Brazil's Dilma Rousseff's Popularity Ratings Down To 20-Year Low

[Bacchus4.0]

http://www.ibtimes.com/brazils-dilma-rousseffs-popularity-ratings-down-20-year-low-1851162


Fresh off a weekend of protests and a corruption investigation that continues to widen, Brazil’s President Dilma Rousseff is facing more sour news. Polls released Wednesday show Rousseff with the lowest approval ratings a Brazilian president has had in more than 20 years.

According to the latest figures from polling firm Datafolha, 62 percent of respondents said they disapproved of Rousseff’s performance, and just 13 percent said she was doing a “good” or “excellent” job. The remaining respondents gave her a more tepid rating, describing her performance as just OK.

Wednesday’s figures mark a precipitous drop for Rousseff’s popularity, which stood at 42 percent as recently as December. Local media noted that no other Brazilian president had such dismal figures since 1992, during the presidency of Fernando Collor de Mello, who was impeached shortly thereafter.
------------------------------------
Meanwhile, dozens of Workers’ Party members are facing investigations over possible involvement in a bribery and kickback corruption scheme with state-run energy company Petrobras, a scandal that has roiled the country and brought Petrobras’ ratings down to junk status. This week the Workers’ Party treasurer was charged with corruption in relation to the scheme, placing even more pressure on the president.

[OBenario]

1. LOL

"Meanwhile, dozens of Workers’ Party members are facing investigations over possible involvement in a bribery".

Dozens? Can you name them?

[MADem]

2. Why don't you write to the author of the article and get those names and report back?

Or come right out and give her some of that "LOL" business? Or do some research on your own and contribute to the thread instead of acting foolish?

Much preferred to snarking at DUers for no good reason.

Here--read, learn: http://www.theguardian.com/world/2015/mar/16/brazil-ruling-party-workers-petrobras-rousseff

Brazilian prosecutors have formally charged the treasurer of the ruling Workers’ Party and 26 others with corruption linked to state-run Petrobras, in the latest blow to President Dilma Rousseff from the widening scandal.

Prosecutors have “ample proof” that Joao Vaccari, treasurer of Rousseff’s ruling party, solicited donations from former Petrobras services chief Renato Duque and executives at engineering firms accused of funneling money from the oil company, prosecutor Deltan Dallagnol said on Monday.

Vaccari was “well aware” the donations he was seeking comprised funds stemming from bribes, Dallagnol said, adding that much of the evidence was gleaned from plea bargain deals with executives who were indicted and jailed late last year.

Such plea bargain deals have restored 500 million reais ($154 million) of stolen money to public coffers to date, he added....

Welcome to DU, "LOL"...

[OBenario]

3. Your link doesn't say anything about "dozens of Workers' Party" members.

If you know, present their names.

If not, admit you are the one who needs to do your own research. Not me.

Kisses, honey.

[MADem]

6. Yes, it does. It says 26, to be precise--that's two more than two dozen.

You're a real charmer--maybe you should stop fighting with everyone on the message board and try having a productive conversation.

[OBenario]

9. The article doesn't say those 26...

... are from the Workers Party.

[MADem]

12. They're dancing with the ones what brung 'em!

This little business is just getting started...

Prosecutors have asked the Supreme Court to investigate 34 sitting politicians, including the speakers of both houses of Congress, for allegedly receiving bribe money.

[OBenario]

17. you prove once again you don't know anything about this

Speakes of both houses belong to the opposition to the Workers Party.

[MADem]

27. Those are two of thirty four politicians. nt

[OBenario]

30. 70% of the politicians charged...

... belong to PP, a right wing party that is opposition to Rousseff.

Really. You should read before trying to comment.

[MADem]

34. Really. You should read before trying to comment.

Look who's talking!



Nice work if you can get it...

[Bacchus4.0]

4. yeah, they are the dozens that showed up for the feeble Friday pro-corruption march nt

[OBenario]

5. Then give their names.

They are elected politicians, not anonymous citizens. Why is it so difficult to name them?

Go ahead. Prove me wrong.

[MADem]

7. I think you need to prove that the sources are lying, and you can't do that.

I guess the "right wing" people at "Guardian UK" are to blame, is that it? They named some names, but I guess you didn't bother to read the article.



You could try google, you know--there are articles that list names there, as well:

http://www1.folha.uol.com.br/internacional/en/brazil/2015/03/1603958-public-prosecutor-charges-pt-treasurer-with-corruption-money-laundering-and-conspiracy.shtml

[OBenario]

11. this artcles says 26 were charged.

It doesn't say they are from the Workers Party.

Name them.

Or just admit you're talking about something you completely ignore.

[MADem]

15. I've given you several articles with names in them. If you want to pretend there's nothing to see

here, go right ahead.

Don't expect anyone reading these sources to take YOUR word over the news reports, though--and all the rude comments and dismissive "kisses honey" snark won't earn you any credibility--it will simply give you a reputation for rudeness that will stick for as long as you are here--which won't be long if you continue to ignore the DU TOS.

You might want to take some time and read that -- this is a private website and it does have guidelines.

[OBenario]

42. i dont

The articles you presented do not say they belong to the Workers Party. That's you inventing things out of nowhere.

[MADem]

45. You're the one who misread the article in the first place--and now you're yelling at everyone

because you can't read contextually.

It said "...and 26 others" -- i.e. 26 other PEOPLE. Not 26 members of the Worker's Party.

You have issues with comprehension. That's your problem. You also have serious issues with civility.

[OBenario]

54. the author if the thread...

... said that " dozens of members of the Workers Party were involved".

Good to see you've already changed you arguments. Clever boy.

[MADem]

56. See? You just proved my point. "The author of the thread" said NOTHING of the sort.

The author of the thread cited a newspaper article. The author of the thread made NO COMMENT to the citations whatsoever.

You didn't read the post correctly, and you ran around yelling at people because you didn't read right. Did you even click on the link?

If you had, you would have seen where that comment came from.

All four paragraphs in that post are from THIS link, and were written by Brianna Lee, not the "author of the thread:"

http://www.ibtimes.com/brazils-dilma-rousseffs-popularity-ratings-down-20-year-low-1851162

You should APOLOGIZE to "the author of the thread" for repeatedly badgering him. Or her.

[OBenario]

78. well...

... the author of the thread needs to start reading better sources.

You too.

[MADem]

83. No, you need to apologize to the thread starter for misrepresenting his thread.

You are the thread derailer, here--because you didn't read the material before you accused him of saying things he did not say.

There's nothing wrong with his source.

[Marksman_91]

8. So I'm guessing you consider The Guardian to be an unreliable right-wing source? N/t

[OBenario]

10. nope

The Guardian never said anything about this.

[MADem]

13. Uh....I linked to a GUARDIAN article.

You're really going out of your way to be rude. Why is that?

[OBenario]

14. the Guardian...

... said 26 people were charged. Didn't say they belong to the Workers party

[MADem]

16. No--that's where they got their money. nt

[OBenario]

19. most politicians charged...

... belong to the opposition.

Politics is a science. You should get informed before getting involved.

[MADem]

29. You need to go back and do some reading. CAREFUL reading. One. Word. at. a. time.

And you need to stop saying insulting things to people when you're the one having the reading problem, here.

...dozens of Workers’ Party members are facing investigations over possible involvement in a bribery and kickback corruption scheme...

They're not going to be tipped off. They won't know anything until the investigations are complete and they are charged.

Reading is fundamental. You should carefully read before tossing insults. Here's a suggestion you should take to heart -- Start with the DU TOS.

[MADem]

36. Prove it. Name them, and their political affiliations. If you can't do that, we'll know what

you're about.

[Bacchus4.0]

20. Looks like someone joined up just for this particular issue

This person is just drawing more scrutiny to the issue that he wants to pretend isn't happening. If it weren't for the attitude maybe he would garner more sympathy. Some of those signs are alarming about military intervention. I would though point out that if this were Venezuela those people would have been arrested or shot at or both.

[MADem]

22. I know--few on DU would even give a crap one way or another--it's kind of funny.

"Funny" in an odd way, mind, not a "ha ha" way.

Not sure what he thinks he's going to accomplish by insulting his way through thread after thread on the topic.

[OBenario]

24. saying you don't know anything about this topic...

... is not insulting. It is a statement of a fact. If you feel offended by that... well... grow a thicker skin.

[MADem]

31. I know more about it than someone who can't tell a charge from an investigation. nt

[OBenario]

33. clearly not.

All the names were presented by the public prosecutor himself.

You are inventing laws now.

[MADem]

35. Well, I won't believe you until you post them here for us to see. Prove it!!! nt

[OBenario]

44. I'll a make a thread about it.

Don't worry. I'll let you know.

[MADem]

48. No--you need to post those details in THIS thread, and not spam the board with multiple threads

on the same topic.

That's rude and disruptive to do that.

[OBenario]

84. If my intention was to pretend it isn't happening...

... I wouldn't write about it.

I think most real liberals here already understood what's going on. They are the ones I write to.

I don't expect anyone siding with right wing fascists asking for a military coup that lynch people dressing red and spank dogs with red bandanas to agree with me.

A famous Brazilian actress used to say "de gente burra, eu só quero vaias" - "from dumb people, I only want booing". Clever girl she was.

[Marksman_91]

18. From the Guardian article:

Prosecutors have “ample proof” that Joao Vaccari, treasurer of Rousseff’s ruling party, solicited donations from former Petrobras services chief Renato Duque and executives at engineering firms accused of funneling money from the oil company, prosecutor Deltan Dallagnol said on Monday.

Stop denying the facts. You're looking pathetic right now.

[OBenario]

21. Good. You have one name of the Workers Party...

Now present the other 25.

[MADem]

23. You're having trouble reading the article, apparently. Go back and read it slowly.

Stop claiming that the article says something other than what it says.

Oh--and read the TOS while you're at it. Here's a link: http://www.democraticunderground.com/?com=termsofservice

[OBenario]

25. well

Then write the name of the members of the Workers Party cited in the article and we're done here.

[MADem]

26. Do prosecutors release the names of people who are under "INVESTIGATION" before they've

been formally "CHARGED?" Why no--they don't.

You're going to have to wait until charges are filed--and according to the article you keep whining about, that hasn't happened yet. We're still in the investigation phase.

The people who have been "charged" work for PETROBRAS, with the exception of a few upper echelon government officials.

But you'd know that if you bothered to read the materials provided, instead of flailing around screaming at people and making demands of them.

We've been "done here" for a while--I smell something burning.

[OBenario]

28. nope.

All the names of the investigated are public. You can easily find their names online.

Now you are inventing Brazilian laws...

[MADem]

32. No they aren't. But if they are, I challenge you to post them here.

And when you do, guess what?

You'll have your list.

What you are doing is disruptive and bordering on trolling, you know. You aren't interested in conversation, you simply want to toss insults at DUers. It's obvious what you're doing.

[Bacchus4.0]

37. Our friend is playing games, he is the one asserting that the politicians are NOT

from the Worker's Party.

[OBenario]

41. then present their names...

... and we're done.

oh... you can't. Why is that?

[MADem]

67. You are the one who claimed they are listed--so list them. nt

[OBenario]

79. don't worry

As soon as I arrive home I will make a thread and I'll let you know. Don't like texting on my cellphone.

[MADem]

43. Never seen anything quite like this.

Not sure what the goal is, here. He's not changing any hearts or minds with that attitude. Hope he's not doing this for the advancement of the Worker's Party cause, because they are NOT getting their money's worth!

[Judi Lynn]

51. It doesn't make sense to see you assaulting this new DU'er relentlessly.

Why don't you back away from your keyboard and stop trying to draw the poster out, to get the poster angry so the poster steps over the line and you can get the poster banned?

It's clear this is what you are praying you can pull off here. It's ugly to witness.

Anyone with reading ability can see this has been a total, all-out attack on a new DU'er. Completely out of line.

[MADem]

59. The poor little " new ... DUer" attacked the thread starter with a false assertion.

Why don't you put the blame where it belongs?

Unless you think it's OK to falsely accuse a person of saying things they haven't said?

[OBenario]

38. don't worry

I'll create a thread later explaining who are the ones who were charged. One by one.

someone is not a troll just because you look lost when trying to debate about a subject you obviously ignore, sorry.

[Bacchus4.0]

39. Ok, looking forward to your post nt

[MADem]

40. If you don't post them here, I will have to assume that you are here at DU to disrupt.

You are conversing with people about this topic in THIS thread--they aren't going to chase around after you looking for another thread.

Starting thread after thread on the same topic--which is what you have been doing-- is called SPAMMING THE BOARD, and it is not a welcome activity here. If you continue to do that, we can only assume that your goal is to be disruptive or trolling.

It's pretty apparent that you haven't yet read the DU TOS. This is the third time I'm going to suggest that you read it.

[OBenario]

47. I didn't read anywhere...

... that we are not supposed to start threads that MADem doesn't like. So I 'll ignore your whining, sorry.

[MADem]

49. It's not a question of what I like--when you post multiple threads on the same topic, you are

spamming the board. Board spammers don't last long. But hey, don't take MY word for it--find out on your own.

Haven't read that TOS yet, have you?

[OBenario]

50. looks like you're trying to intimidate me.

I was fighting armed fascists in the 80s honey. You'll have to do better.

[MADem]

64. Why do you keep calling me "Honey?" Does that make you feel tough or superior, or something?

This is the second time you've done that.

It's rude. Stop doing it.

[msanthrope]

53. 1-6 Leave--

On Thu Mar 19, 2015, 02:23 PM an alert was sent on the following post:

No they aren't. But if they are, I challenge you to post them here.
http://www.democraticunderground.com/?com=view_post&forum=1108&pid=38794

REASON FOR ALERT

This post is disruptive, hurtful, rude, insensitive, over-the-top, or otherwise inappropriate.

ALERTER'S COMMENTS

Poster is attacking the newbie relentlessly. No new member is prepared for this kind of vicious assault. Personal attack.

You served on a randomly-selected Jury of DU members which reviewed this post. The review was completed at Thu Mar 19, 2015, 02:32 PM, and the Jury voted 1-6 to LEAVE IT.

Juror #1 voted to LEAVE IT ALONE
Explanation: You mess with the bull, you get the horns. The newbie will be just fine---suspect he's a retread.
Juror #2 voted to HIDE IT
Explanation: No explanation given
Juror #3 voted to LEAVE IT ALONE
Explanation: No explanation given
Juror #4 voted to LEAVE IT ALONE
Explanation: No explanation given
Juror #5 voted to LEAVE IT ALONE
Explanation: No explanation given
Juror #6 voted to LEAVE IT ALONE
Explanation: No explanation given
Juror #7 voted to LEAVE IT ALONE
Explanation: If the "newbie" is a troll, then the alert should have been on them, but some of them are very crafty and hard to alert on. I will side with longevity over naivety here and let this stand!




Thank you very much for participating in our Jury system, and we hope you will be able to participate again in the future.

[Judi Lynn]

46. Dilma Rousseff did not fight against the right-wing military dictatorship, suffer horrific torture

to aspire to become a crooked politician. She didn't come this far under such horrendous hardship to line her pockets, like a fascist.

The right-wing, the same fascists who stole the government, murdered and tortured leftists before is attempting to repeat it's filthy seizure of Brazil, and they are fighting as hard as possible to do it again, with total corporate media/business support. They have always remained strong because there is such a greedy, criminal sociopathic motivation driving them.

The people of Brazil who have re-elected Dilma Rousseff look at her as a heroine who dared to confront these filthy clowns, and stood by her word. She has been through hell already, and she knows dirt when she sees it being thrown again.

There is no question who the good people are in this world. No one is confused about that. Those who attempt to pretend otherwise are simply working together to advance their own low, unworthy interests at the great expense of the great majority.

[Dawson Leery]

52. K/R

It is disgusting to see how she is being attacked on a progressive board.

[Judi Lynn]

57. It truly is, isn't it? Progressive people support Dilma Rousseff and her entire life's work. n/t

[Fred Sanders]

69. Attacks seem to be concentrated on the same battlefield by the same platoon with the same dud ammo.

[Fred Sanders]

55. Rousseff is now under attack by the same folks attacking Maduro, Morales, anyone not kowtowing to

Capitalists and Industrialists....it is so obvious to anyine with a smidgen of historical knowledge...sad attempts, really.

[Judi Lynn]

58. They don't conceal their real political leanings at all. No one is fooled. n/t

[Fred Sanders]

63. Just have to make sure they get it that they are not fooling any onlookers either.

[Bacchus4.0]

60. Poor Dilma, now in the company of Maduro.

What a crash. I thank our new friend for pointing out all the discontent in Brazil over this past week. I didn't realize how far she has fallen.

[Fred Sanders]

61. Truly, no one on DU is being fooled into demonizing entire emergent socialist Latin America. People Power is here to stay.

Demonizing one leader or another as representative of all people and ignoring history of that one nation's history and that of political and socially and linguistically inter-linked neighbors......is yesterday's propaganda.

Many more folks in many more nation's have leaders with critical thinking skills they have passed on to those that follow them than can now be overcome with past psych-ops manuals.

Those manuals were made not so secret long ago. "False polling for Latin America" is at Chapter 3, I believe.

[Bacchus4.0]

65. I actually didn't realize to what depths she has reached.

I mean, she's right there with Maduro now. Regarding a continent wide movement, the examples of Lula, Peru, and Chile are much better examples of bringing about progressive change. But instead we have a rather vocal group who believe the failed governments of chavismo, Kirchner, Castro, and perhaps Dilma is the future.

[Fred Sanders]

68. Boring beyond speech......

[Bacchus4.0]

73. your new username? quite fitting.

[OBenario]

81. which actions by Rousseff...

... put her in the same category of Maduro or the failed governments of "chavismo and Castro"?

Please enlight us with your profound Knowledge of Brazilian politics.

[Bacchus4.0]

85. She has reached a Maduro level approval rating. Her scandal and the economic

performance are characteristic of Argentina and chavista governments.

[OBenario]

86. why?

Which actions or policies of her government are characteristic of "chavista governments"?

[Judi Lynn]

74. Had forgotten about their training manuals. They've been doing the same things a LONG time.

They had every base covered, so long ago. All the recipes for duping the unsuspecting, befuddling them.

Reminds me of reading about the plans made by the psy-ops people for "Operation Mongoose" against Cuba.

The new leaders of the Americas have a wealth of information of previously employed machinations against their countries to review.

[MADem]

62. I rather doubt that the people who voted for her, and now are saying she needs to go, are fascists.

What an absurd construct. Simplistic and wrong.

UNION WORKERS are protesting against her: http://www.forbes.com/sites/kenrapoza/2015/03/14/in-brazil-pres-dilma-prepares-for-weekend-long-hate-fest/

This is going to be a soul searching weekend for Brazilian president Dilma Rousseff. On Saturday, more than 30,000 union workers took to Avenida Paulista in Sao Paulo for four hours calling for political reform. These are the guys that form the base of the ruling Workers’ Party. In other words: these are Dilma’s friends. Thousands more are expected on Sunday. Those guys will be calling for Dilma’s head.

According to a Feb. 9 poll by Datafolha, 44% of respondents think Dilma’s government is doing a poor job while 23% think she is doing a good job. The numbers have completely reversed from a December Datafolha poll. Oddly enough, it’s not the deteriorating economy that’s got Brazilians ticked off. It’s politics. It’s corruption. In other words, it’s politics-as-usual. And now, Brazilians are opening up their apartment windows, hanging their heads out into a thunderstorm, and yelling “I’m mad as hell and I’m not going to take it anymore!”

...Brazil’s Workers’ Party is caught in the middle. The party that kicked was credited with paying off the country’s International Monetary Fund debt and increasing the middle class, is now the party that killed Petrobras . They are seen as allowing the largest corporate scandal in Brazilian history to go on unchecked. Executives at oil major Petrobras were charged with organizing oil kickback and money laundering schemes that have been going for 10 years or more. The opposition has used Petrobras’ downfall as a way to paint the Workers’ Party and its allies as corrupt banana republic politicians. On a recent list of 54 members of congress involved in the scandal, only one was from the opposition Social Democratic Party and the rest were from Workers’ Party allies. The list gave activists renewed fervor. The Dilma-friendly labor union took to the streets first this weekend, starting on Friday, as if to preempt the opposition.

On Saturday, in the old Workers’ Party (known as PT locally) stronghold of Porto Alegre, party president Rui Falcao said PT leadership needs to take a hard look at themselves once this weekend is over.

Her poll ratings are plummeting because she's falling down on the job, not because her former supporters have suddenly become corporate pigs. Unless "union workers" are now members of the One Percent, or something.

She couldn't get elected dogcatcher with the numbers she's putting up these days.

FWIW, I don't think she should be impeached--though a lot of people do. I think she needs to fix the mess, though--and quickly.

[OBenario]

77. once again you show you ignore the subject.

Those union workers are asking for political reform that was proposed by the workers party. They went to the streets in support of Rousseff.

[MADem]

87. No, looks like that is YOUR error: "Brazil's mounting job losses turn Rousseff bedrock to quicksand"

http://www.chicagotribune.com/news/sns-wp-blm-news-bc-brazil14-20150314-story.html#page=1

RO DE JANEIRO — Luciano Neri, an unemployed former shipyard worker who backed Brazil's President Dilma Rousseff for a second term, now second-guesses his vote. Having lost his job last month, he's taking a course to become a bus driver.

"She screwed up," Neri, 37, said while sipping a beer in a sleepy plaza of Maragogipe, in Bahia state. "I ask myself if when she hands over the government, it's going to be in debt and there won't be employment in Brazil."

Neri's malaise spells trouble for Rousseff. Throughout her re-election run she invoked record-low unemployment as proof of her successful economic policies, even as growth stalled and inflation accelerated. Now, joblessness is finally on the rise - - and so is discontent, even in the northeast region that has long been the stronghold of her Workers' Party. ... The woes of the Paraguacu shipyard, where Luciano Neri was employed, illustrate Brazil's broader difficulties. It holds contracts totaling $4.8 billion to build six deep-water oil rigs for state-controlled Petroleo Brasileiro SA's projects. The yard is owned by Enseada Industria Naval, a consortium of Odebrecht SA, OAS SA, UTC Engenharia SA and Japan's Kawasaki Heavy Industries Ltd.

With Petrobras mired in the biggest corruption scandal in Brazil's history, money has stopped flowing to many of its contractors. The CEP consortium building the shipyard for Enseada, with 82 percent of construction complete, has suspended work due to a "liquidity crisis," according to Enseada. CEP had 5,227 workers last June, and now it has 156. Enseada fired 1,800 workers since November, and about 600 workers continue to build rigs in the unfinished yard.

On March 2, union members assembled outside the Labor Ministry in Salvador to protest rising joblessness and the government's cost-cutting measures. Bahia state's heavy construction union, Sintepav, says it has lost 5,000 jobs in road building over the last six months, in addition to the thousands lost at Maragogipe. They're set to demonstrate again on March 13. .....

[OBenario]

88. they went in fact to the streets on March 13

But to support Dilma. I even posted the pictures.

You should select better sources.

[Judi Lynn]

90. Not that many people consider financial magazines as true guides to the inner workings

of a country's population.

As we know, there's quite a bit more related to people's lives than catering to the interests of the business community.

Really enjoyed the images you shared here of the demonstrations which got NO coverage here whatsoever! (Very typical of leftist events in leftist-led countries, our corporate media ignore them altogether unless they can spin wildly against the leftist leaders.)

[Fred Sanders]

66. Rousseff is the like the Latin American Warren and the Aztec Amazons wrapped into one real life super hero.

That is not a demon, that is the future, but do not forget the past.

Even Forbes gave grudging approval...socialism with a mix of capitalism...it is the capitalism part that rotted out PetroBrazil with imported corruption....once again oil is the focus of admiration and desire.

[MADem]

70. Elizabeth Warren would have not allowed all of that corruption over the course of a decade.

She was riding high when that cover was made. Today, her approval rating is Bush-like--23 percent, according to that same publication.

[Fred Sanders]

71. You forgot the sarcasm emoticon?

[MADem]

72. Nope.

Warren is the Go To Senator when the numbers don't add up. She wouldn't have tolerated that degree of corruption.

[OBenario]

80. similar approval rating she had...

... before being reelected by 54 million voters.

she's under attack of the press, it's quite normal. The protesters are already being exposed as fascists. They are already losing support of more moderate citizens. It's just a question of time before Dilma starts recovering. Specially now that the names were revealed and we found out that most politicians involved are from the opposition.

the following poll will show better numbers already.

[MADem]

82. Union workers are now fascists? OK, whatever. nt

[OBenario]

89. usually no.

That's why they went to the streets last Friday to support Dilma.

Just because a paid shill wrote some nonsense in an American newspaper with a doubtful reputation it doesn't mean it's true.

[Judi Lynn]

91. Good one! Some have been known to simply turn in articles based on tv news in their hotel rooms.

Saves them the trouble of having to soil themselves by going into the streets where they might bump into working people.

[MADem]

93. I guess they've got paid shills over at GUARDIAN UK, too, then? They're saying they didn't turn out.

http://www.theguardian.com/world/2015/mar/15/brazil-protesters-rouseff-impeachment-petrobas

Many said they were marching because of the Petrobras scandal, which has seen 57 politicians, including former president Fernando Collor de Mello, investigated for kick-backs worth at least $3bn (£2.03bn). Rousseff is not under investigation but as a former chair of Petrobras during the period when much of the corruption took place, she has struggled to avoid being tainted by a scandal that has implicated allies and opponents alike.

Although all the major parties have been dragged into the mire, most of those implicated are from the ruling coalition and the demonstrators were collecting signatures calling for the impeachment of Rousseff.

“It’s unbelievable. They aren’t politicians. They are criminals,” said India Longras, who beat a frying pan painted with “Fora Dilma”. “I was born in the military dictatorship. It was a lot better than now. If I had to choose between then and now, I’d choose dictatorship. Education was better, crime was low and the poor lived with dignity.”

Calls for a military coup were less evident at the bigger rallies in São Paulo and Brasilia. Sunday’s protests were the biggest in Brazil since 2013, but the profile and politics of the participants were very different and they passed more peacefully. The Confederations Cup demonstrations two years ago had their origins in a campaign to secure free public transport and spread rapidly particularly among the young, via social networks after police violence inflamed public opinion. The latest wave of protests, however, is from an older, whiter, more affluent demographic, following widespread advance coverage by the mainstream media.

Anticipating this, the Workers Party organised a rally last Friday in support of the government and state control of Petrobras, but there were less than a thousand people at their main demonstration in central Rio.

This is the left-liberal paper, mind you:

http://www.theguardian.com/world/2015/mar/17/brazil-crisis-petrobas-scandal-dilma-rousseff-protests

The Petrobras scandal was high among a long list of grievances that brought people to the streets on Sunday. Estimates of the number of protesters range from hundreds of thousands to more than 1.5 million — huge by any standard. Countless others also came to their balconies and windows to clang their pots and pans in disapproval at government policies. The domestic media reported demonstrations in more than 160 cities.

Workers’ Party struggles
It was a shock for the Workers’ Party, which rose to power through mass mobilisations, but now appears to have lost the streets. Pro-government rallies called by trade unions two days earlier attracted only a tiny fraction of this interest. In São Paulo, the turnout was around 10,000. In central Rio, it was probably less than 1,000.....

[OBenario]

94. Misinformation, for a change...

I suggest you to read this:

http://www.democraticunderground.com/110838729

[MADem]

95. I read it--but you're saying that Guardian UK is lying?

I don't think they are lying. I think Dilma has a challenge ahead. It does no good to minimize that challenge.

[Judi Lynn]

96. Apparently you've not paid close attention to the Guardian over the last years.

There has been discussion at DU many times from people surprised at some of the stuff they've been dishing out.

Don't tell me you are saying because you claim they are "center left" or some such silliness, that progressives are obligated to slavishly swallow any and everything they read at the Guardian.

That's just bizarre, and we all know they've thrown some very surprising crappola at us over the last 10 years, at least.

Don't suggest you are going to tell other people what they must believe. That is too peculiar, and laughable for words.

[MADem]

97. OK, so YOU are saying that GUARDIAN UK is lying, too?

Different authors, different sources, but they're all lying...ohhh kay.

Everybody's lying, except oddball blogs, anonymous internet posters, and unverifiable sources?

OK...whatever! You said it...!!!

There are lots of things that are laughable around these parts, and I'm not telling anyone "what they must believe." Stow that "faux victim" approach, please--believe whatever the hell you'd like, I don't care!

Interesting framing, though. Como siempre!

[Judi Lynn]

75. Great point, exactly right. By the way, never expected to see Forbes with a cover like that! n/t

[Fred Sanders]

76. I am sure they are preparing another less flattering cover, if needed.

[Judi Lynn]

92. We can depend upon them for that! Nothing would make them happier.

Nothing, except for doing an obituary! That would make them so delirious they'd be howling at the moon, which they probably did when Hugo Chavez died, Lugo got cancer, Lula got cancer, Morales and Fernandez were both very ill, Kirchner died, etc., etc., etc. Oh, yes, I believe Dilma Rousseff also had cancer at one time. Whole lotta illness was going on among a remarkably small number of people.

Not to mention the poisoning in hospital for former Chilean President Frei.