THE BRAZILIAN BOT

Araraquara

  • On International Day of Families, President #Bolsonaro received tens of thousands of supporters in front of the Planalto Palace. People going by themselves and them wearing the Brazilian colors and waving the Brazilian flag were in a stark contrast to when ex-president #Lula gathered people there, wearing red and waving red flags, and many of them being paid and fed, and given a ride in order to attend it.
  • #SaoPaulo Mayor #BrunoCovas died today. He was in the ICU and the hospital had released a statement a couple of days ago saying his condition was irreversible. He had adenocarcinoma. Covas started having problems in 2019, but was able to keep working during his treatment. He was much criticized for his opposition to President #Bolsonaro, for his strong lockdown measures, and also for not obeying his own orders. #covid #pandemic
  • According to the opinion poll #Datafolha, the infamous Marxist and ex-president #Lula, whose charges of corruption were nullified by the #SupremeCourt (#STF) recently, wins over #Bolsonaro in the first round and with a good margin. This is the same push #Biden got by a large part of the media and of opinion polls. If Bolsonaro doesn't get paper trail to be approved and added to the voting machines to avoid election fraud, nobody will be able to prove the contrary if Lula's elected (because it's inconceivable that he wins if the Bolsonaro administration keeps going as it's been).
  • The Ministry (Department) of Economy, whose minister is #PauloGuedes, was able to get passed a law that will help companies save thousands of reals a year with newspapers. Until then, companies listed in the stock market were forced to pay the printing press to publish their annual balance. With the internet, social media, and cell phones, there's no need for this. The printing press should lose 150 million reals per year, but some kinds of companies still have to pay for that. The gov't will try to extend this change to all companies.
  • The #SupremeCourt (#STF) voted 8-3 to limit in 20 years the time for medical patents to expire, and this is not for new patents only, but any patent that has already exceeded 20 years. Some say this could be a bad move as it could drive labs away or keep labs from being installed in Brazil. In the #UnitedStates, it's 20 years.
  • A consortium composed of 9 governors from the Northeast of Brazil ordered nearly 49 million reals in ventilators from a company called #HempcarePharma (specialized in selling products related to the cannabis). The ventilators were never delivered and some people have already been arrested, including the owner, #CristianaPrestes, and her business partner, #LuizHenriqueRamos, but they were released after being heard by the police. She said they'd bring the ventilators from #China but noticed there was some issue with them only later. They then offered Brazilian-made ventilators instead and for a cheaper price, primising to deliver 480 units instead of 300. Problem is, the Brazilian ones were never approved by the regularoty agency (#Anvisa). #BrunoDauster, then secretary of the house staff in #Bahia, tried to solve the problem by convincing Prestes to increase the value of the contract in 52%, to which she refused, saying she didn't want to “RAPE THE STATE.” Prestes said she was surprised to receive all the money up front and so quickly (not common in this kind of contract in #Brazil), two days after the contract was signed. Also, Prestes was surprised when she received an order from a judge in #Araraquara, State of #SaoPaulo, to sign a donation document, since the mayor, #EdinhoSilva, informed he had ordered 30 ventilators and had not received any, and that they'd be paid by the consortium. #CarlosGarbas was assigned executive secretary of the consortium and was the person behind all the negotiations and contacts. Garbas has been involved in several corrupt cases, and his ascension to power came while he was ex-President #Dilma's driver, when he got a temporary employement in government as a senator's assistant making a lot more money. From then on, he kept moving up and growing in influence, became minister more than once. It's Garbas who made this deal with Araraquaras' mayor, which Prestes was not aware of. In other words, this #COVID committee, if going in the right direction, will reveal and clarify a myriad of intricate corruption like this one case seems to be.
  • The #PDT Party sent a request to the #SupremeCourt (#STF) to charge President #Bolsonaro for the crime of “excessively promoting” the preventive use of #hydroxychloroquine and other medications during the #pandemic.
  • During the police operation in #Jacarezinho Favela which resulted in one police officer and 27 criminals dead (and some others injured, including citizens) police found documents about the operation, suggesting someone in the department is leaking information.
  • The #PCC (Capital's First Command, one of Brazil's criminal organizations) is accused of laundering money diverted from the #pandemic help sent to #RiodeJaneiro.
  • #Twitter was not allowing a video to play where it shows the ex-president of the Senate and now president of a suspicious committee to investigate irregularities committed during the #pandemic #RenanCalheiros (one the perfect stereotypes of the “successful” Brazilian corrupt) throwing a tantrum when a senator suggests that they invite the federal police director to attend and help with the committee. #covid
  • Ex-president Fernando Henrique Cardoso, commonly referred to by Brazilians as #FHC, said in a recent interview about ex-president #Lula running in 2022 “MAKE DO WITH WHAT YOU HAVE” (or literally, “IF YOU CAN'T HUNT WITH A DOG, HUNT WITH A CAT), only confirming (once more) that he and his party, the #PSDB, differs nothing from the infamous leftwing #PT, except in the manners, being more diplomatic and keeping a profile low when it comes to pushing their Marxist agenda. #marxism
  • During President #Bolsonaro's daily stop to talk to supporters last week, a woman said “IN #FOZDOIGUACU, THEY ARE ALREADY TALKING ABOUT LOCKING PEOPLE DOWN AGAIN,” to which he replied “I ALREADY SENT THE MESSAGE I WANTED TO. FROM NOW ON, I'M GOING TO TAKE ACTION.” What he means by this is that he will take action against any mayor or governor that imposes a lockdown from now on, since, under the current circumstances, it's nearly unanimously considered to be unconstitutional.
  • The #SupremeCourt (#STF) Judge-Minister #Barroso, who said “WE DON'T FIX WHAT'S NOT BROKEN” referring to the wish of #conservatives and President #Bolsonaro to add paper trail to the voting machines, has started a campaign to push back in the hopes of getting enough votes in #Congress to block this change. He already posted three videos on YouTube. Among many things, he says “[THIS CAMPAIGN] IS ABOUT THE SECURITY, THE TRANSPARENCY, AND THE POSSIBILITY OF AUDIT OF THE BRAZILIAN PROCESS,” and also “IN THE VOTING MACHINES AND IN THE BRAZILIAN PROCESS YOU CAN TRUST.” The proposed system will allow the machine to print the vote so the voter can see it, but the voter won't be able to touch it; they will see it through a glass window. If the number and name on the paper is correct, the voter confirms it and the machine deposits the paper into a ballot box. It's two ways of auditing against one; but Barroso, who has been having a shameful role in the STF, is all in for pushing back on this change. The first video of the justice Barroso got 10,000 views and 95% dislikes, his second one got 38,000 views and 94% dislikes, and his third and latest one got 44,000 views and 89% dislike (as of May 15th). The comments are overwhelmingly negative and hostile to Barroso and the STF, showing how infamous and unpopular the Supreme Court is to the eyes of Brazilians. Unfortunately, even if #Congress approves the paper trail, the STF has the authority to block it, and the chances of them blocking it is high.

  • A video of a street vendor being approach by the military police and being put into the trunk of a police car Thursday night in #Bahia went viral. He was not supposed to be out at that time due to the #curfew. He said he lost the last bus and no more buses had come since then. At a certain moment, one of the officers forcibly approaches him and puts him in the trunk of the police vehicle while the vendor says, “DON'T HURT ME!” What's shocking about the video is that the officer's approach is nearly the same as if approaching a criminal, which very much makes you believe the guy is a criminal (if you didn't know the context). Another thing that worries is the fact that another officer, when he realizes there's someone recording it, approaches the person and says, “IF THIS GENTLEMAN IS BEING FILMED [BY YOU] YOU'RE GOING TO BE A WITNESS. COME ON [WITH US].” #covid #covid19 #coronavirus #abuseofpower
  • The #Senate approved a bill that authorizes private companies to buy vaccines. It's now headed to the #Congress. If it passes, President #Bolsonaro may veto it because the bill removes the responsibility for side effects of the #vaccine from the makers and put it in the government. #covid #covid19 #coronavirus
  • Some residents of the city of #Araraquara in the State of #SaoPaulo, which is under a full #lockdown period, have reported some food shortage and some price hike. #covid #covid19 #coronavirus #brazil
  • Keeping the annoying and uncalled-for habit of giving interviews nonstop, one of the judge-ministers of the #SupremeCourt (#STF), #EdsonFachin, listed the seven symptoms of a corrupt democracy during an interview for the leftist, liberal, progressive, #FolhadeSaoPaulo (#Folha). They are [with comments], “REMILITARIZATION OF A CIVIL GOVERNMENT” [the military regime was the most stable and orderly period #Brazil had ever experienced in a long time, failed by the 'positivist' mindset and old-anti-#communism combat tactics, while the “civil” government that started in 1988 never made the country any better, so this argument per se doesn't say much], “INTIMIDATION [BY CALLS TO SHUT DOWN THE OTHER POWERS—#CONGRESS, #SENATE, AND #STF” [there was never a direct call to shut them down, but to the possibility of them being shut down due to their unconstitutional behavior, and since #Bolsonaro was elected, no actual attempt has been made and no plan to do so has ever been exposed], “MINIMIZATION OF THE VALUE OF VOTING” [the judge-ministers have been reacting positively to making the voting process even more digital, like voting by phone, which makes it even more prone to fraud, while #Bolsonaro, his allies, and his supporters support the opposite, walking toward more auditability, even if it means partially using paper], “ATTACKS AGAINST THE FREEDOM OF THE PRESS” [it was the STF who censored a news outlet back on 2019, who ordered the arrest of a journalist twice in 2019 and 2020, who ordered the conservative site #TercaLivre to be mass suspended on social media platforms in 2021, who ordered the arrest of a congressman for a thought crime and also demanded all his social media accounts to be suspended in 2021; no such restricting actions were ever taken by the President #Bolsonaro; the most he has done was to harshly criticize the big old media, call them corrupt, unfair, evil, disgraceful], “ENCOURAGEMENT OF THE SALES OF WEAPONS AND THUS OF VIOLENCE” [violence in Brazil increased after the gun ban in 2005, and since #Bolsonaro was elected and a few of his pro-guns decrees passed, along with other measures, violence has decreased; also, violence numbers in countries were fire weapons are allowed don't support the judge-minister's reasoning], “NORMALIZING ADMINISTRATIVE AGENTS' CORRUPTION” [one of his administration's hallmark is the nearly total elimination of corruption, at least at the highest level] and “REFUSAL TO ACCEPT ELECTION RESULTS” [the president never refused to accept the elections' results, but expressed that if the vote can't be audited, fraud is possible].
  • The tax over imported #fireweapons was going to be zero this year, but the judge-minister of the #SupremeCourt (#STF) #EdsonFachin issued an injunction order halting the decree. Another judge-minister commented that zeroing the tax and thus increasing the sales of fire weapons in #Brazil is a “RISK FOR THE STABILITY OF DEMOCRACY.” Once again, the STF ruling over things it shouldn't. #guns #gunsales #gunban #disarmament #selfdefense #fachin
  • As of February 26th, the states that were imposing the lockdown were #Bahia, #DistritoFederal, #Maranhao, #Paraiba, #Pernambuco, #Piaui, #RioGrandedoSul, #Rondonia, and #SaoPaulo. Aside from the lockdown, these states' governors have another thing in common: They strongly oppose #Bolsonaro. #covid #covid19 #coronavirus
  • During a speech and while he was talking about the stronger #lockdown measures imposed by some governors, President #Bolsonaro said, “THE RELIEF CHECK WILL BE COMING FOR A COUPLE MORE MONTHS. THE GOVERNOR THAT DESTROYS JOBS SHOULD PAY FOR THE RELIEF CHECK. [...] THOSE WHO CLOSE EVERYTHING AND DESTROY JOBS ARE GOING AGAINST THE WISH OF THEIR PEOPLE.” #covid #covid19 #coronavirus
  • Writer and philosopher #OlavodeCarvalho is in hospital in the US with #pneumonia.
  • Leaked messages exchanged by #LavaJato Operation prosecutors show that they had illegal access to the President #Bolsonaro family's personal information, including fiscal, right after he was elected. They laugh in several moments. The data was accessed by the COAF ('Council for Financial Activities Control') and the MP ('Public Ministry' or 'Prosecution Office'). #RobertoLeonel was in control of the COAF back then, he was assigned by #SergioMoro, and the latter got very upset when COAF was taken out of the control of his ministry by President Bolsonaro. #Leonel is behind the leaks from COAF, and he is referred in one of the messages by one prosecutor as “HE IS 1000.” 'To be 1000' is an expression that means a person helped someone else greatly; it's like saying, “He was so helpful that saying he was 100% helpful is not enough. Maybe 1000%?” #carwash #deltandallagnol #moro
  • The city of #Buzios, in the State of #RiodeJaneiro, reached zero hospitalizations for #COVID. They bet strongly on prevention, not withholding themselves from making use of several medications that can possibly help avoid cases from getting too serious, like #ivermectin #hydroxychloroquine, vitamin D, zinc, etc. This example contrasts with other cities, where the number of too serious cases surpassed the number of hospital rooms. #covid19 #coronavirus
  • Some #Brazil(ian) states and some cities in some states are going for a #curfew in order to stop or slow down the spread of the virus. According to the #Constitution, the curfew can only be allowed in two situations: State of Defense and State of Emergency. The State of Defense allows for the curfew in isolated areas, as long as there is a social unrest or a natural disaster that's big enough to result in lack of control by the local authorities. It can last 30 days and be extended for 30 more days. If the lack of control persists, then the State of Emergency is the next step. In this case, it allows for the curfew to be extended to areas where everything is apparently calm, and several constitutional rights are suspended, but in order for a curfew to start, the president (not a mayor or a governor) needs the #Congress' approval—this is to show you how extreme a curfew is. Beyond this point, the military intervention is the call. The virus and the rulings it has caused to be issued have resulted in all the rules regarding curfews being broken, in cities and states making decisions about putting it in place regardless of the government's direction. In other words, mayors and governors are breaking the Constitution, paving the way for a federal intervention; but, will there be? And, how long will unconstitutional actions continue to be taken for? #covid #covid19 #coronavirus
  • The #Congress is discussing a bill called [Speech] Immunity Bill. It has the purpose of clarifying where the limit of the #SupremeCourt (#STF) is when it comes to its power to warrant the arrest of a congressperson for a thought crime. In its original form, the bill made it clear only the Congress Ethical Counsel could apply a punishment, but some parties, like #PT, leftist, is critical of the bill for totally leaving the judiciary out of it. At least one congressman, the infamous and often ridiculed #KimKataguiri (another politician who did a great job pre-#Bolsonaro, campaigned for him and was elected in great part because of him, but ultimately flipped 180°), came to the point of asking the STF to interfere in the Congress' affairs by ordering that this bill be prohibited from even being discussed, and one judge-minister was already chosen to analyze this possibility. #freedomofspeech

  • The City of #Araraquara, in the State of #SaoPaulo, is the first #Brazil(ian) city to put a full #lockdown measure in place. It started this Sunday and was to finish yesterday, but it was extended. The mayor is from the far left and even supermarkets and grocery stores, considered essential business according to a national #COVID19 lockdown guidelines, are closed, thus breaking a national policy. #coronavirus
  • #Bolsonaro signed a decree that will force gas stations to show in receipts how much in #ICMS (tax over products and services) a customer is paying over the fuel. The decree is to start in 30 days and aims to expose to the population how abusive the local ICMS amount is, since it is calculated based on how much the government charges when the fuel leaves #Petrobras' refineries to gas stations (this tax is charged over any and every transaction, even over the same product, until it reaches the consumer end). The gov't is zeroing the ICMS at the federal level, and this means the amount in the receipt will show the customer precisely how much they are being charged locally. Strangely, the president of #PROCON (a public institution that deals with abuses against the consumer) in #SaoPaulo stated that they won't inspect gas stations that don't inform their ICMS in receipts unless SP's General-Attorney's Office recommends them to. No other PROCON, so far, has expressed resistance to do their natural job.
  • The ex-secretary (minister) of #Bolsonaro's #DepartmentofJustice (#MinistryofJustice) and lead judge in the #LavaJato operation #SergioMoro, who has 'antagonizingly' been giving his opinion on almost everything related to politics since he left the government last year—accusing Bolsonaro of interference in the federal police, promising to prove it, and never doing it—strangely hasn't said a word about #DanielSilveira's case, and people are starting to take notice. #carwash #moro
  • Several #Brazil(ian) states is putting a curfew in place, and in some places, not even deliveries will be allowed. Restarting in-person classes was also delayed in many places. #SaoPaulo is one of the states adopting the radical measures. The public transport in some of these places will be reduced, increasing agglomeration. The reason behind this measure is, for some, to destabilize the government, and for others it goes beyond, to allow #China and globalism-oriented groups to buy companies in financial difficulty.