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Not long ago, Brazil was "ontop of theworld," as one 2010 headline described it.

With a steadily growing economy and expanding social programs thatlifted millions out of poverty, the South American nation was seen by many as an emerging global power and a shining example of good governance and inclusivity. Lula da Silva, Brazil's president from 2003 to 2010, was widely credited for his countrys remarkable success; President Obamacalled him"the most popular politician on Earth."

But over the last few years, Brazil's economic and political panorama has dramatically shifted. Recent news headlines include "Brazil in Free Fall" and "The Darkest Hour."

In early 2014, Brazil's economy began to tank. The causes included the Latin American and global economic slowdown, but also neoliberal economic policies favored by Brazil's powerful financial community, including budget and credit tightening at the wrong time andexorbitantly high interest rates.

Meanwhile, revelations surfaced regarding a vast bribery scheme commonly known as "Lava Jato" (car wash) involving state energy company Petrobras and numerous senior figures from Brazils major political parties. This perfect storm of economic and political setbacks contributed to a rapid decline in the popularity of da Silva's successor, Dilma Rousseff, and created a golden opportunity for right-wing sectors to unseat Rousseff and her left-leaning Workers' Party.

But rather than attempting to retake the presidency through elections, sectors of the right conspired to remove Rousseff by triggeringlegally unjustifiedimpeachment proceedings against her.

The former president is regularly vilified in Brazil's conservative media, which dominates the nation's airwaves and press. The telegenic federal Judge Sergio Moro, elevated to near-superhero status by much of Brazils major media, has been leading abiased and politicized investigationtargeting da Silva, and has repeatedly violated the former president's due process rights.

The Obama administration has failed to speak out against these assaults on Brazil's democracy, but U.S. congressional members have taken notice since Rousseff's impeachment trial began in May 2016, and have been forcefully appealing for the respect of rule of law and human rights in Brazil.

In July 2016, 43 Democratic members of the House of Representatives senta letterto then-Secretary of State John KerryJohn KerryCongress must take attacks on Brazilian democracy seriously Take it from Italy's past, don't tinker with US electoral systems Trumps dangerous move to politicize the National Security Council MORE expressing "strong concern" regarding Rousseff's impeachment and noting that its main promoters faced corruption charges, including Romero Juc, a key political ally of current President Michel Temer caught on tapeplottingRousseff's removal. The objective, Juc said, was to prevent corruption investigations from moving forward.

Temer, Rousseff's replacement, promptly appointed an all-white, all-male Cabinet that embarked on far-reaching reforms, including drastic cuts to social programs.

In early August, Sen. Bernie SandersBernie SandersEllison tops Perez in DNC race fundraising Congress must take attacks on Brazilian democracy seriously Biden endorses Perez for DNC chair MORE (I-Vt.) issueda statementarguing that: "The United States cannot sit silently while the democratic institutions of one of our most important allies are undermined."

Kerry ignored these appeals. OnAug. 5, as the impeachment trial was still underway, he held a friendly joint press conference with Temer's foreign minister and made no mention of the unconstitutional efforts to remove Rousseff. The signal to Brazilians was unmistakable: Washington supported what many considered an illegal coup d'etat.

Though Brazil has largely disappeared from the news in the U.S., the dire political and social situation there is still of great concern to a number of members of Congress.

On Jan. 18, 12 members of the House, including four of the five top Democrats on the Judiciary Committee, and leaders of the Congressional Progressive Caucus, sent aletter to Brazil's ambassadorin Washington, denouncing the repression of peaceful protests in Brazil and the criminalization of the Landless Workers' Movement and other groups opposed to the Temer government. The letter also denounces the ongoing judicial persecution of da Silva:

"Since the beginning of [2016], Lula has been targeted by a judge Sergio Moro whose biased and unwarranted actions have severely jeopardized Lulas due process rights. For instance, Moro ordered the arbitrary arrest of the former president simply to serve a subpoena, although there was no indication that the former president was unwilling to provide testimony.Media outlets were on site as the arrest occurred, suggesting that the primary purpose of the detention was to create the perception that Lula was implicated in criminal activity despite the lack of charges against him at the time."

The letter describes Moro's open participation "in political events opposing Lula" and his endorsement of a sensational book lionizing him and presenting da Silva as guilty of alleged criminal charges. It notes that Moro leaked phone intercepts to the media,a violation of Brazilian law.

The letter, led by Rep. John Conyers (D-Mich.) and endorsed by the AFL-CIO, Friends of the Earth and other organizations, goes on to say:

"Even following testimony against Lula obtained through plea bargains, there is not yet any credible evidence implicating Lula in criminal activity. We are concerned that the true goal behind the proceedings is to severely tarnish Lulas image and disable him politically by any means, as occurred with former President Rousseff."

Despite these attacks, the Workers' Party announced on Jan. 17 that da Silva would be its candidate for president in Brazil's 2018 elections. Two days later, Brazilian Supreme Court Justice Teori Zavascki died in a plane crash seen by many assuspiciousgiven that Zavascki had been analyzing testimony implicating many powerful Brazilian politicians in corruption.

Zavascki had been widely considered to be the most independent and principled member of the court. He had been identified in the leaked Juc tape as the one justice "closed off" to making a deal to help remove Rousseff. And he had firmly objected to Moro's leaks of tapped phone recordings of da Silva in early 2016, earning him vicious attacks in the right-wing press and protests in front of his home in So Paulo.

With Zavascki gone, it appears unlikely that any higher judge will step in to counter the excesses of Moro and others who use their judicial or political power to arbitrarily target opponents.

Given this alarming situation, it's more important than ever for members of Congress and others in the international community to shine a bright light on the attempted demolition of democracy and basic rights that is taking place in Brazil.

Alexander Main is senior associate for international policy at the Center for Economic and Policy Research in Washington.

The views of contributors are their own and not the views of The Hill.

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Congress must take attacks on Brazilian democracy seriously - The Hill (blog)

The relationship between citizens and government is changing. The first 10 days of Donald Trumps presidency has been a reminder that citizens thirst to have a voice in their democracy spans the nations cultural, partisan, and ideological divides. In his inaugural address, Trump thundered, We are transferring power from Washington, DC, and giving it back to you, the people. The past two weekends have seen millions demonstrate in Womens Marches and large crowds gather at airports and in downtowns to voice their discontent over Trumps draconian executive order regarding immigration and refugee policies.

Beneath the acrimony, everyone seems to agree that citizens need a greater voice in our democracy. But both sides face a common challenge: Neither the marchers nor the president they detest have articulated a coherent set of mechanisms to translate their passionate rhetoric into concrete initiatives, programs, or policies that actually empower citizens.

How do we bring citizens into democracy? Americans were accustomed to a longstanding model: institutions and their leaders as the stalwart of democracy. Not even a week into Trumps presidency, many folks are left wide-eyed with the realization that our civic institutions are not going to work without consistent citizen pressure and activism to protect them. At a time when citizens faith in institutions and democracy is at all-time lows; we each need to be vigilant and actively engaged.

Civic engagement is not just for creating better policies but also for reinvigorating democratic practice this is an underlying condition of our current political dysfunction. There are tools from our democratic arsenal to support this new relationship between Americans and their government. Regardless of how we proceed, this is going to take work, and there isnt a panacea. The new dynamic between the government and citizens is not going to fix itself. It is not going to be fixed by a new policy or a new government official. There is now no choice but to engage in a multigenerational project to reinvigorate American democracy.

First, individual citizens can hold power to account by bringing new and relevant facts into the public light. People can serve as watchdogs, activists for truth, and monitors of governance. Individual people can serve as more credible truth tellers than other parts of society that are viewed as beholden to special interests or lobbying. From photographing police violence to tracking public documents online (e.g., through the Freedom of Information Act) to ensuring that elected officials maintain their campaign promises, individuals can become purveyors of truth and put pressure on institutions and elected officials.

Take, for example, Indias Mumbai Votes, where information crowdsourced by students and activists on elected officials is viewed as credible and reliable information, often in contrast to biased paid news. In an environment of declining institutional trust, there is a vacuum of facts. Individual people empowered with a smartphone or even a microphone can be the purveyors of truth and can leverage that information to hold government accountable.

Second, citizens can revitalize the power of diverse community-based organizations. For a long time, these organizations weaved the vibrant fabric of America civic and communal life. Alexis de Tocquevilles writings about early American life included the potency of civic associations for strengthening democracy. One component of these organizations was the ability for people to come together across different ideologies and beliefs.

Today these organizations are no longer as vital, diverse, or powerful as they once were, and American democracy has suffered as a result. There has been much scholarship on the decline of civic associations in the United States. Now is the moment to reengage with civil society organizations not just passively donate every year. Instead, actively participant in local chapters of a national group or a neighborhood association.

Civic organizations are not a monolith. There are some that are filled with people who share the same preconceived views, while others may have less homogeneous ideology. Given the changing relationship between citizens and government, now is the critical moment to form nontraditional alliances and more deeply engage with people with dissenting viewpoints. The goal is to strengthen critical civil society institutions, not just to feel reaffirmed. Building tolerance for peaceful dissent and disagreement toward shared democratic goods, which transcend any one person, is a critical building block for reinventing the relationship between citizens and the state.

Finally, across our 3,007 counties there are participatory options and new partnerships between government and the people to work collaboratively as co-producers of public goods. For example, Central Falls, Rhode Island, which is Rhode Islands only majority-Hispanic community, was the first city in Rhode Island to declare Chapter 9 bankruptcy. The city government decided to try something new to engage the community around a shared project.

It partnered with Citizinvestor, a crowdfunding and civic engagement site that is similar to Kickstarter for governments, to launch a civic crowdfunding campaign, one of the first in the United States. Local residents were active participants in every part of the process: identifying the area for fundraising; pledging their own dollars; and collaborating. Examples like this are occurring across the country where citizens are empowered not merely in a consultative or advisory role, but are given a real role in public decision-making.

Another process gaining momentum across the country is participatory budgeting, a World Bank best practice in democratic reform to give residents a portion of public money to decide how to allocate. Last year, community residents allocated more than $60 million across the United States through discretionary funds of local officials, since the process started in 2009 with $1 million in discretionary funds in a Chicago ward. Perhaps we can learn from instructive international examples in Brazil or in Paris, where 100 million per year is allocated through the process.

Strengthening the relationship between citizens and their government requires tireless energy, vigilance, and creativity. By design this requires new experiments. Charlotte, North Carolina, won a Knight Cities Challenge for a project called Crown TownHall, which offers direct one-on-one opportunities for local public city officials to have an in-person conversation with a member of the community. This requires time on behalf of both citizens and their public officials. Deepened relationships can develop even with just a 10-minute conversation.

It is going to take unprecedented work to rebuild the civic fabric and reignite the civic associations that have been the hallmark of America. Many of us feel fired up, angry, or worried about the direction of our country. The way to move forward begins with sustained civic activity, one conversation at a time.

This post is part of Polyarchy, an independent blog produced by the political reform program at New America, a Washington think tank devoted to developing new ideas and new voices. See more Polyarchy posts here.

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For democracy to survive, it requires civic engagement - Vox

Opposition to Donald Trumps Cabinet nominations mounted on Capitol Hill and across the country Tuesday, as Senate Democrats boycotted two scheduled committee votes and dozens of people were arrested at a series of protests nationwide. Led by Oregon Senator Ron Wyden, Democratic lawmakers on the Senate Finance Committee stalled the confirmations of treasury secretary nominee Steven Mnuchin and health and human services secretary nominee Tom Price by refusing to attend the committee meeting. Under committee rules, if no Democrats attend the hearing, the committee cant vote. The lawmakers accused Mnuchin and Price of lying to the committees during their nomination hearings. Amid the Democratic boycott, protesters staged a sit-in to block the entrance to the office of Finance Committee Chair Orrin Hatch, the Republican senator from Utah, as a protest against Tom Prices nomination. At least 47 people were arrested. Democratic lawmakers on the Senate Judiciary Committee also delayed a vote on the confirmation of Jeff Sessions for attorney general Tuesday by making extended speeches. This is California Democratic Senator Dianne Feinstein.

Sen. Dianne Feinstein: "Instead, he has been the fiercest, most dedicated and most loyal promoter in Congress of the Trump agenda and has played a critical role in the clearinghouse for policy and philosophy to undergird the implementation of that agenda. With this in mind, I must vote no."

Jeff Sessionss confirmation has faced a series of protests over his opposition to the Voting Rights Act and his history of making racist comments. On Monday, about 10 members of the NAACP, including President Cornell William Brooks, were arrested at a sit-in at Sessionss office in Mobile, Alabama. It was the second NAACP sit-in against Sessionss confirmation. On Tuesday, retired Army Colonel Ann Wright disrupted the Senate Judiciary Committee in protest of Sessions.

Ann Wright: "No to racism! No to the ban on refugees! Wait! Oh, wait! Oh! Oww! Ill go out, but you dont need to drag me. Ive got a hip replacement. Im 70 years old, and I can make it out on my own. But no to racism! No to hate! No to Jeff Sessions! No to the ban on refugees!"

More protests against Jeff Sessions and Trumps other Cabinet nominations erupted Tuesday. In New York City, thousands of protesters gathered outside the home of Senator Chuck Schumer, calling on him to oppose Trumps Cabinet picks. In a separate protest also in New York City, 11 protesters, including Gwen Carr, the mother of Eric Garner, were arrested blocking traffic outside Trump Tower to oppose the nominations. In Chicago, at least seven protesters were arrested after hundreds staged a sit-in at the Federal Building to demand Illinois Senators Dick Durbin and Tammy Duckworth vote against billionaire Betsy DeVos for education secretary, which they did. Nevertheless, DeVos was among three of Trumps Cabinet picks who were approved by Senate committees Tuesday. The Senate education committee voted 12-11 to approve DeVos in a straight party vote, even though The Washington Post reports DeVos appears to have plagiarized parts of her written answers submitted to the Senate committee. Also on Tuesday, the Senate Energy and Natural Resources Committee voted 16-7 to approve former Texas Gov. Rick Perry as energy secretary and voted 16-6 to approve Montana Congressmember Ryan Zinke to head the Interior Department. DeVos, Perry and Zinke will now all face full Senate votes on their confirmation. The full Senate also voted Tuesday to confirm Elaine Chao to become transportation secretary.

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Lawmakers Push Anti-Protest Laws as Mass Resistance to Trump Sweeps U.S. - Democracy Now!

Clive McFarlane Telegram & Gazette Staff @CliveMcFarlane

In these slippery, Trump-stirred times of trouble and turmoil, I search frantically to find sure footing because through the mist of our Muslim neighbors' tears, I see clearly what's in store for them if we who care for our democracy should stumble and fall.

And to the north I see worshipers at a Quebec mosque being slaughtered - six killed and 19 injured. Authorities say they were shot down by a man with extremists views, a man who claims to be an avid supporter of our president, a president who on the eve of this killing spree had targeted Muslims in a travel ban to this country.

To the south, I see a Texas mosque gutted by fire, and from all across the country come stories of girls wearing hijabs being harassed, Muslim women being threatened by knife-wielding harassers and Muslim shopkeepers being peppered with anti-Muslim slurs.

And in the wake of these atrocities, I hear a clear and comforting voice rise above the din to say:

"The people who commit these acts mean to test our resolve and weaken our values. We will not close our minds. We will open our hearts."

It is the voice of Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, and not that of our president, who is constitutionally obligated to preserve the greatest democracy in the world, but who instead, through his press secretary, Sean Spicer, used the Canadian tragedy to buckle down on his travel ban.

"Its a terrible reminder of why we must remain vigilant, and why the president is taking steps to be proactive, rather than reactive, when it comes to our nations safety and security, he told us at his daily briefing on Monday.

And I wait to hear the voice of dissent from leaders of influential Muslim-majority countries, like Egypt and Saudi Arabia, but silence prevails, and not unexpectedly because both have long manipulated extremism within their borders to further their own self-interests, the same self-interest mirrored by Mr. Trump when he declined to include in his Muslim ban those countries in which his business interests raise towers in benediction to his ego.

Oh, how disappointing it was to see at Monday's press conference an Indian-American reporter groveling at the president's feet.

This Indian-American reporter, whose roots sprout from a country deemed the largest democracy in the world and which is home to the world's second largest Muslim population, had not a single word to say about the president's travel ban.

He seemed to be more mindful of Mr. Trump's sizable business interest in India, business interests described by NPR as being "more than anywhere else outside North America."

So this Indian-American reporter noted how the president of India, Narendra Modi, has spoken to President Trump three times since Mr. Trump's "victory to make America great again."

"Both leaders, I understand, are on the same boat, because both are thinking the same," he said, before adding, "India is waiting to welcome President Trump."

And I realize now how vulnerable, like a dinghy caught in a raging ocean storm, this little democracy of ours is; and I can see clearly that the sure footing I seek lies not on a common ground girdled by self-interest, like those who protest only when their individual self-interests are at stake.

The sure footing I seek lies on the common ground staked out by "we the people," people like former acting U.S. attorney general Sally Yates, whom Mr. Trump fired for refusing to defend his travel ban, people like civil rights lawyers, people like many in the diverse groups pushing back against Mr. Trump, people who are guided not by self-interest but by the interest of our democracy and of our humanity.

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Clive McFarlane: Democracy on shaky ground - Worcester Telegram

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The rise of antiestablishment parties in Poland, France, Germany is identified as a major danger to Europe in the report published Tuesday, which is entitled Freedom in the World 2017.

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Freedom House says populism is a threat to global democracy, claiming that xenophobia and religious intolerance go against the fundamental values of democracy.

Angela Merkels call for a ban on the full face veil towards the end of last year was also highlighted as cause for concern in the report, which says the German Chancellors remarks seemed to pander to to anti-Muslim sentiment.

Europe can no longer be taken for granted as a bastion of democratic stability due to Russian interference and the migrant crisis according to the report, which accuses Russia of meddling in European elections by pushing populist and nationalist parties and spreading fake news and propaganda.

Another sign that global democracy is in distress, the report says, is that a number of countries held referendums in 2016. Deriding the votes as a radical reduction to majority rule, it complains that direct votes circumvent the structures and safeguards of democracy.

Asserting that democracy is more than just elections, Freedom House outlines a truly democratic system as one which hasa free press, independent courts, legal protections for minorities, a robust opposition, and unfettered civil society groups.

During the 2014 European Parliament election campaign, civil society groups received $6 million (4.77 million) in funding from Hungarian financier Soross Open Society Foundations.

The democratic election of populist leaders in Eastern and Central Europe is also identified in the paper as a threat to democracy.

The election of, and subsequent governing by Law and Justice (PiS) in Poland, and Fidesz in Hungary, arebranded a menace in the report, and cited as examples of counter-democratic transitions.

Along with attacking the two countries governments for having repudiated liberal values, Freedom House claims that in providing economic benefits to its core constituents referring to how the party has generous welfare policies PiS is using the economic power of the state for party political ends.

Co-author of the report, Arch Puddington, wrote: We see leaders and nations pursuing their own narrow interests without meaningful constraints or regard for the shared benefits of global peace and freedom.

These trends are starting to undo the international order of the past quarter-century and have undermined respect for fundamental freedoms and democracy, he said.

Open Society Foundations frequently partners with Freedom House, and the Hungarian billionaires grant-making network was revealed to be a financial backer of the American NGO in documents published by DCLeaks.

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Soros-Linked NGO: Support for Right Wing Parties in Europe 'Threatens Democracy' - Breitbart News