Maria Luisa Mendonça: Brazilian President Dilma Rousseff Suspended as Corrupt Conservative Parties Win Impeachment Vote

Award-winning Investigative Journalist Robert Parry (1949-2018)

Award-winning investigative journalist and founder/editor of ConsortiumNews.com, Robert Parry has passed away. His ground-breaking work uncovering Reagan-era dirty wars in Central America and many other illegal and immoral policies conducted by successive administrations and U.S. intelligence agencies, stands as an inspiration to all in journalists working in the public interest.

Robert had been a regular guest on our Between The Lines and Counterpoint radio shows -- and many other progressive outlets across the U.S. over four decades.

His penetrating analysis of U.S. foreign policy and international conflicts will be sorely missed, and not easily replaced. His son Nat Parry writes a tribute to his father: Robert Parry’s Legacy and the Future of Consortiumnews.

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The Resistance Starts Now!

Between The Lines' coverage and resource compilation of the Resistance Movement

"The man who predicted Trump presidential win now says Trump impeachment could happen," AM Joy with Joy Reid, MSNBC, Jan. 21, 2018
"Sketchy Kazakh money finds its way into Trump dealings," The Rachel Maddow Show, MSNBC, Jan. 15, 2018
"Red flags seen in many Trump real estate deals," The Rachel Maddow Show, MSNBC, Jan. 15, 2018
"Secret Money: How Trump Made Millions Selling Condos To Unknown Buyers," BuzzFeed, Jan. 12, 2018
"The Scandals of Donald Trump: Presidential Edition," The Atlantic, May 15, 2017
"Here's what we know so far about Team Trump's ties to Russian interests," Washington Post's ongoing compilation
"What Comey Was Investigating, Explained," The Moscow Project, Center for American Progress

"Donald Trump's Financial Ties to Russian Oligarchs and Mobsters Detailed In Explosive New Documentary from the Netherlands," Dutch TV documentary, Alternet.org, May 12, 2017
Ongoing compilation of Trump's creeping authoritarianism," MotherJones.com
Full resource list ...

SPECIAL REPORT: "The Resistance - Women's March 2018 - Hartford, Connecticut" Jan. 20, 2018

Selected speeches from the Women's March in Hartford, Connecticut 2018, recorded and produced by Scott Harris

SPECIAL REPORT: "No Fracking Waste in CT!" Jan. 14, 2018

Jen Siskind Jennifer Siskind, local coordinator for Food and Water Watch, describes the campaign to stop fracking waste in Connecticut, which so far has led to fracking waste bans in 34 towns around the state. Interviewed by Richard Hill on Mic Check, WPKN Radio, Bridgeport, CT

SPECIAL REPORT: "Resistance Round Table: The Unraveling Continues..." Jan. 13, 2018

Lindsay Kanaly The panel discusses Trump's long history of racism and the Republican voter suppression juggernaut confronting Democrats leading up to the 2018 elections. Special guest: Lindsay Kanaly, a lead organizer of the Women's Marches planned for Jan. 20, 2018. Panel: Scott Harris, Ruthanne Baumgartner and Richard Hill on Resistance Roundtable, WPKN Radio, Bridgeport, CT.

SPECIAL REPORT: "Capitalism to the ash heap?" Richard Wolff, Jan. 2, 2018

Richard Wolff, Economics professor Richard Wolff declares U.S. capitalism to be beyond repair and suggests the need for a radical alternative. Interviewed by Richard Hill

SPECIAL REPORT: Maryn McKenna, author of "Big Chicken", Dec. 7, 2017

Maryn McKenna, investigative journalist and author of Big Chicken, talks about the widespread use and dangers of antibiotics in commercial poultry, beef and fruit production. Interview by Bill Duesing, Richard Hill and Guy Beardsly on WPKN's Organic Farm Stand.

SPECIAL REPORT: Nina Turner's address, Working Families Party Awards Banquet, Dec. 14, 2017

Nina Turner, president of Our Revolution, talks about the fight ahead for progressives as she receives the Working Families Organization Award for Exceptional Leadership Towards Advancing Progress. The event was held in Meriden, CT. Produced by Richard Hill.

SPECIAL REPORT: Mic Check, Dec. 12, 2017

Working Families Party of CT talks strategy and issues for 2018.
Lindsay Farrell, executive director of the Working Families Party of Connecticut, discusses the state's electoral landscape and lays out the issues and strategies that could lead to progressive victories in 2018. Interviewed by Richard Hill.

SPECIAL REPORT: Resistance Roundtable, Dec. 9, 2017

Disturbing developments in the Trump/Republican Agenda
Focus on the tax bill, destruction of our public lands, North Korea and Trump's private CIA. Panel: Scott Harris, Ruthanne Baumgartner and Richard Hill. Special guest: Jo Macallero of Rise and Resist.

SPECIAL REPORT: On Tyranny - one year later, Nov. 28, 2017

Professor Timothy Snyder, author of the highly acclaimed resistance manual On Tyranny, discusses his book and offers a fresh assessment of the state of our beleaguered republic. Timothy Snyder, history professor at Yale, is introduced by Stanley Heller, administrator of Promoting Enduring Peace, a Connecticut-based organization that sponsored this event at the United Church Parish House in New Haven on Nov. 28. A brief interview with Snyder conducted by WPKN radio producer, Richard Hill, follows his talk.

SPECIAL REPORT: Mic Check, Nov. 12, 2017

Lynne Ide, director of program and policy with the Universal Health Care Foundation of Connecticut, talks about the current state of health care coverage in Connecticut. Interviewed by Richard Hill, WPKN radio producer

SPECIAL REPORT: Resistance Roundtable, Nov. 11, 2017

Focus on the Republican tax plan, the just-released autopsy on the Democratic Party, and Internet censorship by Google, Facebook and Youtube. Including an interview with Hilary Grant, a lead organizer with Action Together Connecticut, who discusses the local results of the recent election, with hosts Richard Hill, Scott Harris and Ruth Baumgartner WPKN producers

SPECIAL REPORT: Rainy Day Radio, Nov. 7, 2017

Two leaders from Redneck Revolt, an anti-racist, anti-capitalist movement, talk about their work organizing with white working class people in Suffolk County, New York. Interviewed by Richard Hill, WPKN radio producer

SPECIAL REPORT: Rainy Day Radio, Nov. 7, 2017

Bruce Gagnon, coordinator for the Global Network Against Weapons and Nuclear Power in Space, describes the extent of -- and motives underlying -- the vast US network of military bases around the globe. Interviewed by Richard Hill, WPKN radio producer

SPECIAL REPORT: Resisting U.S. JeJu Island military base in South Korea, Oct. 24, 2017

Joyakol, South Korean peace activist and singer, discusses the crisis on the Korean peninsula and focuses on the resistance to the U.S. huge military base being constructed on Jeju Island. The event was sponsored by the Greater New Haven Peace Council and this audio was recorded by Richard Hill, WPKN producer.
Joyakol discusses Americans' biggest misconceptions about the conflict between North and South Korea and the U.S., Interview by Richard Hill, WPKN producer.

SPECIAL REPORT: John Allen, Out in New Haven

John Allen, founding director of the New Haven Pride Center, Connecticut, talks about his new LGBTQ television show, Out in New Haven, which presents a range of political and cultural issues to the community. Interviewed by Richard Hill on WPKN's Rainy Day Tuesday, Jan. 2, 2018.

2017 Gandhi Peace Awards

Promoting Enduring Peace presented its Gandhi Peace Award jointly to renowned consumer advocate Ralph Nader and BDS founder Omar Barghouti on April 23, 2017.

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THANK YOU TO EVERYONE...

who helped make our 25th anniversary with Jeremy Scahill a success!

For those who missed the event, or were there and really wanted to fully absorb its import, here it is in video

Jeremy Scahill keynote speech, part 1 from PROUDEYEMEDIA on Vimeo.

Jeremy Scahill keynote speech, part 2 from PROUDEYEMEDIA on Vimeo.

Between The Lines on Stitcher

Between The Lines Presentation at the Left Forum 2016

"How Do We Build A Mass Movement to Reverse Runaway Inequality?" with Les Leopold, author of "Runaway Inequality: An Activist's Guide to Economic Justice,"May 22, 2016, John Jay College of Criminal Justice, The City University of New York, 860 11th Ave. (Between 58th and 59th), New York City. Between The Lines' Scott Harris and Richard Hill moderated this workshop. Listen to the audio/slideshows and more from this workshop.

Listen to audio of the plenary sessions from the weekend.

JEREMY SCAHILL: Oscar-nominated documentary filmmaker "Dirty Wars"

Listen to the full interview (30:33) with Jeremy Scahill, an award-winning investigative journalist with the Nation Magazine, correspondent for Democracy Now! and author of the bestselling book, "Blackwater: The Rise of the World's Most Powerful Mercenary Army," about America's outsourcing of its military. In an exclusive interview with Counterpoint's Scott Harris on Sept. 16, 2013, Scahill talks about his latest book, "Dirty Wars, The World is a Battlefield," also made into a documentary film under the same title, and was nominated Dec. 5, 2013 for an Academy Award in the Best Documentary Feature category.

Listen to Scott Harris Live on WPKN Radio

Between The Lines' Executive Producer Scott Harris hosts a live, weekly talk show, Counterpoint, from which some of Between The Lines' interviews are excerpted. Listen every Monday evening from 8 to 10 p.m. EDT at www.WPKN.org (Follows the 5-7 minute White Rose Calendar.)

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Brazilian President Dilma Rousseff Suspended as Corrupt Conservative Parties Win Impeachment Vote

Posted May 18, 2016

Interview with Maria Luisa Mendonça, director of the Network for Social Justice and Human Rights in Brazil, conducted by Scott Harris

After months of investigations, debate and street protests by supporters and opponents of Brazilian President Dilma Rousseff, Brazil's Senate voted to impeach the nation's first female president. Rousseff will now be put on trial over allegations that she violated fiscal regulations by using funds from state banks to cover budget shortfalls in order to continue funding popular antipoverty programs.

Now suspended from office, Rousseff's unpopular Vice President Michel Temer has taken the reins of power for up to six months during the president's impeachment trial. Many of Rousseff's supporters, who benefited from her Workers Party government policies that lifted millions out of poverty, believe that the impeachment of the president is in fact a coup d'etat, orchestrated by the president's political opponents and Brazil's wealthy elite.

Unlike President Rousseff, many of those involved in the impeachment effort are under investigation themselves for crimes such as money laundering, forging documents and misappropriating public funds. Among those accused is acting President Temer. Internationally known political dissident, linguist and author Noam Chomsky made this observation after the May 12 impeachment vote, "We have the one leading politician who hasn't stolen to enrich herself, who's being impeached by a gang of thieves." Between The Lines' Scott Harris spoke with Maria Luisa Mendonça, director of the Network for Social Justice and Human Rights in Brazil, and a professor at the University of Rio De Janeiro's International Relations Department. Here, Mendonça examines the forces behind Rousseff's impeachment, as she expresses concern for the repression that may now be unleashed. [Rush transcript]

MARIA LUISA MENDONÇA: The first thing that is important to understand is that the reason for the impeachment is a very common practice that several administrations have used. They basically borrow money from public banks to cover expenses with social programs in Brazil. So, previous administrations have done this at the federal (level) and currently, if we use the same criteria, at least 16 state governors would have to be impeached. So she's not being accused of any corruption charges, at the same time that the congress members from the opposition parties that are putting her on trial are facing serious accusations of corruption. The speaker of the lower house who now has to step down, he was the one who orchestrated the impeachment process against her and he is being charged of having millions of dollars in offshare accounts in Switzerland and the public prosecutor has confirmed that information. So President Dilma actually gave more independency to the federal police to investigate cases of corruption and I think that's one of the reason why the conservative parties now are trying to stop the investigations by accusing her of a practice that cannot justify her impeachment.

BETWEEN THE LINES: What are the prospects that Dilma Rousseff will survive this trial and return to office as president?

MARIA LUISA MENDONÇA: Well, it doesn't look very good, which is very dangerous for democracy in Brazil and for the whole region because even before the vote, the Congress members in the senate in the lower house have already expressed their opinions and they didn't even mention for the impeachment. In the lower house, it was a bizarre situation one after the other, congress members were saying that they approved the impeachment in the name of God, in the name of their families, one of them praised a military commander known by performing torture against political prisoners during the military dictatorship. And now what we have just five hours before taking power, the supposed new president is making structural changes. He abolished, just in five hours, the ministers of culture, of communication, of women, of racial equality, of agricultural development, and also the governmental bodies that used to control cases of corruption that used to investigate those cases. So I think we're going to see a situation of repression against social movements that are protesting against what we see as parliamentary coup.

BETWEEN THE LINES: Maria Luisa, I have heard that Vice President Michel Temer, who is now acting president, may very well implement a neoliberal economic program even before any new national elections are scheduled. How much of a concern do you have that a lot of the programs that lifted millions of people in Brazil out of poverty over recent years that the Workers Party was in government will now be reversed with this unelected president who's take the reins of office in the midst of this crisis?

MARIA LUISA MENDONÇA: Exactly. He already announced several cuts in social programs in health care and education and he appointed radical, evangelical, right-wing new ministers, for instance the minister of science and technology is a religious fundamentalist who doesn't believe in science. The minister of health just said that for instance, the problem of Zika virus is because the mosquito is not obedient. So we have this bizarre new cabinet of right-wing evangelicals that are cutting social programs already in just a few days and we're going to see probably is more economic instability, more social inequality and all the gains that we had in the last decade – you know President Dilma was elected and re-elected and at that time of her re-election, we had a situation of full employment in Brazil. Then right after she got re-elected with 55 million votes, Brazil suffered a speculative attack from financial markets and that was the reason why the economy was destabilized and because there was no reason – it's different than here in the United States – when a house bubble and then you have an economic crisis. In Brazil, suddenly we wake up and we have an economic crisis for no apparent reason.

So there was a speculative attack against the economy and at the same time, we had a huge campaign from the corporate media and all the networks started to call demonstrations against the government and tell people that the only way the economy was going to improve was if there was a change in government. So it's important for people to understand that we don't have a parliamentary system in Brazil with a presidential system. So we cannot impeach a president just because at some point in her term her popularity is low or some people don't like her. So we have to respect the result of the election. That's the main point we need to clarify.