#latam

the Battle for Brazil: US backs right-wing Bolsonaro but we’ve seen this before. in this guest post, Connor Murphy goes over the well-read script of a drama we’ve all seen before. The omnipotent tentacles of United States’ imperialism have long writhed in the belly of Latin America, and with Brazil’s presidential election taking place at the beginning of October, the Trump Administration clings to US imperialist infrastructure strategically left in place since its birth at the implementation of the Monroe Doctrine, and bolstered in the subsequent two centuries... The presidential race will be decided on October 4 and is comprised of opinion poll leader Lula da Silva of the Worker’s party (Partido dos Trabalhadores), Ronaldo Caiado of the Social Democratic Party (Partido Social Democrático), and US puppet Flávio Bolsonaro of the Liberal Party, who polls in at second. Lula da Silva (or Lula), a former trade unionist and metalworker, is running for his third non-consecutive term as Brazil’s president. During his first consecutive terms from 2003-2011, Lula garnered an 80% approval rating, one of the highest in Brazil’s history. An avid promoter of social welfare, environmental conservation, and workers rights, Lula poses a significant obstacle to US footing in Brazil. Ronaldo Caiado, the right-wing Governor of Goiás and presidential candidate for the Social Democratic Party, comes from an affluent family of landowners and oligarchs. One must take care lest the name of the party suggests otherwise. The Social Democratic Party is not leftist, but rather, a centrist one claiming to unite both the left and right. The “big-tent party” was founded in 2011 and strives for a more pragmatic stance on Brazilian affairs and is interestingly more left or right leaning depending in which Brazilian state it presides..