Dr. Valerio Alfonso Bruno argues that far-right leaders have shown a disdain for experts and the wider role of science, despite the worsening COVID-19 global pandemic. They argue that the far-right strategy towards experts is often based on (a) silencing and (b) discrediting. They argue that the downplaying of expertise by the far-right has worrying… Continue reading “The Right’s War On Science & Experts Escalates Amid COVID-19”
Despite the Brazilian right’s attempts to distort his legacy, Paulo Freire’s life and work continue to inspire those who believe that education is the key to fighting oppression. The late Brazilian educator Paulo Freire (1921-1997) was a prominent figure in the 20th-century critical pedagogy movement and the celebrated author of the ground-breaking 1968 text, “Pedagogy of… Continue reading “The Brazilian Right’s Fight Against Its Leftist Boogeyman”
The radical right has always been good at spreading misinformation; now they might be spreading Covid-19. It is easy to look at the core ideology of the radical right—nativism, white supremacy, homophobia, misogyny—and call it ignorant and uninformed. This labelling is problematic because it is lazy; it assumes an either/or approach to knowledge and does… Continue reading “Is the radical right spreading the coronavirus?”
In late 2018, a majority of Brazilians elected Jair Bolsonaro president of the republic. By now, they probably wished they had never heard of him. In the current coronavirus crisis, Bolsonaro has joined the gallery of toxic leaders, in line with Donald Trump and Boris Johnson. Unlike the latter, Bolsonaro seems completely immune to any… Continue reading “Coronavirus-19’s victims: Populism”
When the world’s attention turned towards the burning Amazon rain forest, Brazil’s president, Jair Bolsonaro, did everything to turn himself into an environmental villain – of sorts. Why – in the face of an environmental crisis – did he lose control of his country’s image abroad and, above all, image as a ‘strong man’ leader?… Continue reading “The rise of a culture warrior: Jair Bolsonaro’s far-right revolution”
The cultural Marxism conspiracy is fundamentally anti-egalitarian because it portrays any form of social progress or economic equality as evil and poisonous. “Cultural Marxism” is a right-wing conspiracy theory that accuses the Frankfurt School — comprised of thinkers like Theodor Adorno, Erich Fromm and Herbert Marcuse — of emigrating to the United States of America in… Continue reading “The Cultural Marxism Conspiracy Thrives in Bolsonaro’s Brazil”
When a group of ultra-nationalist wannabes gathered in Milan in 1919 to hear firebrand leader Benito Mussolini speak, they became part of an infamous moment in history. There, Mussolini presented the founding manifesto of an unlikely radical political start up. Its name was Fascio di Combattimento, the humble precursor of fascism that was adopted as… Continue reading “The return of fascism? Why this is the wrong question to ask”
In early September 2018, I wrote a blog post about Jair Bolsonaro, at that moment the frontrunner in the Brazilian presidential election, defending that he could be considered a populist radical right politician. He was elected and has been in power since January 1. In this post, I discuss the adaptation of Bolsonaro’s radical appeal… Continue reading “Bolsonaro’s first days of government: a threat to liberal democracy”
Fascism isn’t new to Latin America, and neither is the radical right. Jair Bolsonaro, a former military officer, is the newly elected President of Brazil and one of the most right-wing politicians in power in Latin America in decades. He thus joins the radical right-wing surge of politicians around the globe from Presidents Orbán (Hungary)… Continue reading “Brazil’s Bolsonaro Is The Latest Incarnation Of The Radical Right In Latin America”