On January 19, 2018, Members of the U.S. Congress sent a letter to the Ambassador of the Government of Brazil to the United States, calling on Brazil’s authorities to ensure that the rights of former President Lula to due process are fully protected, in accordance with Brazil’s international treaty obligations. A PDF of the letter…
On January 18, Members of Congress wrote to the Ambassador of Brazil, expressing deep concern about the current state of democracy and human rights in Brazil. The letter is here.
Reps. Conyers and others put out the following press release on the letter. A PDF of the letter is here. UPDATE: since the below press release was sent out, three Members of Congress signed on to the letter – Lloyd Doggett (TX-35), Karen Bass (CA-37), and Nydia M. Velázquez (NY-7). An updated PDF of the letter is here. — For…
Next week the Western Hemisphere will see a tale of two elections: two elections that have a number of key features in common, and some key points of divergence. In common: the incumbent center-left faces a challenge from the Right. The head of state, the incumbent leader of the center-left, will not be on the…
By the greater use of compulsory licenses, Brazil could lower drug costs not only in Brazil, but in developing countries overall. At a time when the New York Times is reporting that "the global battle against AIDS is falling apart for lack of money," it is absolutely essential that the price of lifesaving medicines in…
The United Nations Security Council approved a resolution calling for new sanctions against Iran today. Wait, did you just yawn? Pay attention, there’s real news here. The man-bites-dog story is that two countries – Brazil and Turkey – voted no, while Lebanon abstained. That’s a record. There’s never been more than one no vote before;…
Until quite recently, it seemed that Turkey had a clearly defined role in the Middle East, from the standpoint of U.S. policy. They were the "good Muslims," who were part of NATO, who contributed troops to U.S. wars, and who had good relations with Israel. In the past few weeks, therefore, some Americans may have…
In the past few weeks, Turkey and Brazil have elbowed their way to the Big Table of international diplomacy: first by negotiating a nuclear fuel swap agreement to try to push the US back towards diplomatic efforts to resolve its conflict with Iran, and then – in the case of Turkey – by its support…
Sao Paulo – New York Times columnist Thomas Friedman is on the warpath. Not only against his "Great Satan" of Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, but also against Brazil’s President Lula and Turkey’s Prime Minister Erdogan, because they had the temerity to succeed in negotiating an agreement with Iran to try to de-escalate the confrontation between…
If I were in Washington this morning, I would run down Pennsylvania Avenue from the White House to Congress with a big Brazilian flag, as the young Brazilians run down the Avenida Paulista in Sao Paulo during the the "football" match, shouting "Gollllllll!" Because with the news this morning that Iran has agreed to ship…