Arquivo para a ‘Jornalismo’ Categoria
Finitude, wars and passion
07
Apr
We are not referring here to emotional passion, but to that which suffering causes and which, according to religious sentiment (recalling Jesus’ passion), is also a time of many tragic changes and the reaffirmation of a saving breath.
When man forgets his finitude, he imagines himself to be the master of his future and doesn’t look elsewhere.
Humanity seems to be experiencing this, now on the economic side, with an economy that is already fragile due to wars, the Trump administration’s tariffs on imports from that country are causing strong instability in international trade, with repercussions on the financial exchange rate and stock markets.
Only a few countries with little economic significance have been left out of this tariff, the Seychelles, Burkina Faso and some Pacific islands. Even the Argentine government, which rushed to reach an agreement (Milei personally went to the US), came back empty-handed, the excuse being the delay of the helicopter carrying Trump, but shortly afterwards he said that he was demanding a withdrawal from China, which has strong investments there since the previous government.
The tariffs are reminiscent of the Smoot-Hawley Tariff Act of 1930, passed by a margin of 20 votes in the US Senate, which provoked a global world war and deepened the Great Depression, according to trade experts.
Not only because of these tariffs, as the Trump administration’s unpopularity grows, there were several demonstrations this weekend in the US, even traditional partners neighboring Mexico and Canada are in this war, already with retaliatory measures against US imports.
The Asian stock markets have already opened with a “sharp drop” this Monday, according to several news channels, and this should lead to a worsening of the wars, in addition to the economic problems, and an even stronger wave of authoritarian governments, measures to restrict freedom, etc.
It’s a climate of passion, not divine, but human. The process of civilization could enter a more accelerated phase than the military wars in an economic and humanitarian crisis, which is already serious almost everywhere in the world.
Brazil at the time, during the beginning of the Vargas government (which after being elected would become a dictatorship) burned tons of coffee in the ports, then a national wealth, to hold down prices and this ended the great coffee cycle in Brazil and especially in the state of São Paulo, a major producer.
Two economic analysts André Valério and Rafaela Vitória said that “the scenario, which was already complex, has become considerably more uncertain”, also referring to production rates in Brazil, which fell slightly in February/2025, Rafaela pointed out in X (see in graphics).
Bad agreements and threats
31
Mar
On the same day (March 18) as the partial truce
agreement (only the attack on Ukrainian energy stations and ships in Russia’s Black Sea), Ukraine claimed to have been attacked at 8 energy stations.
Russia wants the Russian state bank to be reconnected to the international payment system, but Europe rejects this position, saying that this will only happen when Russia withdraws all troops from Ukraine.
One thing is clear about Putin’s personality: he is a clue, but he doesn’t bluff. When he made the peace agreement on Crimea, curiously enough on March 18, 2014, in Putin’s view he is doing the same as NATO, advancing on enemy terrain and demarcating positions.
Europe fears further advances on NATO countries, judging by history Poland could be the next step, there Hitler advanced in WWII and the regime established by the Soviet state in the post-war period was also cruel to the Polish people, remember the revolts of the Solidarity Union in Gdansk, already in the final period of General Jaruzelski’s regime.
Truce agreements have little support because there are no “neutral” forces to guarantee them.
The Middle East is also living under bad agreements: after the Hamas-Israel agreement, there has been little or no progress towards a broader truce, the recognition of Palestinian territory has not moved forward, Israel and the US want to maintain control of the region under the threat of new attacks on Israel.
Iran is a character in the shadows of this war, because it finances and supports extremist groups. Trump’s threat to bomb Tehran was met with the response that the US will receive a “reciprocal blow”, what Trump wants is a new nuclear agreement to limit Iran’s nuclear weapons, it is worth remembering that they are partners with Russia, which already has a vast nuclear arsenal.
The world is in the shadow of an insane war, and those who don’t think about this insanity don’t know the horrors and consequences of a war today.
The figure above is a sculpture made by Marie Uchytilová in Lydice, Czech Republic, in memory of a group of 82 children asphyxiated with gas in the Chelmno extermination camp in the summer of 1942.
The horrors of war
24
Mar
The elections in Germany, in which the
debates were polarized in a way never thought possible in that country after the horrors of World War II, made many analysts think that we are already a little distant from that sad moment in the history of civilization and perhaps we no longer know how to understand the horrors of war, no matter the narrative, every war is always some kind of looting, some level of genocide and what dies first is the truth.
Despite attempts and proposals, the conflict in Eastern Europe seems to be escalating to ever more dangerous limits and entanglements of antagonistic forces. The attempt at a ceasefire has not only failed, but has also shown interests that differ from those that are declared.
The ceasefire in the Middle East, too, after a first cycle when it looked like it might enter a second phase, has once again escalated, with the Israeli army claiming last Tuesday (18/03) to be carrying out “extensive attacks” and the Hamas-run Gaza health ministry saying that 400 Palestinians were injured in the attacks.
In Eastern Europe, even though the US proposals for an initial ceasefire have been accepted, both the Russian army has carried out drone attacks on Kiev and Ukraine’s energy sources, and Ukraine has launched attacks on a nuclear weapons base in the Engels region (Saratov Oblast), as well as attacks on the capital Moscow, making any ceasefire impossible at the moment.
According to an analysis by CNN on Saturday, May 22, what Russia wants is much, much bigger than the end of Ukraine as an independent state, it wants NATO to return to the size it was in the Soviet period, countries that are now part of NATO were once in the Soviet-Russian sphere.
There is no strong view that peace is better than war, that sitting down at the table and having a diplomatic debate prevents the deaths of thousands of innocent civilians and stops fueling a global crisis that, for obvious reasons, affects life, economic balance and fraternal spirit.
There is still a long way to go in the direction of peace, to disarm the spirit not only in the countries at war, but among those who in the shadows feed a genocidal spirit of hatred and conflict, forgiveness and concord need to come from every person who wants a peaceful world.
Lasting peace or truce
17
Mar
No peace that subjugates a nation will be
lasting, oppression is always a situation of indignity for a people, but diplomatic negotiation is better than any war, this seems to be a principle for Ukraine today because of the lives lost (photo).
Meanwhile, US Secretary of State Marco Rubio thinks along these lines: “to end this conflict in a lasting and sustainable way” and Putin too has stated a very similar view, since he has the upper hand and has conquered several Ukrainian territories by war and is recovering the Russian region of Kursk.
Peace cannot be the “pax romana”, as we have already analyzed in previous posts, the one that the Roman Empire considered when it dominated a territory, we have also analyzed the financial interests here, Ukraine is rich in rare earths and is also a major grain producer.
Russia stands to gain from the lifting of its financial blockade and the US will want Ukraine’s land, but Europe remains wary of future advances by Russia and NATO.
In the Middle East, Syria seems to be moving towards a constitutional path, a five-year plan proposed by Syria’s interim president Ahmed al Sharaa, and the Islamic State group has also lost its strength completely.
In the south of the Arabian Peninsula, meanwhile, the US is fighting against the Houthis, who are attacking American ships in the Persian Gulf. There too, it is necessary to avoid an escalation that is growing.
Iran denies this, but it is virtually certain from the Shiite position that there is some support for the group in Yemen.
The newspapers report that the Israeli cabinet is preparing to resume negotiations with Hamas, since the first phase ended on March 2. Hamas’ demand is also for a lasting peace and to overcome this current phase surrounded by mistrust.
There, too, we problematize the “pax romana”: without establishing a free territory for the Palestinian people, any agreement will only be a truce, and the war can be resumed at any moment if there is conflict or provocation on either side.
The scenario, although very delicate, is optimistic, diplomatic means are working and international political forces have come out of their immobility, hope is high.
Positive signs in the Middle East and negative in Eastern Europe
10
Mar
After the first phase of the negotiations, Hamas
spokesman Abdel-Latif Al-Qanoua said on Saturday (08/03) that he sees positive signs in the negotiations for a second phase of the ceasefire with Israel, and 50 former hostages ask Netanyahu to implement a broad agreement on the conflict, Israel and Hamas disagree on the future of the conflict.
European countries, increasingly independent of American opinions, support the plan to rebuild the Gaza Strip. Unfortunately, last night Hamas militants came under heavy Israeli bombardment.
In Eastern Europe, the situation is becoming more and more dramatic, both on the battlefield where Ukraine is threatening to lose more territory. Putin wants to reach the port city of Odessa, which will make the war on the Black Sea more violent, and also to surround Ukrainian troops in their invaded territory in the Kursk region.
Ukraine has suffered huge bombardments, its energy infrastructure is increasingly compromised, Trump has withdrawn his support and now Ukraine no longer has the satellite images that allowed it to monitor the movements of Russian troops.
Although both sides of the conflict talk about ceasefires, the battlefield, the involvement of Europe, in practice, the ferocity of each side only grows and the militarization of Europe frightens any serious analyst, there is a bleak future in this conflict.
In a meeting between Ambassador Linda Thomas-Greenfield, the US representative to the United Nations (UN), and Brazilian Foreign Minister Mauro Vieira, held in Brasilia at the beginning of the month, Linda said that any solution in Eastern Europe must consider support for Ukraine, and this shows America’s good intentions.
The problem is that Russia rejects any concession of territory while Ukraine wants all of its territory back, as we’ve analyzed before there are interests in the region’s rare earth reserves, and this leads to an impasse.
The agreement on the transportation of grain, which passes through the Turkish-controlled Bosporus Strait, met on Friday (07/03) with no conclusions yet, but it is valid until May.
The statement by President Makron of France, who said that Russia was a “revisionist imperialist” referring to the Soviet period, was answered by Putin, who said that France had forgotten what “happened to Napoleon” who lost the war on Russian soil.
The world climate continues to be tense, but there are still efforts to come up with a proposal that will bring the opposing sides to a diplomatic negotiating table.
Pax Romana and conflicts
03
Mar
President Zelensky’s Friday meeting (02/28) with Trump
and his vice-president in the “oval office” of the White House was a reaffirmation of Trump’s policy of Pax Romana, where the weakest must yield to the strongest, and also asked for Zelensky’s gratitude to the US, not unlike the policy for the Middle East, the control of the Palestinians by Israel and the US.
Zelensky reacted by taking part in the summit in London on Sunday (02/03), reaffirming Europe’s position of support for Zelensky, Prime Minister Keir Starmer of Great Britain stating that it was “a unique moment in a generation for the security of Europe” which fears further advances by Putin on the continent, all countries are militarizing.
The Roman Pax was the mere surrender of its adversaries by force, this is the tactic of both imperialism and colonizations, which are still happening in the contemporary world. After the meeting, Zelensky also met with Giorgia Meloni, Italy’s premier, who said she wanted to build a bridge between Italy and the US and a future conference with the US.
The idea of a new ceasefire agreement in the Middle East (which ended on the 1st) now involves the American proposal for control of the Gaza Strip and Israel has suspended humanitarian.
At the beginning of last week, Turkey’s stance in support of Ukraine came as a surprise, with President Recep Erdogan stating that Ukraine should take part in the negotiations and that Turkey controls the passage of ships through the Bosphorus Strait (photo), through which Russian ships pass on their way to the Black Sea, and that Turkey is also important for peace in the Middle East, where it can be a key player, and that the country is a member of NATO.
The Turkish autocrat also said that he is in favor of the full return of Ukrainian territory: “The return of Crimea to Ukraine is a requirement of international law,” a very difficult point.
The situation is fragile in Ukraine, but Russia needs to demonstrate a real interest in the desire for peace, just as it distrusts NATO, European countries fear a future advance on Europe, already a conflict area like Transnistria in Moldova.
Every war involves some kind of plunder, and the interest is in Ukraine’s rare lands.
Trump has also expressed imperialist interests in Greenland and even territories in Mexico and Canada. Remember that a large part of New Mexico and nearby states once belonged to Mexico (Texas, California and parts of neighboring states). The Guadalupe-Hidalgo agreement of 1848 established the new American border, after several wars following the annexation of Texas in 1821.
It is necessary to establish the rights of peoples and many international treaties already speak of respect for borders and respect for national laws, interferences are always conflictual, we must also remember the stateless peoples (the Kurds and the Palestinians, but there are others).
A new world of solidarity requires a new vision of borders, where emigration is not a crime and each people can live in its own territory and exploit it commercially without wars.
Mitigated war and distant peace
10
Feb
Both the Gaza Strip and Ukraine are being
mitigated, the two main wars and the most threatening of a total war. The expectation of peace from the Trump administration has not materialized, what he wants is a Roman pax, that is, the rule of the vanquished.
The current US government is negotiating rare earths with Ukraine in exchange for equipment. These earths are expensive and are used both in camera lenses and telescopes, for greater visual precision, and in oil refining, in a process called cracking.
Ukraine’s president, Volodymyr Zelensky, said on Friday (February 7) that he was willing to make this deal in exchange for support for the war. The region near the Dnipro River is rich in this ore, and reveals the true interests of the war, in addition to Ukraine’s strong grain production.
In the Gaza Strip there was another prisoner exchange, on Saturday (February 9) three people kidnapped by Hamas were exchanged for 183 Palestinian prisoners. The return of the Israelis didn’t end the drama, because when they arrived they discovered that their relatives had been killed in the October 7 attack that started the conflict.
Trump’s plan for Israel, however, is the domination of the Gaza Strip region, where the Palestinians consider their territory, was hailed by Netanyahu as “revolutionary”, while for the Palestinians it means the continuation of the conflict and the constant threat within their borders.
On Sunday (02/09) the complete withdrawal of Israeli troops was announced the complete withdrawal of Israeli troops from the so-called Netzarim corridor, which divided the Gaza Strip in two, allowing displacement from south to north (photo).
Trump is pursuing a policy of taxation, a veritable trade war, saying he will announce tariffs of 25% on aluminum and steel imported by the country today, the decision affects Brazil, the Ministry of Development, Industry, Trade and Services (MDIC) said it will not comment.
The US withdrawal from the WHO (World Health Organization) was also announced, followed by Argentina. Trump accuses the Organization of diverting funds to other purposes and using these funds politically, contrary to American interests.
Trade with China and Russia has also been shaken. Yesterday, the Baltic countries of Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania completed the migration of Russia’s electricity grid to the European Union system, ending Soviet-era ties and seeking greater security for the countries.
The scenario is one of war mitigation and could escalate at any moment, but the hope of building a sustainable peace has not been abandoned, and forces in the Arab world and Europe are still seeking diplomatic solutions to these brutal wars.
Economic interests are at stake, above political ones. Tempers are out of control not only in the countries at war, but everywhere there is polarization.
The return to serenity, the awareness that in war everyone loses, and those who lose the most.
Urgent: the Islamist group accused Israel of violating the ceasefire by attacking civilians trying to return to the north of the Gaza Strip and Israel put its forces on high alert.
Nationalism, fear and war
04
Feb
It’s not the first time in history that fear has
taken hold of society, various mental illnesses such as depression and panic disorder have appeared, and societies seem to be closing in on each other, much to everyone’s surprise. Germany, always so far ahead, has seen the advance of the AfD (Alternative for Germany), which is the return of the ultra-right.
The problem of immigration in Germany has now come to the fore, under the protest slogan “we are the cordon sanitaire”, when it happened an anti-immigration motion and a narrow vote on the Migration Flow Act, criticized the candidate for German Federal Chancellor, Friedrich Merz, of the Christian Democratic Union (CDU), led to demonstrations across the country.
The candidate is the front-runner to take over the German government in the February 23 election, although he is conservative and distances himself from the AfD’s ultra-conservative pretensions.
The significance of these movements, laws and the growth of increasingly conservative positions is a reaction to the sense of the crumbling of the civilizational roots of the various societies and a growing movement of moral and political deterioration of social institutions.
This is not a comfort zone, but a “safety zone” in the face of the ever-present threat of an unprecedented civilizational crisis, and without an element of peace and hope that can mitigate these processes of unrestrained changes in customs.
Fear is when the moral reserves of hope and faith in the future shrink, both on a personal and social level. Young people who prefer to shut themselves away and stay “hidden” at home are a reflection of this “safety zone”, while those who go out abandon any limits.
In addition to combating extremism, the forces of peace must also sow peace and hope and reduce frontal attacks on extremism, which only strengthen it.
Not being afraid is also an important ingredient in these “battles”, showing serenity and calmness in the face of adverse situations helps to minimize the effects of intimidation and harassment that characterize extremist forces, they feed on fear and violence.
The true nuclei of hope are inclusive, they are not motivated by provocations or narratives that defend their positions as the only true ones, it is not about relativism, but about enlightenment and deactivating the fear that characterizes the most closed societies.
Only peace between peoples can guarantee the hope of a healthier and more fraternal world for all.
A fragile peace
27
Jan
Despite the ceasefire, Israel and Hamas
continue to exchange accusations of violating the agreement. Meanwhile, Hamas freed four female Israeli soldiers who were being held hostage (according to the Israeli government there will be 6) on Saturday 25/01, while Israel freed 200 Palestinians, 120 of whom, according to the Israeli press, are terrorists who have beheaded civilians or carried out other atrocities.
Israel has also been withdrawing part of its army from northern Gaza, but Hamas’ accusations are still preventing Palestinians from returning to the region (photo).
Ukraine is in a similar situation, where Russian soldiers are shooting at civilians who are trying to return to their homes, thus Russia is extending its occupation in eastern Ukraine, territories close to Donesk that Russia controls and claims ownership of.
Russia, according to Putin’s statement, sees the end of the war as favorable, but the situation is fragile because Russia has recruited another 150,000 soldiers, surpassing the mark of 1 million active soldiers, which is seen as disproportionate to the war in Ukraine, which has difficulties recruiting new soldiers and has an army of around 600,000.
While Trump’s new US government is talking about an immediate end to the war in Ukraine, suspicions are growing in Europe that Russia is creating conflicts in other regions of NATO, which has no more than 90,000 active military personnel, but each country has its own national army and military budgets are increasing in almost all of Europe.
In the Second World War, it should be remembered that the US only entered the war after the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor (September 7, 1941), 2 years after the start of the war (September 1 and 2, 1939) when Germany invaded Poland.
The deportation of illegal immigrants in the US, Trump’s campaign promise, hit a new snag when Colombia rejected the extradition of their compatriots, and generated an immediate diplomatic conflict between the two countries, with economic barriers set up by the US, which were removed in the early hours of this morning (27/01) after acceptance by the deportees.
Venezuela’s borders also continue to be militarized, including with Brazil, which is not only bad for peace, but also for democracy, because the military power is growing.
The hope for peace cannot be naïve and deny the current war panorama. We need to disarm and recover the civil rights that are under threat in every corner of the planet.
Difficulties and possible peace
20
Jan
On Sunday morning, Israel again bombed
the north of the Gaza Strip, killing 8 people, due to the delay in handing over the list of hostages, Hamas admitted the delay “for technical reasons” but ratified the agreement, and issued the note: “As part of the prisoner exchange agreement, we decided to release today: Romi Gonen, 24, Emily Damari, 28, and Doron Shtanbar Khair, 31,” said Abu Obeida, Hamas spokesman.
The three hostages released will be accompanied by IDF (army) and ISA (security) forces on their return to Israeli territory, where they will undergo an initial medical evaluation.” The hostages were held for 471 days.
The hostages were handed over to the Red Cross (photo) and sent to Israel. There are still two more stages before the agreement is fulfilled, according to several experts (such as Rubens de Siqueira Duarte, a professor in the Postgraduate Program in Military Sciences at the Army’s Command and Staff School in Brazil) it is an important step, but peace is still uncertain.
The stages are important because the path of (historical) mistrust must be overcome carefully and with goodwill on both sides, and we are now waiting for the prisoners who are Hamas militants to be released.
On the other dangerous front in Eastern Europe, Trump’s inauguration today, and the war weariness that is already present on both sides, could hasten a ceasefire, where the forces involved may prove more resistant, because they involve territorial issues that are difficult to negotiate (Russia already dominates 30% of Ukrainian territory, which only has the Kursk region taken from the Russians).
It is believed that Trump should stop supporting Ukraine and then it would be forced, in his nationalist logic that they should get involved in “America first” issues, but threats to Greenland and Canada are unacceptable for world peace.
Any agreement must also, as in the Hamas/Israel case, have bilateral concessions.
Peace is desirable, the ceasefire is a step, but to be lasting it must have fundamental aspects of peoples’ rights and humanitarian conditions respected.
