Jul 12 2024 | Nº. 125

Editorial

President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva’s standing in the polls reached its highest mark of the year this week. According to the bimonthly survey conducted by Genial/Quaest, Lula’s approval rating rose four percentage points to 54 percent compared to 50 percent in May. His disapproval rating also fell four points, from 47 percent to 43 percent. This improvement can be largely attributed to a notable increase in support among specific demographic groups. Particularly significant was the rise in approval among voters earning up to two minimum wages—voters, in other words, on the low end of the income scale—where the president’s approval climbed from 62% to 69%, while his disapproval dropped from 35 percent to 26 percent. Lula also saw improved performance among people between the ages of 35-59, with 56 percent now expressing approval of his work compared to 50 percent two months ago. These shifts underscore a growing resonance of Lula's message and policies among key segments of the electorate, especially those already predisposed to supporting him and his policies. 

Lula was in Paraguay this week for a summit of MERCOSUL leaders. Among other topics, the meeting oversaw the admission of Bolivia to the South American trade bloc aimed at promoting economic integration and cooperation among member countries. Regional integration has long been a priority for Lula, but the conspicuous absence of Argentina’s far-right president Javier Milei—who met with former president Jair Bolsonaro, his family, and allies during a conservative gathering in Brazil last weekend—exemplified the current challenges on that front. “The absence of the president [Milei] does not affect whether a country is present. Those who miss out in attending are those who don't come. Whenever there is a meeting, I make a point of participating because I learn,” Lula stated as he left the summit. The Brazilian president then headed to Bolivia to help shore up President Luis Arce in the wake of an aborted coup attempt and growing tensions with his erstwhile ally, former president Evo Morales.

Under Lula, Brazil has an abiding interest in helping to broker regional stability. The Bolsonaro years, by contrast, were characterized by frequent threats against democratic institutions. This week brought a fresh reminder of that. On Thursday, Brazil’s Federal Police launched a new phase in an ongoing investigation into the illegal use of Brazilian Intelligence Agency (ABIN) resources to monitor public officials and spread fake news during the Bolsonaro administration. The operation led to five arrests and seven search warrants across multiple cities, focusing on individuals associated with former aides of Carlos Bolsonaro, the president’s son. The group under investigation allegedly created fake profiles, disseminated false information, and illegally accessed computers and telecommunications to monitor public figures. Whatever criticisms they may have of the current administration, most voters seem to recognize that Lula does not pose a threat to Brazilian democracy in the way that Bolsonaro did.

Highlights

• Sale of jewelry. Former President Jair Bolsonaro is being formally indicted in the Supreme Court for the crimes of promoting a criminal organization, money laundering, and misappropriation of public assets. The case concerns the sale of jewelry that had been given to foreign leaders for the Presidency of the Republic. According to the investigation, Bolsonaro mobilized 15 employees in an operation to sell the jewelry and keep the money for himself. The scheme would have generated R$6.8 million (US$1.2 million) in the jewelry sales of watches, cufflinks, rings, pens, and sculptures. The Federal Police intercepted a cell phone message exchange between him and his then advisor Mauro Cid which reveals that the former president knew about the transactions and gave the go-ahead for them to take place. The crimes of which Bolsonaro is charged in this indictment carry a sentence of up to twelve years in prison. The former president is already ineligible to run for office until 2030, due to two other previous convictions, involving attacks against the electoral system.

   

• Time frame. The Brazilian Congress once again debated the possibility of changing the rules that govern the demarcation of Indigenous lands in Brazil, contradicting a decision that had already been taken by the Supreme Court. The debate concerns the “time frame” that establishes a framework in which Indigenous lands that were not recognized as such by the year of the promulgation of the 1988 Federal Constitution of Brazil cannot later be claimed as such. Congressional representatives and senators linked to agribusiness want to maintain this rule, while environmental and Indigenous movements want to overturn it. Faced with the impasse between the judiciary and legislature, a conciliation commission was created. Jan Jarab, the head of the Regional Office of the United Nations High Commissioner in South America, expressed “concern about any action that could weaken or relativize the protection of the rights of Indigenous peoples”

• Tax reform. The Chamber of Deputies, the lower house of the Brazilian congress, approved on Wednesday, July 10, the rules that will regulate a new way of collecting taxes in Brazil. The reform began seven months ago and is scheduled to be completed in 2033. The next stage is the vote on these new rules in the Federal Senate. So far, the main novelty has been the inclusion of foods with animal protein in the list of products in the basic food basket, a measure of the minimal food needs of a family, that will have a zero tax rate. The approval of this item is a victory for Lula, who defended the proposal, and a defeat for Arthur Lira, the president of the Chamber of Deputies, who opposed it. Another novelty in the rules approved by the chamber is the creation of a device that establishes a maximum ceiling of 26.5 percent in the tax rate for all products.

   

• Educational reform. One day before approving the tax reform rules, the Chamber approved the law that restructures secondary education, in which students enter at age fifteen. The approved rules now correct distortions in the educational reform that had been carried out in 2017 by the then President Michel Temer. Among the main changes are the increase in the number teaching hours of mandatory subjects, such as Portuguese and mathematics from 1,800 hours to 2,400 hours. The workload for other subjects, which was 1,200 hours, fell by half. The reform seeks to solve part of the problems in which 9.8 million young people aged between 15 and 29 do not complete the basic education in the country, which is almost 20 percent of the population.

• Police impunity. The court cleared three police officers involved in a police operation carried out in May 2020, which resulted in the death of a 14-year-old young man, named João Pedro Mattos Pinto in the metropolitan region of Rio de Janeiro. He died from a wound to his back caused by shrapnel from a rifle shot. The house in which he lived was hit by more than 70 shots. The decision of the judge responsible for the case says that the police officers acted in “self-defense.” The verdict caused outrage among João Pedro's relatives and criticism from human rights organizations.

News from the WBO, Organizations and Social Movements

IACHR hearing. Representatives of movements of mothers of victims of State violence and human rights organizations such as Amnesty International, Conectas Human Rights, Vladimir Herzog Institute (IVH), Commission for the Defense of Human Rights D. Paulo Evaristo Arns - Arns Commission, Brazilian Security Forum Pública (FBSP), and the Washington Brazil Office (WBO) will participate on the morning of July 12 in a hearing of the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights (IACHR) of the Organization of American States (OAS), in which they must denounce Brazil for violations during police operations that occurred in the states of Rio de Janeiro, São Paulo and Bahia. Between January 2023 and May 2024, data from the National Public Security Information System of the Ministry of Justice and Public Security (Sinesp/MJSP) on Deaths Due to Police Intervention indicate that at least 4,270 people were killed, which represents eight deaths due to police intervention per day over a sixteen-month period.

Artistic freedom. The WBO sent the Rapporteur for Freedom of Expression of the IACHR (Inter-American Commission on Human Rights) a document with contributions to the debate on the adoption of a protection framework for freedom of artistic expression in the region. The document highlights that “it is imperative that the international human rights community, including this Freedom of Expression Rapporteurship, looks into the parameters of freedom of expression, considering its protection in the face of extremism and incitement to hatred events. In the current context, where hate speech and incitement to violence are used as tools to undermine democratic regimes and promote autocratic agendas, it is crucial to establish clear guidelines that protect freedom of expression without granting abuses that threaten the democratic order.”

Great tragedies. A group of five Brazilian civil society organizations came together to publish an opinion article in two of the country's main newspapers – Folha de São Paulo and O Globo – regarding the search for justice in international forums for victims of major recent tragedies in Brazil. In the text, the group recalls events such as dam collapses, large fires and soil sinking caused by erosion in mineral exploration, as events of major tragedies in which the victims are left unassisted. “Prosecuting those responsible with a speedy and impartial trial is the only way to restore their rights. Above all, to prevent similar situations from occurring in the future,” the organizations stated.

Taxation of fortunes. Around twenty former heads of state from G20 countries and high-income countries – including former leaders and executive members of Chile, Sweden, Australia, France and Spain – called on current G20 leaders, including the US President Joe Biden, German Chancellor Olaf Scholz, and UK Prime Minister Keir Starmer, to support a “new global deal to tax the world’s super rich” in an open letter published on Thursday, July 11. The idea is that ensuring that the super-rich pay their fair share would “reduce inequality and raise trillions of dollars needed for investment in industrial policy and a just transition,” according to a document published by Oxfam.

Feature Article

Who is Interested in Keeping Research into Online Crimes Silent?

By Marie Santini*

NetLab UFRJ (Federal University of Rio de Janeiro) is a national reference in the study of disinformation that circulates on the internet and social networks. Having carried out research on the state of digital information in Brazil for thirteen years, the Laboratory seeks to actively participate in the public debate, whether in academic fora, civil society initiatives, official activities, or with its frequent participation in Brazilian and international news.

Recently, the Laboratory, its research, and its researchers suffered a series of attacks. Congressional politicians from the conservative camp presented requests for NetLab to be called to a public hearing and contacted the Ministry of Education to obtain documents on the laboratory's financing – information that is available on our website. On social media, we have been victims of a campaign by politicians, bloggers, and influencers opposed to the research on disinformation, which resulted in thousands of insults, provocations, and threats on our profiles. Some publications suggested that, like the Stanford Internet Observatory, whose activities were closed after a campaign of persecution by U.S. congressional representatives, NetLab should be closed.

The attacks insinuated that NetLab UFRJ was persecuting and criminalizing members of the publicly funded opposition, alluding to projects supported by Senacon of the Ministry of Justice and the Ministry of Women. However, this funding exclusively covers research into digital advertising and content monetization in Brazil. The projects have focused on advertisements promoted on social networks that seek to scam Brazilian consumers, stealing their personal data and/or their money.

Amid the siege of conservative politicians and influencers, an article from the journal Núcleo highlighted the ways in which big tech deals with scientific results when they point to problems that affect their economic interests. Lawyers for Meta, owner of Facebook, Instagram, WhatsApp, and other platforms, accused NetLab UFRJ of bias, calling into question the ethics and quality of the scientific research we produce. The lawsuit, filed by Senacom and based on evidence presented in a NetLab report, holds the company responsible for keeping fraudulent advertisements on the air even after being alerted to their content.

What do these attacks show about the disinformation industry in Brazil? Why is there an interest in censoring research that defends consumer rights?

The attempt to silence research into fraud and scams in online advertising protects criminals who hide behind the lack of regulation in the digital environment. It is necessary to investigate, therefore, the interest of those who defend the permanence of a virtual environment conducive to fraud and scams against Brazilian citizens, even questioning whether they have anything to gain from this situation.

This is not, however, the role of NetLab UFRJ. Our mission is, among other things, to support public debate and analyze the role of new technologies in contemporary strategies for manipulating the media and public opinion, providing empirical evidence to support the development of appropriate legislation.

Meta's defense, in turn, delegitimizes this evidence by declaring that it is biased or not sufficient to regulate its actions. The company knows that any initiative to regulate its activities translates into lost revenue. Each fraudulent ad generates profit for the platforms while offering a business opportunity for fraudsters to reach the “ideal victims.” An unprotected and unregulated online environment generates profits for these companies. The less regulation, the more their business model prospers, and that is why their lawyers try to shield them from scientific questions.

In the case outlined by the journal Núcleo, Meta does not respond to the problems raised by Senacom. Instead, it attacks the legitimacy of the objective evidence, collected by NetLab UFRJ, which supports the case and questions the professional capabilities of the laboratory director, Professor Marie Santini. When Meta or other big tech acts to discredit science, it is allying itself with those who use the platforms to carry out scams, obtain political advantages, or undermine democracy, which is something we have recently seen in our country.

The economic interests of private groups, or the interests of political groups, cannot override consumer safety and the democratic rule of law. The evidence raised by NetLab UFRJ research, carried out with integrity and in accordance with the best scientific practices, puts pressure on platforms and politicians to take a position in the face of the scenario of opacity and deregulation of social networks in Brazil. What is at stake is the ability to curb criminals on the internet and preserve democracy. Society must carefully observe which side companies and politicians will be on.

*Marie Santini is a professor at the Federal University of Rio de Janeiro (UFRJ) School of Communication and founder and director of Netlab UFRJ. She is a researcher with the National Council for Scientific and Technological Development-CNPq, a researcher at the Vox-Pol European Network, and a member of the International Observatory on Information and Democracy.

Feature articles express the opinions of the author and do not necessarily reflect the opinions of the editors or WBO.