Book tells stories about the censorship of brazilian workers party

Porto Alegre, August 7th, 2008

by Luís Henrique Vieira

Launched just in 2006, the book called “Vanguarda do Atraso” (Delay´s vanguard) tells stories about the difficulties of the press during the gorvernment of the governor Olívio Dutra, from PT (Brazilian Workers Party), in the state of Rio Grande do Sul(Brazil). This term was since 1999 until 2003. At the book, the journalist Diego Casagrande interviews 11 journalist that talk about their own experiences.

The subjects that increased the rage of PT´s government was private property, ilegal games, Farc and the freedom of press. The strategy was process all journalists that talked bad about the party or the government. Also, they tried to cut advertises from the government at the media companies that do not terminate journalists that criticizes the government. They used the own party or the government to do that. The argument was the opinion of the journalists. However, the brazilian constitution keeps the right of the journalists to have opinion.

The journalist José Barrionuevo, who worked for the biggest newspaper of the state, Zero Hora, told in the book never seen it before in his all carreer. “I fought with PT against the military dictatorship. Now, they are against me”, said Barrionuevo. He also told about an invasion and the shame. “PT stimulated an invasion to the newspaper and they put me in shame. I couldn´t go to the places like downtown. I made the question: PT can do everything? It can´t!”

Políbio Braga, who has a website, said the PT`s rage against journalists started before Dutra´s government. “When PT was in the mayor of Porto Alegre they was already fighting with me.” He also told that was called from different courts to answers about his opinions about the government. Some journalists, including Braga, was forbidden to get in the government´s house in this age.

Diego Casagrande stills on watch dog journalism

Casagrande´s book is available in the website www.vanguardadoatraso.com.br for free just in portuguese. He also has a news website, which the address is www.diegocasagrande.com.br

Later, in the whole country

Later, when president Lula was trying to get reelected, the columnist of Veja Diogo Mainardi got 300 processes against him in just one year (2006). The processes came from state companies, the federal governent, PT and journalists. Mainardi dennounced that government was paying for journalists to talk in its favor and many cases about corruption. He talked openly agains the Lula´s second term.

Diogo Mainardi has the most read column of Brazil

The commentator Arnaldo Jabor suffered with a similar problem. He criticized the president of the house of representatives, Arlindo Chinaglia (PT). “The House of Representatives is spending a lot of money with gas. Scoundrel! Chinaglia has to do something”, said Jabor, in a radio show. With that, Chinaglia used the house of representatives to process Jabor. After, in an event, the parlamentarian tried to stimulate all the representatives to process Jabor. “Nobody can talk that bad about us. He has to answer for the justice in all states”, said Chinaglia.

So, it is always the same strategy. PT tries to censur braking journalists and media groups up.

Brazilian blogger is censored by the justice

São Leopoldo, August 5th, 2008

by Luís Henrique Vieira

The brazilian blogger and journalist Áuber de Almeida got his page censored by the justice. He called in his blog, wich is named “Por Outro Lado“(On the other side), the ex-mayor of Alvorada Stela Farias as an “incompetent person” this month. Almeida was talking about the crime made by Stela, from PT (Workers Party), that she is answering in the courts. The crime of the politician is called “improbidade administrativa” in Brazil. This kind of crime is spefic about the thief of public money. In the case of Stela, she is suspect to rob about 2 million dollars.

Stela Farias in a speech

The word that the blogger is forbidden to use is “incompetent”. It sounds an euphemism for who is suspect to get public money. This blog expresses solidarity about that. An election cannot be called democratic without freedom of expression and allowing corruption. The brazilian constitution keeps the right to say whatever. Journalists can have opinion.

Alvorada is one of the poorest cities of the metropolitan region of Porto Alegre ( capital and biggest city of Rio Grande do Sul, state of Brazil). Stela Farias is nowadays a representative of the state of Rio Grande do Sul and is running again for mayor of Alvorada.

The PT (Brazilian Workers Party) is known by many journalists as the enemy of freedom of press. In the next post, we will amplify this subject.

Farc: The forbidden subject in brazilian media

Porto Alegre, August 1st, 2008

by Luís Henrique Vieira

Brazilian government abandonned censorship since the end of the military dictatorship in 1985. However, some subjects seem not allowed in brazilians pressrooms. For years, the philopher Olavo de Carvalho has  warned about the relationship between Farc, the colombian narcoterrorist group, and the PT (Workers Party), the party of president of the country, Lula da Silva. He told about that before the election of Lula in 2002 in his columns at big brazilian newspapers such as Folha de São Paulo, Estado de São Paulo, O Globo (from Rio de Janeiro) and Zero Hora (from Porto Alegre). What is weird is that Carvalho got terminated from all these papers in the middle of Lula´s government and the subject wasn´t talked in reports at the papers.

What Carvalho told and still talking about is that president Lula is the biggest leader of the South American left, since he created, with Fidel Castro, an event called Foro de São Paulo in 1991. A lot of far leftist groups participate of this event like Farc and terrorist groups from Chile. The dictator from Venezuela, Hugo Chávez, is a member of Foro de São Paulo too.

The government party (PT) usually goes to the courts against the journalists who are against them or talk about the corruption of the party (these cases will be told in this blog). With Carvalho, it was different. The party just tried to pressure the media companies to terminate him and they got it in 2005, during the schandal called mensalão (money from corruption paid for congressman to be favor of the government) in 2005.

After some years, Lula was reelected, and it was forgotten. Although, the Colombian government had access to Raúl Reyes´ computer. The data was noticed in April in some foreign newspapers and it became an international schandal. The brazilian media just noticed that after Cambio (Colombian Magazine) made a big news report with all the brazilian politics involved in that schandal. All the scenario was made to protect Lula´s image.