Trump, Bolsonaro exchange national soccer team jerseys U.S. President Donald Trump and Brazilian President Jair Bolsonaro exchanged their country's team soccer jerseys with each other's names printed on the back.
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Oh, the profound timeless symbolism of exchanging soccer jerseys and of the President of Brazil visiting CIA Headquarters!
Summarized from articles in the Mint Press by Alan Mcleod, Reuters, Bloomberg, Forbes,the BBC, and the South China PostBBC: "This time, it is different. There's truly going to be a north-south axis of the two largest economies in the Western Hemisphere." They are certainly words that will please Jair Bolsonaro, the man dubbed "Trump of the Tropics", who, it seems, has finally met his idol. "I've always admired the USA and this sense of admiration has only increased since you took office," Mr Bolsonaro said to Mr Trump as they gave a joint press conference in the Rose Garden. At times, during this trip, he's sounded like a Trump super-fan rather than the leader of one of the world's biggest economies.
Bolsonaro at Langley: New US Lapdog Pays Homage to the Empire
Brazil's new fascist president, Jair Bolsonaro visited CIA headquarters and to visit President Donald Trump and reports are that the meeting went very well not surprisingly, given how similar their politics and personalities are. Bolsonaro shares Trump's penchant for racist, xenophobic remarks, calling immigrants from poor countries "the scum of the earth," and also has a history of strongly sexist statements.
"Brazil and the United States are tied by the guarantee of liberty, respect for the traditional family, the fear of God our creator, against gender identity, political correctness and fake news," announced the new Brazilian president, who promises to fight against "cultural Marxism." the far-right conspiracy theory.
Trump was equally pleased with the meeting. "The relationship we have right now with Brazil has never been better," Trump said, and that he was in favor of Brazil joining NATO. "We're looking at it very strongly," he said, "We're very inclined to do that." The expansion of NATO deeper into South America rings alarm bells for all independent and non-aligned nations in the region and signals a huge change in Brazilian foreign policy. Brazil under the social-democratic Workers' Party had been independent and non-interventionist, refusing to countenance American coups in the region, much to the chagrin of Washington.
Former President and currently jailed political prisoner Lula da Silva called himself an anti-imperialist and an internationalist but the visit of the current head of state to CIA headquarters Langley confirms many of Bolsonaro's opponents' predictions that he would be happy to serve as United States's lapdog.
Bolsonaro's first months in office have been highly controversial, including enacting policies militarizing society, gutting already weak environmental regulations and dispossessing indigenous peoples from their land. Bolsonaro appointed University of Chicago-trained Paulo Guedes as his economics minister. Guedes was closely associated with fascist General Augusto Pinochet's regime in Chile and proposes a "Pinochet style" solution for Brazil, featuring an austerity package that includes the privatization of the country's pension system. Amidst an ongoing corruption scandal, Bolsonaro's approval rating has already dropped to 39 percent, and other similarities that he shares with Trump.
The U.S. media was very happy at Bolsonaro's victory, with the Wall Street Journal editorial board endorsing him as a "credible" reformer and a much-needed "antidote" to the greed and corruption of the Workers' Party. Bloomberg spelled out the reasons for this, explaining that his victory completed a U.S. clean sweep of South America, noting that the only holdout against U.S. power was now Venezuela's Nicola's Maduro, who may not cling to power much longer.For Bloomberg, the election marked the end of the independence of Latin America and a return to the days when it was under total U.S. control. The media also backed the U.S.-sponsored coup against liberal President Joao Goulart in 1964 that brought about two decades of fascist military dictatorship. On Goulart, the New York Times' editorial board wrote, "We do not lament the passing of a leader who had proved so incompetent and so irresponsible," and claimed there was a "widespread feeling of deep relief and of optimism" among all of Brazil that he had been overthrown.
The U.S. overthrew a number of Latin American governments during the late 20th century including Guatemala in 1953, Chile in 1973 and Grenada in 1983 while propping up highly authoritarian right-wing dictatorships. Bolsonaro was an officer during the Brazilian military dictatorship, the only mistake of which, he claims, was that it did not kill enough of its political opponents.
Venezuela was a key issue in Bolsonaro's visit, with the United States openly trying to complete its "clean sweep" of Latin America. Although completely hostile to Maduro, the Brazilian government has previously refused to countenance being part of a military effort to overthrow the Maduro government. However, if Brazil is granted NATO ally status, all of Venezuela's borders would be with NATO regimes.
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