Background Briefing: January 9, 2023
Brazil’s Pro-Bolsonaro Riot Pales in Comparison to the January 6 Insurrection
We begin with the storming of Brazil’s parliament, Supreme Court and presidential palace by Bolsonaro’s supporters 1,200 of whom were arrested in what is being compared to the January 6 insurrection although Brazil’s January 8 coup attempt is paltry if not pathetic in comparison. Joining us is Andre Pagliarini, a professor of history at Hampden-Sydney College who is currently preparing a book manuscript on twentieth-century Brazilian nationalism. We discuss his article at The New Republic, “The Pro-Bolsonaro Riot in Brasília Was Nothing Like the January 6 Insurrection—for Better and Worse.”
McCarthy Has Been Installed by the Same Right Wing Oligarchs Behind Trump and DeSantis
Then we look into how Kevin McCarthy, who has profusely thanked Trump, has been installed as Speaker by the same oligarchy that financed Trump and the MAGA Republicans to capture the Supreme Court and distract the public from their economic looting with culture wars and hot button issues. Joining us is Nancy MacLean, a Distinguished Professor of History and Public Policy at Duke University. An award-winning scholar of the twentieth-century United States, her books include Behind the Mask of Chivalry, Freedom Is Not Enough and Democracy in Chains: The deep history of the radical right’s stealth plan for America. We discuss her article with Lisa Graves at The Progressive, “The Billionaire Kingmaker (Still) Dividing the Nation: Despite a rebrand, Charles Koch won’t stop until U.S. democracy is dead.”
Mexico’s President Calls on Our Right Wing Congress to stop Funding the Pentagon and Fund Central American and Caribbean Countries to Stop the Flow of Refugees to the US
Then finally we look into President Biden’s trip to Mexico City to meet with President Lopez Obrador at the North American Leaders summit where the Mexican leader has called on America’s right wing congress to stop funding the Pentagon and start funding Central American and Caribbean countries in order to stop the flow of refugees into the US. Joining us is William LeoGrande, a Professor of Government at American University and a specialist in Latin American politics and U.S. foreign policy toward Latin America. He has been a frequent adviser to government and private sector agencies and has written five books, most recently, Back Channel to Cuba: The Hidden History of Negotiations between Washington and Havana. Previously, he served on the staffs of the Democratic Policy Committee of the United States Senate, and the Democratic Caucus Task Force on Central America of the United States House of Representatives. We discuss his article at Responsible Statecraft, “Can Chris Dodd help his friend Biden save US-Cuba relations?”