Brian Mier
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Articles by Brian Mier
On the Ground at Lula Rally in Recife
By: Brian Mier | September 26, 2026 Like many states in Northeastern Brazil, Pernambuco politics is dominated by traditional elite families that control sophisticated local machines spanning multiple political parties. If Tom Jobim once said that Brazil is not for beginners, understanding Northeastern politics is daunting even for Brazilians themselves.
Millions on the Streets for Lula Across Brazil: A View From the Ground
Millions on the Streets for Lula Across Brazil: A View From the Ground Published October 17, 2026 This Sunday, the fact that Lula brought out the largest crowd to São Paulo’s Paulista Avenue since the Diretas Já movement in the waning days of the U.S.-backed military dictatorship, with estimates of over 1 million, has rightfully occupied a lot of headline space, even in bourgeois media outlets like Globo which notoriously lies about crowd size at leftist marches and protests.
Millions on the Streets for Lula Across Brazil: A View From the Ground
Crowd moving onto Buarque do Macedo Bridge. Last Sunday, the fact that Lula brought out the largest crowd to São Paulo’s Paulista Avenue since the Diretas Já movement in the waning days of the U.S.-backed military dictatorship, with estimates of over 1 million, has rightfully occupied a lot of headline space, even in bourgeois media outlets like Globo which notoriously lies about crowd size at leftist marches and protests.
Denunciante expõe parceria de interferência eleitoral entre Meta, Bolsonaro e Cerimedo
Em 18 de agosto, Fernando Cerimedo foi preso em Santa Cruz, na Bolívia, por contratar assassinos de aluguel para assassinar sua ex-parceira, Nadia Beller, que estava grávida na época, depois que ela ameaçou vir a público denunciar suas operações ilegais de fazendas de bots em larga escala para manipular eleições a favor de candidatos de extrema direita em toda a América Latina.
Brian Mier - Brasil 247
Brian Mier é jornalista e correspondente internacional do jornal Brasil Wire e também colunista na TV 247. Participa do "Bom dia 247", às sextas-feiras, e apre...
Whistleblower exposes Meta, Bolsonaro, and Cerimedo election meddling partnership
This story originally appeared in Panamerican Dispatch on Oct. 14, 2026, and is shared here with permission. On August 18, Fernando Cerimedo was arrested in Santa Cruz, Bolivia, for hiring hitmen to assassinate his ex-partner, Nadia Beller, who was pregnant at the time, after she threatened to go public about his large-scale illegal bot farm operations to throw elections for far-right candidates across Latin America.
Millions on the Streets for Lula Across Brazil
This Sunday, the fact that Lula brought out the largest crowd to São Paulo’s Paulista Avenue since the Diretas Já movement in the waning days of the U.S.-backed military dictatorship, with estimates of over 1 million, has rightfully occupied a lot of headline space, even in bourgeois media outlets like Globo which notoriously lies about crowd size at leftist marches and protests.
Glimmers of Hope from Brazil’s 2026 Elections
By Brian Mier – Oct 5, 2026 Lula’s 47%-45% loss disappointed some, but fell within the margin of error of most last week polls. Here’s how he plans to win the runoff election on October 25. The massive size of Lula’s last dozen street rallies across the country, including a huge one on Augusta Avenue in São Paulo on Saturday, gave a lot of people hope that the polling information was wrong and that he was capable of getting the 50% +1 votes necessary to win the election in the first round.
Glimmers of Hope in Brazil’s 2026 Elections
Lula speaking to party members after the end of voting last night at the Hotel Renaissance in S. Paulo. Photo: Ricardo Stuckert. The massive size of Lula’s last dozen street rallies across the country, including a huge one on Augusta Avenue in São Paulo on Saturday, gave a lot of people hope that the polling information was wrong and that he was capable of getting the 50% +1 votes necessary to win the election in the first round.
On the Ground at the Lula Rally in Recife
Like many states in Northeastern Brazil, Pernambuco politics is dominated by traditional elite families that control sophisticated local machines spanning multiple political parties. If Tom Jobim once said that Brazil is not for beginners, understanding Northeastern politics is daunting even for Brazilians themselves.
Why Nobody Seems Surprised at Brazil’s Earliest World Cup Exit in 36 Years
After years of waiting for a small lawsuit from a car accident to settle, I moved to Rio de Janeiro in 1991. I had never visited Brazil before, but I was not there as a tourist. As a young man, I had made a decision that I did not want to spend the rest of my life living in a country where you only got 2 weeks of vacation a year. After a lot of informal research talking to fellow bellhops at the Palmer House in Chicago, mainly immigrants from all over the world, I decided on Rio de Janeiro.
Brazil Fizzles Again: the Capitalist Rot at the Heart of Brazilian Football
Endrick after missing an opportunity versus Norway. (Screen capture from video posted to X.) After years of waiting for a small lawsuit from a car accident to settle, I moved to Rio de Janeiro in 1991. I had never visited Brazil before, but I was not there as a tourist. As a young man, I had made a decision that I did not want to spend the rest of my life living in a country where you only got 2 weeks of vacation a year.
Brazil Fizzles Again: the Capitalist Rot at the Heart of Brazilian Football
Bruno Guimarães grimaces after missing Brazil’s first World Cup penalty in 40 years De-Linking Brazil is a reader-supported publication. To receive new posts and support my work, consider becoming a free or paid subscriber. After years of waiting for a small lawsuit from a car accident to settle, I moved to Rio de Janeiro in 1991. I had never visited Brazil before, but I was not there as a tourist.
Lula's Battle for a 40-Hour Work Week
One day after submitting the bill for a 40 hour work week to Congress, Lula met with union leaders in Brasilia. On April 14, President Lula submitted a bill to Congress that, if passed, will reduce Brazil’s work week to 40 hours. It was submitted under the legal condition “constitutional urgency” meaning that Congress is required to bring it to a floor vote within 45 days.
30 Days in Venezuela
On January 23rd, I ignored a factually incorrect State Department warning about chavista motorcycle gangs “kidnapping Americans” and flew into the airport in La Guaira, Venezuela, for a 30-day reporting assignment for TeleSur.
30 Days in Venezuela
On January 23rd, I ignored a factually incorrect state department warning about chavista motorcycle gangs “kidnapping Americans” and flew into the airport in La Guaira, Venezuela, for a 30 day reporting assignment for TeleSur.
Cuba Resists: an Interview With Journalist Boris Luis Cabrera
Cabrera in Caracas in February, 2026, speaking with friends back home. Photo by Panchito Gonzalez. Boris Luis Cabrera, 53, is a veteran Cuban journalist who writes in a style clearly influenced by the cinematic, new journalism of the 1970s. He covers a wide range of topics and, for the last 10 years, has worked as a sports reporter for the Cuban press agency, Prensa Latina.
Cuba resiste: uma entrevista com Boris Luis Cabrera
Exclusivo para assinantes Síntese jornalística com foco no essencial, em segundos, para leitura rápida e objetiva.
Could Venezuela Happen in Brazil?
For those who think I may be exaggerating, let’s take a look at recent history. When Luis “Gege” Gonzaga da Silva, historic leader of the Central dos Movimentos Populares (People’s Movements Central/CMP), returned to Brazil after living for years in Venezuela, he spoke at a conference 9 days before the inauguration of Dilma Rousseff, correctly predicting there would be a coup in Brazil.
Could Venezuela Happen Here in Brazil?
We’ve been hearing for years from back-stabbing opportunists of the far right that Brazil’s Workers’ Party (Partido dos Trabalhadores/PT) will transform Brazil into another Venezuela. For better or worse, 19 years of PT governments have proven the absurdity of those words.
O que aconteceu na Venezuela poderia acontecer aqui?
HOME > blog Depois do caso venezuelano, os riscos de ingerência dos EUA e um alerta para ameaças à soberania e à democracia no Brasil 04 de janeiro de 2026, 12:02 h Lula, Nicolás Maduro e Donald Trump (Foto: Agência Brasil I Reuters) Há anos ouvimos dos oportunistas traiçoeiros da extrema direita que o PT transformaria o Brasil em outra Venezuela. Para o bem ou para o mal, 19 anos de governos do PT provaram o absurdo dessas palavras.
Brazil's President Lula condemns US Bombing and Kidnapping in Venezuela
The bombings on Venezuelan territory and the capture of its president cross an unacceptable line. These acts represent an extremely serious affront to Venezuela’s sovereignty and yet another extremely dangerous precedent for the entire international community. Attacking countries, in flagrant violation of international law, is the first step toward a world of violence, chaos, and instability, where the law of the strongest prevails over multilateralism.
Jair Bolsonaro Arrested in Brasília
De-Linking Brazil is a reader-supported publication. To receive new posts and support my work, consider becoming a free or paid subscriber. Far-right former Brazilian President Jair Bolsonaro has been arrested and is currently being held in a heavily guarded state room with a private bathroom inside the Federal Police headquarters in Brasilia - an alternative to a common prison cell which is a privilege typically guaranteed to former heads of state.
Exposed: Transparency International's Secret Plan for Political Power in Brazil
On March 6, 2019 the Lava Jato taskforce announced that the US DOJ was transferring 80% of the fines it levied against Petrobras to the Brazilian Public Prosecutors Office (Ministerio Publico Federal/MPF) to set up a privately managed “anti-corruption investment fund” that would bypass all of the public institutions and laws that were set up to protect against corruption, including the Federal Auditing Courts (TCU), the Federal Transparency Portal, and federal budget and budgetary planning laws.
COP 30 and the Union Take on Brazil's Offshore Oil Discovery
Without belittling the urgency of fighting climate change or transitioning to renewables, but to illustrate the perspective of Brazil’s organized working class on this issue, I interviewed Deyvid Bacelar, President of Brazil’s Unified Federation of Petroleum Workers (Federação Única dos Petroleiros, or FUP). Founded in 1994, the FUP is a federation of 14 labor unions that represents 180,000 workers at Petrobras, Brazil’s state-controlled oil company.
Para promover a paz, o Brasil precisa consertar as relações com a Venezuela
HOME > blog Vetar a entrada da Venezuela nos BRICS representou um ponto baixo nas relações bilaterais. Mas recentemente a relação entre os dois países melhorou 27 de outubro de 2025, 12:29 h Se, como Lula disse após sua reunião histórica com presidente Trump, no domingo, o Brasil gostaria de assumir um papel de mediador entre os EUA e a Venezuela, terá de dar alguns passos a mais para reconquistar a confiança da Venezuela. Em primeiro lugar, gostaria de esclarecer minha posição sobre esta questão.
Por que um porta-aviões dos EUA está no Caribe?
HOME > blog Movimentação do maior porta-aviões dos EUA parece ser projetada para causar pânico na população venezuelana 25 de outubro de 2025, 10:41 h O governo dos Estados Unidos enviou seu maior porta-aviões, o USS Gerald Ford, para o Caribe. Em termos de apoio a uma possível invasão ou campanha de bombardeio norte-americana, ele é completamente desnecessário.
Brazil Reacts to Bolsonaro Verdict
On Thursday, one day earlier than planned, the first panel of the Brazilian Supreme Court* issued guilty verdicts for former President Jair Bolsonaro and 7 of his cronies for 5 crimes, including leading an armed criminal organization that attempted to install a military coup after the former president failed to win reelection in 2022.
How NYT’s bad reporting helped justify Trump’s tariffs on Brazil
U.S. President Donald Trump officially declared the state of bilateral relations with Brazil a “national emergency” on July 30, using the decision to justify imposing 40 percent tariffs on all imports from Brazil. Although he had previously cited the International Emergency Economic Powers Act to bypass Congress and unilaterally impose tariffs on dozens of foreign nations, the Brazil case was more complicated.
How NYT’s Bad Reporting Helped Justify Trump’s Tariffs on Brazil
In one of the scariest moments in modern history, we're doing our best at ScheerPost to pierce the fog of lies that conceal it but we need some help to pay our writers and staff. Please consider a tax-deductible donation. By Brian Mier / Fairness and Accuracy In Reporting (FAIR) US President Donald Trump officially declared the state of bilateral relations with Brazil a “national emergency” on July 30, using the decision to justify imposing 40% tariffs on all imports from Brazil.
How NYT’s Bad Reporting Helped Justify Trump’s Tariffs on Brazil
US President Donald Trump officially declared the state of bilateral relations with Brazil a “national emergency” on July 30, using the decision to justify imposing 40% tariffs on all imports from Brazil. Although he had previously cited the International Emergency Economic Powers Act to bypass Congress and unilaterally impose tariffs on dozens of foreign nations, the Brazil case was more complicated.
MAGA Playbook: Bolsonaro Allies Paralyze Congress
On Tuesday, August 5, Brazil’s Congressional President Hugo Motta (PB) from the conservative Republicanos party left Brasilia on a business trip, turning control of the floor over to his elected Vice President, Altineu Cortes (RJ), a member of Bolsonaro’s Liberal Party (PL).
Lula and Brazil’s Unions Respond to Trump’s Threats
On July 30, US President Donald Trump declared bilateral relations with Brazil a national emergency in order to justify raising import tariffs. In a menacing statement entitled “Addressing Threats to the United States by the Government of Brazil,” he declared: Recent policies, practices, and actions of the Government of Brazil threaten the national security, foreign policy, and economy of the United States.
Lula and Brazil's Unions Respond to Trump's Threats
On July 30, US President Donald Trump declared bilateral relations with Brazil a national emergency in order to justify raising import tariffs. In a menacing statement entitled “Addressing Threats to the United States by the Government of Brazil,” he declared: Recent policies, practices, and actions of the Government of Brazil threaten the national security, foreign policy, and economy of the United States.
Lula and Unions Respond to Trump Threats
On July 30, US President Donald Trump declared bilateral relations with Brazil a national emergency in order to justify raising import tariffs. In a menacing statement entitled “Addressing Threats to the United States by the Government of Brazil,” he declared: De-Linking Brazil is a reader-supported publication. To receive new posts and support my work, consider becoming a free or paid subscriber.
Trump Tariffs and Brazilian Coffee: What to Expect After August 1
Brazil is the world’s largest coffee producer. It has been important to its national economy since the 1700s, and today it is Brazil’s largest agricultural export to the United States. Even though it provides around one-third of all coffee drunk in the US, there are reasons to believe that the Trump administration has an inflated opinion of the US’ importance to Brazil’s coffee value chain.
In the Spirit of BRICS, Criminal Defendant Jair Bolsonaro Should be Immediately be Transferred to China: a Modest Proposal
In one of the most bizarre episodes in the history of international trade, President Donald Trump this week announced that 50% tariffs would be imposed on Brazil—a country that has a trade surplus with the United States and is one of its most important importers of coffee, orange juice, and petroleum—solely on the condition that it drop charges against criminal defendant, former Brazilian president, and personal friend of Donald Trump, Jair Bolsonaro.
No espírito do Brics, o réu criminal Jair Bolsonaro deveria ser imediatamente transferido para a China
HOME > blog "Faço um apelo à China para que extradite imediatamente Jair Bolsonaro a um local seguro" 13 de julho de 2025, 14:41 h Em um dos episódios mais bizarros da história do comércio internacional, o presidente Donald Trump anunciou esta semana a imposição de tarifas de 50% sobre o Brasil — um país que mantém superávit comercial com os Estados Unidos e é um dos seus principais importadores de café, suco de laranja e petróleo — unicamente sob a condição de que retire as acusações contra...
No espírito dos Brics, o réu Jair Bolsonaro deveria ser imediatamente transferido para a China
HOME > blog "Faço um apelo para que a China extradite imediatamente Jair Bolsonaro para um local seguro, onde ele possa ser julgado com segurança" 13 de julho de 2025, 10:50 h Em um dos episódios mais bizarros da história do comércio internacional, o presidente Donald Trump anunciou esta semana que tarifas de 50% seriam impostas ao Brasil — um país que possui superávit comercial com os Estados Unidos e é um dos seus mais importantes importadores de café, suco de laranja e petróleo — sob a...
Cadê os BRICS quando precisamos?
HOME > blog "Parece uma boa hora para baixarmos nossas expectativas em relação aos BRICS", afirma Brian Mier 14 de junho de 2025, 14:24 h Nos últimos oito anos, tenho ouvido jornalistas, acadêmicos e comentaristas anunciarem que estamos vivendo em um novo mundo multipolar e que os BRICS estão nos libertando da hegemonia imperialista dos EUA.
Bolsonaro Takes Stand in Coup Trial
June 11, 2025. Brazil’s far-right former President Jair Bolsonaro testified before the Supreme Court yesterday, marking his first appearance in the trial in which he and seven cronies have been accused of plotting for two years to break from the democratic rule of law and install a military coup if he lost the 2022 elections.
With Friends in Media, Brazil’s Coffee Workers Don’t Need Enemies
It seems like an odd moment for the US media to do a hit job on Brazil’s coffee industry. Protective tariffs have been used since the 1800s in the US to protect domestic industry and increase employment. As Raúl Prebisch, Celso Furtado and other economists influential on Latin America’s “Pink Tide” argued, tariffs are also fundamental for Global South nations to escape from the prison of agricultural commodity export dependence, by enabling them to industrialize through import substitution.
Legal Victory for Brazil's Kapinawá
Catimbau Valley is a remote area on the border between Pernambuco’s semi-arid Agreste and Sertão biomes, covered with thorny deciduous scrub forest, with silver-green foliage, rocky hills, monoliths, and mesas. The Kapinawá Indigenous people settled there in the 1700s, fleeing the incursion of Portuguese settlers as they spread in from the coast. For hundreds of years, they were basically left alone.
The Fall of Brazil’s Marjorie Taylor Greene
Screenshot from the PBS/BBC election-season fluff piece, “Rise of the Bolsonaros” On March 25th, Brazil’s Supreme Court reached a 4–0 vote in a ruling against a former rising star of the far right, Congresswoman Carla Zambelli, for chasing an unarmed man down a city street while threatening to shoot him with an illegally acquired handgun.
A Warning to the Radical Left
In a typically brilliant work of conjectural analysis published in Brasil de Fato, Valério Arcary, the legendary Marxist historian who broke from the Workers Party (Partido dos Trabalhadores/PT) in 1994, warns Brazilian radicals from repeating errors of the past, which transformed some of them into useful idiots for regime change during the long coup years of 2013-2018: Unfortunately, a segment of the radical militant left does not agree that we need to buy time, much less that we need Lula.
Eduardo Bolsonaro Flees Brazil
Brazilian Liberal Party lawmaker Eduardo Bolsonaro, son of indicted former President Jair Bolsonaro and South American representative for CPAC, took a leave of absence from Congress today and announced he will remain in the United States to escape “political persecution” and pressure U.S. officials to impose sanctions against Alexandre de Moraes—one of Brazil’s 11 Supreme Court Ministers—in an attempt to keep his father out of jail.
Eduardo Bolsonaro Flees Brazil
Brazilian Liberal Party lawmaker Eduardo Bolsonaro, son of indicted former President Jair Bolsonaro and South American representative for CPAC, took a leave of absence from Congress today and announced he will remain in the United States to escape "political persecution" and pressure U.S. officials to impose sanctions against Alexandre de Moraes—one of Brazil's 11 Supreme Court Ministers—in an attempt to keep his father out of jail. De-Linking Brazil is a reader-supported publication.
Brazil's Supreme Court Bans Rumble
Brazil's Supreme Court Minister Alexandre de Moraes has issued an order to ANATEL, Brazil's national communications agency, to work with internet service providers to block the Rumble social media platform from transmission in Brazil until the company agrees to obey Brazilian law. De-Linking Brazil is a reader-supported publication. To receive new posts and support my work, consider becoming a free or paid subscriber.
Bolsonaro and Cronies Charged for Coup Plot
Former Brazilian President Jair Bolsonaro and 32 of his accomplices are now formally charged with leading a systematic and elaborate coup plot that played out over the course of nearly two years between 2021 to 2023.
Analysis: NYT’s bizarre coverage and omissions of Bolsonaro’s murderous coup plot
What is going on at the New York Times’ Latin America desk? By Brian Mier. Originally published at FAIR. Brazil’s Federal Police released an 884-page report on November 26, laying out the evidence used for its November 21 indictments of former President Jair Bolsonaro and 36 of his cronies.
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