Tag Archives: authoritarians

From the editorial board of the Washington Post: Backed by GOP supermajorities in both chambers, Mr. DeSantis is waging frontal assaults on press freedom, reproductive freedom, free enterprise and academic freedom. Meanwhile, in the name of protecting gun rights, he has scaled back prudent safety rules. And now he’s poised to target undocumented immigrants, including “dreamers,” with what will be …

Bloomberg News reports: Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban waded deeper into US politics with a message of support for former President Donald Trump before his arraignment, underscoring his pro-Republican leanings and his chilly relations with the Biden administration. The message was a highly unusual intervention from a head of government in US domestic affairs, especially from a European Union and …

Reuters reports: Brazil’s far-right former President Jair Bolsonaro returned from three months in the United States on Thursday and was welcomed back by hundreds of chanting supporters at the Brasilia airport before heading straight into meetings with his political party. The turnout was considerably smaller than expected by police, and a minister in leftist President Luiz Inacio Lula’s cabinet called …

Click Orlando reports: As lawmakers in Tallahassee consider Gov. Ron DeSantis’ budget proposal this session, they will be also be deciding whether to approve a steep funding increase establishing Florida’s own branch of the military. The state guard was dismantled at the end of World War II. “The Florida State Guard will be comprised of Floridians, and it will be …

“I was afraid for my own well-being. I thought I could wind up in Guantanamo Bay. I think I still could. He was ranting about me all last week again. He’s obsessed sometimes. I don’t know. “He went on a tear for about eight months when he was president, every time he’d have a rally. I have a list three …

Reuters reports: With its modest selection of wooden chopping boards, beer glasses and coffee cups, the newly launched Bolsonaro Store website offers fans of the pugnacious former president the opportunity to invest in his political future and take home a Bolsonaro-branded commemorative keepsake. “Our dream is more alive than ever,” reads a wooden desk statuette that features Bolsonaro’s silhouette, available …

Politico reports: The DeSantis administration now requires events held at the Florida state Capitol to “align” with its mission, a recent change that is sparking concerns that the governor’s office is trying to censor events it doesn’t like. The Department of Management Services, the administration department that oversees state facilities, over the past few months has changed rules for groups …

“Look at what they are doing in the West. They distort historical facts, do not stop their attacks on Russian culture, on the Russian Orthodox Church. The West is perverting the family, the national identity. “They are making pedophilia the norm in their lives, and priests encourage same-sex marriage. Forgive them Father, they know not what they do. “The Anglican …

“Too much power has accumulated in DC and the result is a detached administrative state that rules over us and imposes its will on us. While there are a host of things that need to be done to re-constitutionalize government, parceling out federal agencies to other parts of the country could help reduce the negative effects of this accumulation of …

Rolling Stone reports: The former president, if re-elected, is still committed to expanding the use of the federal death penalty and bringing back banned methods of execution, the sources say. He has even, one of the sources recounts, mused about televising footage of executions, including showing condemned prisoners in the final moments of their lives. Specifically, Trump has talked about …

Bloomberg News reports: The eldest son of former Brazilian President Jair Bolsonaro said on Saturday that his father doesn’t have a deadline to return to Brazil and dismissed the idea of extradition by the US. Bolsonaro traveled to the US late last month, two days before the end of his term, skipping the inauguration of President Luiz Inácio Lula da …

Agence France-Presse reports: More than $21,000 splurged at a modest restaurant — $10,700 spent at a bakery in a single day. The public release Friday of ex-president Jair Bolsonaro’s official credit card expenditures is raising eyebrows in Brazil. More than 27.6 million reais — more than $5 million at today’s exchange rate — was charged to the far-right president’s card …

Bloomberg News reports: Brazilian prosecutors asked a court to seize the assets of former President Jair Bolsonaro as their investigation of the violent, anti-government riots that shook the country Sunday expands beyond the demonstrators themselves. Officials said the money should be used to help pay for the damage to public property when protesters stormed government buildings in Brasilia on Jan. …

Reuters reports: The United States has not received any official requests from the Brazilian government regarding the status of former President Jair Bolsonaro after his supporters stormed Brazil’s Congress, the White House said on Monday. National security adviser Jake Sullivan told reporters it appeared that democratic institutions in Brazil were holding. He said U.S. officials are not in direct contact …

Bloomberg News reports: Brazil’s ex-President Jair Bolsonaro has been admitted to a US hospital with abdominal pain a day after his supporters stormed Brasilia demanding military intervention against his loss in the October election, according to a former aide. The conservative leader, who traveled to the US on Dec. 30 to skip the inauguration of his successor Luiz Inacio Lula …

The Associated Press reports: Hungary’s nationalist Prime Minister Viktor Orban declared victory in Sunday’s national elections, claiming a mandate for a fourth term as a still incomplete vote count showed a strong lead for his right-wing party. In a 10-minute speech to Fidesz party officials and supporters at an election night event in Budapest, Orban addressed a crowd cheering “Viktor!” …

The Washington Post reports: Russians “will always be able to distinguish true patriots from scum and traitors and will simply spit them out like a gnat that accidentally flew into their mouths,” said Putin, using language reminiscent of the Stalinist era. “I am convinced that such a natural and necessary self-purification of society will only strengthen our country.” He said …

The Washington Post reports: Former president Donald Trump made an unusual endorsement in a foreign election on Monday, offering his “Complete support” for Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban, a right-wing populist leader accused of undermining the country’s democracy and moving toward autocracy during more than a decade in power. Six opposition parties have coalesced around Hungarian opposition leader Peter Marki-Zay …

Reuters reports: Hungary ordered shops on Friday to sell children’s books seen as promoting homosexuality in “closed wrapping”, stepping up restrictions that have set Prime Minister Viktor Orban on a collision course with rights groups and the European Union. The decree also included books seen as promoting gender change and containing “explicit” depictions of sexuality. It told shops to sell …

“Because the example of Hungary is so powerful — not just in Europe, but to the world, to the entire world, not simply the west — what you can do with a relatively small economy and not many people, if you’re just serious about keeping your nation from being destroyed. “Because the lessons are so obvious, and there’s such a …