Bill Bishop, author of the Sinocism newsletter that tracks China-related news, uses Friday mornings to run an open thread in which he poses a few initial thoughts/questions and lets his subscribers discuss those topics or anything else in the comments. Being that he has tens of thousands more subscribers than I do, it seems like something I should try.
I’ll be writing next Tuesday about the Lozoya corruption scandal in Mexico that seems to be growing by the day. The breaking news this morning is the video that shows AMLO’s brother taking a bribe. AMLO has been attacked in many ways during his political career, but allegations of corruption close to him have rarely had an impact. Will that change now?
I’ve been fairly dismissive of recent polls showing an approval rise for Brazil’s president. Diego Fonseca, GZero, and Brian Winter, among others, have been tackling similar public opinion questions in recent articles. Is Bolsonaro popular? Is there anything he can (and would) do to change his image to sustain majority support?
Comments are open for everyone. Feel free to talk about these questions or anything else.
It's a risky strategy. Presidents can sometimes pick their successors, but they don't control them. That's a lesson both Uribe and Correa learned after leaving office. Being VP does help tie political fortunes together a bit tighter.
I think CFK and Correa will end up being exceptions rather than a trend.
Bolsonaro, like Trump, has tried to ride the jaguar of anti-mask, anti-Semitic, "gender ideology" conspiracism. But it's just a matter of time before conspiracy nuts turn on any powerful person. Trump is keeping ahead of it with this Q church stuff that makes him a messiah. How can Bolsonaro keep ahead of the wacko horde?
That's a tough question, but my general sense is that the "true believers" of the conspiracies are going to stick around until the end (or at least until the men leave power). That's unfortunately because both Trump and Bolsonaro play to those conspiracists and feed them rather than push back against them. Those groups love the high-level attention and aren't going to turn on it.
Do you reckon the Fernández-CFK model will catch on? Correa seems to be trying it in Ecuador. Maybe Keiko Fujimori gives it a shot in Peru?
It's a risky strategy. Presidents can sometimes pick their successors, but they don't control them. That's a lesson both Uribe and Correa learned after leaving office. Being VP does help tie political fortunes together a bit tighter.
I think CFK and Correa will end up being exceptions rather than a trend.
Bolsonaro, like Trump, has tried to ride the jaguar of anti-mask, anti-Semitic, "gender ideology" conspiracism. But it's just a matter of time before conspiracy nuts turn on any powerful person. Trump is keeping ahead of it with this Q church stuff that makes him a messiah. How can Bolsonaro keep ahead of the wacko horde?
That's a tough question, but my general sense is that the "true believers" of the conspiracies are going to stick around until the end (or at least until the men leave power). That's unfortunately because both Trump and Bolsonaro play to those conspiracists and feed them rather than push back against them. Those groups love the high-level attention and aren't going to turn on it.