Arnold August, a Montreal-based writer, journalist, lecturer and author of three books on Cuba, Latin America, and the US, joined Misfits Bob Schlehuber and Jamarl Thomas to talk about Brazil’s response to the pandemic and what’s happening in the administration of Jair Bolsonaro. Bolsonaro’s power over Brazil’s right-wing is likely to face a serious challenge from former members of his own administration in 2022 ‒ that is, if he isn’t impeached before that. The COVID-19 crisis has exposed Brazil’s untenable contradictions, and the political landscape is shifting accordingly. The three break down the impact of Bolsonaro firing his health minister, the accusations of corruption against more of his sons, and how this strengthens the position of ex-president Lula da Silva and his party as a powerful opposition force.
Brianna Griffith, producer and host of the radio show People’s Republic, dropped by to discuss domestic affairs, including the Cancel the Rent protests in 40 cities. The mood in these socially distant protests was strong and positive, she said. People are realizing that if they don’t want this crisis to make the rich richer and the poor poorer they need to turn out and fight back. The promise of home-ownership has grown illusory, due to actions by both Democrats and Republicans. The three discussed the failures of both parties to protect renters and the poor, why Democrats keep losing, where to turn to actually flex your labor muscle. They also speculated as to the efficacy of these Bernie-Biden task forces, particularly on criminal justice, as Texas saw another recent shooting by a police officer of an unarmed person. The tasks before us are actually clear, Griffith says. What we need is the will.
The Misfits also discussed the perpetual postponement of Julian Assange’s espionage trial, the predictable politics of who is being released from jail due to the pandemic and who isn’t, the battle to keep Bernie Sanders on the ballot in New York, the lazy takes of the Sunday news who’s-whos, and the latest updates on Tara Reade’s accusations against Joe Biden.
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