Thursday, October 23

Brazilian Presidential Elections 2014: Brazil under CIA Pressure by Nil Nikandrov

Brazil under CIA Pressure
Nil NIKANDROV 21.10.2014 00:00
Strategic Culture Foundation

Over two thousand Brazilian political activists, intellectuals, people of art and culture signed a manifest on October 26 highlighting the hostile actions of Washington aimed at prevention of Dilma Rousseff election victory. The document is posted to social nets. It says the coming to power of Aécio Neves of the Brazilian Social Democracy Party (Partido da Social Democracia Brasileira - PSDB), who serves the interests of tycoons, will inflict irreparable damage to the country and take away all the snags on the way of US direct interference into the Brazilian internal affairs. Neves is to play the role of obedient tool in the hands of US administration. Washington goes to any length to achieve its goal and bring the desired candidate to power – some things are done covertly, some tricks are resorted to in a clandestine way.

All CIA information and propaganda resources are used to support Neves. Around 80 million Brazilians have access to Internet, 150 million are cell phone users. The US special services have perfect command of destabilization techniques. The recent protests and social unrest in Brazil threatened the World Cup proving that the forces are ready to react as the «color revolution» scenario to be implemented at any time.

The activities of non-government organizations are not restricted in any way; their members have close ties with US embassy and consulate staff, as well as ISAID workers. The human intelligence is used to discredit the policy of the Dilma Rousseff government. The lies about its ineffectiveness are spread around by all available means. «Experts» forecast collapse in case the President wins another term. They disseminate dubious results of «rating polls» that complicate the vision of reality.

Propaganda publications devoted to forecasts often use the term «technical draw» which provides many opportunities for CIA to manipulate, falsify and juggle with facts as a way to bolster the chances of the presidential hopeful the US wants to win the race. Some years ago the same thing took place in Mexico. Enrique Peña Nieto, the US-supported candidate ran against Lopez Obrador, a populist and a supporter of Hugo Chavez. The manipulations and rigging to make Peña win were widespread, many Mexicans still doubt his victory, but Washington said the election was transparent and honest.

Rubens Antônio Barbosa, the senior adviser of Aécio Neves on international affairs and a candidate for the position of Minister of Foreign affairs. The Rousseff supporters believe him to be the leading CIA’s agent of influence. He has been US ambassador to London. Now he heads the Superior Council of Foreign Trade of Federation of Industries of the State of São Paulo. In accordance with his pro-US orientation, he calls for «depoliticization of foreign policy» and the «reconsideration of US strategic priorities in relation to the United States and China».

After the spying scandal, when the fact of taping the phone of Dilma Rousseff, members of cabinet, military leadership and top leaders of special services by the CIA surfaced, followed by the refusal by President Obama to apologize, Brazil strengthened the relationship with China – the leading trade partner since the tenure of former President Lula da Silva. Now Barbosa says that in case Neves wins the United States will occupy a proper (meaning predominant) place in the Brazil’s foreign policy priorities.

There is a phrase said by Barbosa which provides a clue to what the would-be foreign policy of Brazil will be like. He said that the protection of national interests will no more be that passive. Bolivia has expropriated two oil refineries of Petrobraz and the government has done nothing to protect the interests of Brazil. Neves and Barbosa promise to provide access to US oil companies to oil extraction in the Brazilian continental shelf. The Neves staff says the policy will be «more pragmatic» and completely devoid of ideological approach typical for the Workers’ Party. The stand on such issues as relationship with Mercosur (the Southern Common Market, a sub-regional bloc), BRICS and other international groups will be corrected.

Washington has gone through thorough preparation for the election race in Brazil; it is at the final stage now. The US State Department and special services have sent to the country dozens of seasoned operatives with rich experience of being involved in similar operations conducted across the world. For instance, Liliana Ayalde, the current US ambassador to Brazil, has done good job in Paraguay doing her best to contain the spread of «populist ideology». Brazil is next. There leading actors involved in the conspiracy against Dilma are the officers of the US embassy and consulate in Brazil: Alexis Ludwig (political counsellor), Paloma Gonsalez (political economic section officer), Samantha Carl-Yoder (chief of consular section), Kathryn Hoffman (political officer, the US Consulate General in São Paulo), and Amy Radetsky (political and economic chief, U.S. Consulate Rio de Janeiro).

It’s enough to look at the Radetsky’s career record to understand that Washington has prepared for a «non-standard situation in Brazil. In the State Department she has been responsible for monitoring the events in Brazil to see how they affect the bilateral relations and working out the policy towards this country. She was the one to see all the messages going out of the US embassy in the Brazilian capital. A bit later she headed a special State Department team monitoring the emergence and development of crisis situations in the region and preparing situation reports for State Secretary John Kerry. Now she was urgently sent to Rio! What crisis situation makes Radetsky go to Brazil?

Political scholar for Venezuela Eleazar Díaz Rangel calls a possible defeat of Dilma a «disaster». The governments of Lula da Silva and Dilma Rousseff have made life better for dozens of millions in Brazil who had not even had electricity before. The Workers Party has initiated drastic positive changes on the South American continent. According to Rangel, the Obama administration has mobilized all the opposition forces in Brazil and other Latin America countries, all the potential of media and information agencies to prevent the re-election of Dilma. There are funds allocated for providing support to Neves in the presidential race. Influential US financial and economic circles are involved to help Neves win.

Will Brazilians mobilize themselves and avoid the disaster predicted by Eleazar Díaz Rangel? We’ll know in a week.