Jair Bolsonaro is an unavoidable name in Brazilian politics nowadays, and has been for a few years. A few days before election day on October 7, the most recent polls indicate that Bolsonaro is now the leading candidate in the presidential race, followed by Fernando Haddad of the Workers’ Party (PT).
Beyond the rejection of the law for the legalization of abortion in Argentina: a fourth feminist wave?
13 October 2018, by ,Two correspondents for the French journal Contretemps, Fanny Gallot and Bettina Ghio, were in Buenos Aires a few days before the Senate vote. They conducted two interviews, to retrace the building and the challenges of the present feminist movement: one with Dolores Fenoy and the other with Dora Barrancos. Then, shortly after the rejection by the Senate, they asked some questions to middle and high school girls who are involved in the movement.
The Brexit Crunch
13 October 2018, bySince the EU elites rejected May’s Chequers proposals on the basis that they breach the fundamental principles of the EU; i.e. the internal market and free movement, the likelihood of a disorderly (no deal) exit from the EU has increased along with support for a second referendum on the issue. In Scotland, it has resulted not only in a surge of support for the SNP and for Scottish independence (with some polls showing a majority for the first time) but also for a second referendum on independence which could well become unstoppable – which was reflected in the huge pro-independence demonstration in Edinburgh on 6 October.
An Election Earthquake in Québec
11 October 2018, byThe political landscape in Québec changed radically last Monday for the first time since 1972. A radical left-wing party emerged as an unavoidable political force, a new right-wing populist party took power, and the old mainstream parties sustained historical defeats.
#EleNão (not him): defeat Bolsonaro and defend rights!
10 October 2018, byThe elections in the first round ended up maintaining the same scenario of instability and polarization provoked by the 2016 coup and which deepened an economic and social crisis that had already unfolded. It also deepened a crisis of political representation of such a magnitude that it generated the conditions for the emergence of an extreme-right candidate that reached the second round with considerable support from the ruling classes. The election knocked out oligarchs that have traditionally dominated the political system, allowing the extreme-right to capitalize on the social rage against the "system".
Supreme Toxicity—Confirmed
9 October 2018, byHE’S CONFIRMED, ALL right: A confirmed liar, confirmed nasty-drunk sexual predator and hardcore reactionary hand-picked for his confirmed anti-worker judicial record, Brett Kavanaugh is now a confirmed Justice of the United States Supreme Court. The whole spectacle became one of those moments that brought the country face to face with the real condition of its political system—and the rage it’s generated is the hope for the future.
Our planet, our lives, and life itself, are worth more than their profits!
8 October 2018, byNot surprisingly, the IPCC’s special report on global warming of up to 1.5°C confirms that the impacts of anthropogenic climate change are formidable and have been underestimated, both socially and environmentally.
Striking for the Future
8 October 2018, byStriking taxi drivers in Spain are demanding state action against Uber. They show that even in the digital economy, strikes are our most potent weapon.
Nicaragua in Pain
7 October 2018, byWriting about Nicaragua is as painful and sad as it is indispensable. Memories of the Sandinista Revolution are still alive for the generation that lived through it. To remain silent would be an affront to those who took part in that memorable insurrection against Somoza.