Brazil

Censoring History Education Goes Hand in Hand with Democratic Backsliding

by Julia Boechat Machado and Ruben Zeeman

Regimes in the Philippines, India and Brazil have recently tried to censor the teaching of history in service of their poltical goals and claims to power. The pushback by scholars in these countries should inspire historians in Florida and elsewhere to resist the political censorship of research and teaching. 

The Common Evangelical Roots of Insurrection in America and Brazil

by Raimundo Barreto and João B. Chaves

A century of international evangelical network-building and theological development have brought militant Christian nationalism to the forefront of right-wing politics in both nations. 

Deport Bolsonaro

by Ben Burgis

The former Brazilian president has no right or entitlement to live in Florida while avoiding accountability for crimes in Brazil committed both before and after his losing campaign for reelection. 

Brazil Attack Latest Export of Far-Right Extremism from the US

by Jacob Ware

With direct support from figures like Steve Bannon and the use of social media to organize a mass attack on the institutions of government, the January 8 attack on the Brazilian government has been molded by the American far right.

A Loss for Bolsonaro is a Win for the Amazon and the Planet

by Alon Ben-Meir

Much work remains to preserve the Amazon, but the defeat of Jair Bolsonaro's regime was a precondition to any progress on this key aspect of the climate crisis. 

Lula's Defeat of Bolsonaro is a Victory for Brazil and the Planet

by Juan Cole

A second Bolsonaro term would have promised more of the dangerous combination of resource extraction and anti-indigenous racism that have guided accelerated deforestation of the Amazon. 

More Enslaved Africans Came to the Americas Through this Port than Anywhere Else. Why Have so Few Heard of It?

Despite its recognition as a UNESCO World Heritage Site, efforts to publicly document the history of Rio's Valongo Wharf have run into opposition from the country's right-wing government and those who wish to diminish the significance of slavery in Brazil's history.

US-Based Brazilian Historians Write Open Letter Protesting Bolsonaro's National Archivist Appointment

Historians charge that the appointment is part of Bolsonaro's campaign to whitewash the image of Brazil's period of military dictatorship and justify his own authoritarian ambitions.

New Translations Give Indigenous Perspective on Brazilian Colonization

The Potiguara people split their alliances between the Dutch and Portuguese in 1645; the letters show the consequences of the split and the internal politics of the indigenous nation. 

Aruká Juma, Last Man of His Tribe, Is Dead

As the last fluent speaker of the tribe’s language, Mr. Juma’s death means that much of the tribe’s language and many of its traditions and rituals will be forever lost.

Where Conspiracy Reigns

Historians Rodrigo Patto Sá Motta and Federico Finchelstein offer insight into how the political right has used rumors of communist plots to maintain power in Brazil, and why the country's political culture today is vulnerable to fake news and conspiracy theories. 

Historical Black Lives Matter: What A Single Story Can Reveal About People & Landscapes

by Natascha Otoya

A primary document from the developing Brazilian oil industry demonstrates that the country's transition from slavery to "free labor" was anything but clear-cut. 

Honor the Work of Brazil's Villas-Bôas Brothers by Protecting the Amazon's Indigenous

by John Hemming

The Villas-Bôas brothers worked with Brazil's indigenous people to balance the preservation of their Amazonian lands with inclusion in modernizing society. The policies of Jair Bolsonaro are a dire threat to their work, the survival of indigenous peoples, and the planet.

The Amazon Rainforest under Threat

by Stanley E. Blake

Historian Stanley Blake sketches the long struggle over the Amazon between indigenous peoples and those Brazilians who see it as the key to Brazil's economic future.

Environmentalists Have Been Warning About Amazon Fires for Decades.

The climate change that TIME in the 1980s warned might be possible has already come to pass, and the damage it causes is starkly plain.

Why is Brazil so American?

by Marcos Sorrilha Pinheiro

Given Brazil's history, it is fully understandable that its current president, a retired military man from the Brazilian middle class, has a genuine admiration for Trump and his followers. 

Brazil’s long, strange love affair with the Confederacy ignites racial tension

by Jordan Brasher

How did an American debate about racism make its way to Brazil? 

Bolsonaro Takes Aim at Brazil’s History

Historical revisionism is emerging as a core obsession of the Bolsonaro administration and, according to the president’s critics, one of its most worrying.

Natural History Museum Will Not Host Gala for Brazil’s President

The museum drew heavy criticism for agreeing to host a ceremony at which Mr Bolsonaro, who has advocated relaxing environmental policies, was scheduled to receive a person of the year award.

The grim history that Brazil’s president wants to celebrate

Last week, it emerged that the Brazilian president had ordered the country’s Defense Ministry to “carry out appropriate commemorations related to March 31, 1964.”