corruption
investigation a politician specifically urged for that position by Cunha. As
Mirandas op-ed explains, The real plan behind Rousseffs impeachment is to
put an end to the ongoing investigation, thus protecting corruption, not
punishing it.
But theres one more vital motive driving all of this. Look at who is going to
take over Brazils economy and finances once Dilmas election victory is
nullified. Two weeks ago, Reuters reported that Temers leading choice to run
the central bank is the chair of Goldman Sachs in Brazil, Paulo Leme. Today,
Reuters reportedthatMurilo Portugal, the head of Brazils most powerful
banking industry lobby and a long-time IMF official has emerged as
a strong candidate to become finance minister if Temer takes power.

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spending.

In an earning calls last Friday with JP Morgan, the celebratory CEO of Banco
Latinoamericano de Comercio Exterior SA, Rubens
Amaral,explicitlydescribedDilmas impeachment as one of the first steps
to normalization in Brazil, and said that if Temers new government
implements the structural reforms that the financial community desires,
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be pleased.
Meanwhile, the dominant Brazilian media organs of Globo, Abril (Veja),
Estado which Mirandas op-ed discusses at length are virtually unified
in support of impeachment, as in No Dissent Allowed, and have been inciting
the street protests from the start. Why is that revealing? Reporters Without
Borders just yesterday released its 2016 Press Freedom Rankings, and ranked
Brazil 103 in the world because of violence against journalists but also
because of this key fact: Media ownership continues to be very
concentrated, especially in the hands of big industrial families that are
often close to the political class. Is it not crystal clear whats going on
here?
So to summarize: Brazilian financial and media elites are pretending that
corruption is the reason for removing the twice-elected president of the
country as they conspire to install and empower the countrys most
corrupted political figures. Brazilian oligarchs will have succeeded in
removing from power a moderately left-wing government that won four
straight elections in the name of representing the countrys poor, and are
literally handing control over the Brazilian economy (the worlds seventh
largest) to Goldman Sachs and bank industry lobbyists.

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Latin America, when a tiny elite wages a self-protective, self-serving war on

the fundamentals of democracy.Brazil, the worlds fifth most populous
country, has been an inspiring example of how a young democracy can
mature and thrive. But now, those democratic institutions and principles are
being fully assaulted by the very same financial and media factions that
suppressed democracy and imposed tyranny in that country for decades.

CONTACT THE AUTHOR:

Glenn Greenwald

glenn.greenwald@theintercept.com
t @ggreenwald

ADDITIONAL CREDITS:

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