‘This is just the beginning:’ Greenwald on rising state violence & homophobia in Bolsonaro’s Brazil

"There’s a vibrant left-wing movement coalescing against this, and I have a lot of optimism about the ability to fight against this."

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SOURCEDemocracy Now!

On Friday, an operation by Brazilian military police in Rio de Janeiro left at least 13 people dead after a shootout in the neighborhood of Santa Teresa. Police say they were there to investigate suspected drug traffickers but encountered gunfire when they entered the area. Last month, Rio’s new governor, Wilson Witzel, said that city security forces were authorized to shoot to kill suspects. He also said Rio should have its own Guantánamo Bay to house criminals, whom he labeled “terrorists.” Brazil’s new president, Jair Bolsonaro, has vowed to intensify the war on drugs. While running for president, Bolsonaro said a “good criminal is a dead criminal.” In other news from Brazil, Brazil’s first elected openly gay federal lawmaker, Jean Wyllys, recently left his post and fled Brazil, amid growing homophobic violence coinciding with the rise of Bolsonaro. He was replaced in Brazil’s Congress by David Miranda, a Rio city councilmember and husband of our guest, Glenn Greenwald.

Guests

  • Glenn Greenwald

    Pulitzer Prize-winning journalist and one of the founding editors of The Intercept.

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