Brian Mier

On November 7, the Brazilian Supreme Court declared it illegal to jail defendants before their appeals’ processes have been exhausted. Within 24 hours, former President Luiz InΓ‘cio Lula da Silva was released to an adoring crowd of hundreds. Despite this, the corporate media is continuing its smear campaign against him.

I spent last week in the Brazilian Amazon in Porto Velho, Rondonia, on the edge of what is called the arco do incendios. The β€œarc of fires” is a region stretching along the yet-to-be-paved highways 319 and 230, between the towns of HumaitΓ‘ and Apui in Southern Amazonas, a state that still had as of last year.

Brian Mier, editor of and , spoke to ΒιΆΉΣ³»­ Weekly’s Federico Fuentes about the victory of fascist candidate Jair Bolsonaro in Brazil’s presidential elections, and what it means for the coming period.