Rio de Impeachment! It has happened! The current President of Brazil Dilma Rousseff is going to be impeached! The Professor made this impeachment podcast for you before the final vote was even tallied, but it has since come to pass, and what was passed was the start of the full-on impeachment of Brazil’s first female President, which will leave the country in political turmoil just before they host the summer Olympics this year! This political turmoil adds to the economic turmoil, the corruption turmoil, and the overall angst turmoil that is seeing South America’s largest country and economy falling apart! The Professor explains why, and looks at the broader meaning of this for Latin America!
Hundreds of thousands of Brazilian peeps took to the streets to protest against the government of President Dilma Rousseff last weekend…some calling for her to resign, others calling for a military coup to overthrow her! What, what what is that all about? The Professor explains the situation, and why it is actually an awesome sign of democracy in action, in this bodacious Brazilian society!
Keywords: Brazil, democracy, economy, corruption, car wash, PT, Workers Party, Petrobas, leftist, Latin America, protests, junta, Sao Paulo
“Democracy is not what governments do, it is what people do,” and man, oh man, are the peeps dropping the democracy bomb in Brazil right now! Check out this Brazilian Boyer rant which highlights the reasons behind the current protests in Brazil, and also compares and contrasts the other people protests happening around the planet. Power to the people, and go democracy!
Keywords: Brazil, protests, bus fare, government, democracy, World Cup, Olympics, corruption, crime, infrastructure, Turkey, Arab Spring, Spain, Portugal, Greece, Tea Party, Occupy Wall Street, Howard Zinn, USA
The 5th summit of the BRICS group is going down in Durban, South Africa….and the actual heads of state of these rapidly growing economies have plans to evolve the group into much more than a talking shop! A possible BRICS development bank, a currency swap, and even a broadband cable between these countries displays a rapid evolution of this block into a competing source of economic….and political….power on the planet! Dig this BRICS rant to see the seriousness of these shenanigans!
Keywords: BRICS, Brazil, Russia, India, China, South Africa, bank, currency swap, broadband cable, IMF, World Bank, UN, Security Council, developing countries, emerging economies, multipolar world, rising powers, capitalism, structural adjustments
The Professor gives his take on a few international stories he thinks are of much greater significance this week than the droll domestic drivel that is forced upon the American public on a daily basis. This week:
...Mexican billionaire loses $8 billion
...major drought in Eastern Africa
...Ukrainian politician Yulia Tymoshenko arrested
...Hugo Chavez back in Cuba for chemo…which may mark the end of his significance in Latin American affairs?
Keywords: Carlos Slim. Mexico, Latin America, stock market, Vegas, drought, eastern Africa, Somalia, Ukraine, Cuba, Venezuela, Brazil
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