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Why Brazil Still Matters

Brazil, Demographic

Why Brazil Still Matters

While many in the West lamented Jair Bolsonaro’s stunning ascension to the presidency of the world’s fifth most populous country in 2018, the election outcome was sealed roughly a year earlier. That was when Brazil’s two-term center-left president, Lula da Silva, who had been legally barred from a third consecutive term in 2010 despite an 86 percent approval rating—and who was leading in all the polls for a comeback in the 2018 presidential race—was convicted on dubious corruption charges and then declared ineligible to run. With his primary obstacle out of the way, Bolsonaro cruised to victory.

The stench of those events intensified greatly when Bolsonaro appointed the judge who’d found Lula guilty, Sergio Moro, to the newly enhanced position of minister of justice and public security. Even Moro’s closest allies in the sprawling anti-corruption probe known as Operation Car Wash (Lava Jato in Portuguese) were outraged by this blatant quid pro quo, which they realized would forever tarnish their legacy.

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Interventions (City Lights Open Media)

State War, Threats

Interventions (City Lights Open Media)

Noam Chomsky says that the freedom to challenge power is not just an opportunity, it’s a responsibility. For the past several years Chomsky has been writing essays for The New York Times Syndicate to do just that: challenge power and expose the global consequences of U.S. policy and military actions worldwide. Interventions is a collection of these essays, revised and updated with notes by the author.

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“They Take Our Jobs!”: And 20 Other Myths about Immigration (Myths Made in America)

Immigration, Policies

“They Take Our Jobs!”: And 20 Other Myths about Immigration (Myths Made in America)

Claims that immigrants take Americans’ jobs, are a drain on the American economy, contribute to poverty and inequality, destroy the social fabric, challenge American identity, and contribute to a host of social ills by their very existence are openly discussed and debated at all levels of society. Chomsky dismantles twenty of the most common assumptions and beliefs underlying statements like “I’m not against immigration, only illegal immigration” and challenges the misinformation in clear, straightforward prose.

In exposing the myths that underlie today’s debate, Chomsky illustrates how the parameters and presumptions of the debate distort how we think—and have been thinking—about immigration. She observes that race, ethnicity, and gender were historically used as reasons to exclude portions of the population from access to rights.

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Failed States: The Abuse of Power and the Assault on Democracy

State War, Threats

Failed States: The Abuse of Power and the Assault on Democracy

The United States has repeatedly asserted its right to intervene militarily against “failed states” around the globe. In this much-anticipated follow-up to his international bestseller Hegemony or Survival, Noam Chomsky turns the tables, showing how the United States itself shares features with other failed states―suffering from a severe “democratic deficit,” eschewing domestic and international law, and adopting policies that increasingly endanger its own citizens and the world

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9-11

Terrorism, Threats

9-11

In 9-11, Noam Chomsky comments on the September 11th attacks, the new war on terrorism, Osama bin Laden, U.S. involvement with Afghanistan, media control, and the long-term implications of America’s military attacks abroad. Informed by his deep understanding of the gravity of these issues and the global stakes, 9-11 demonstrates Chomsky’s impeccable knowledge of U.S. foreign policy in the Middle East and South Asia, and sheds light on the rapidly shifting balance of world power.

Speaking out against escalating violence, Chomsky critically examines the United States’ own foreign policy record and considers what international institutions might be employed against underground networks and national states accused of terrorism. 9-11’s analysis still stands as a measure of how well the media is able to serve its role of informing the citizenry, so crucial to our democracy in times of war.

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