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Brazil’s top court outlaws corporate contributions to political campaigns

VICE News

SÃO PAULO — Five years ago, the United States Supreme Court delivered a decision in the case of Citizens United v. Federal Election Commission that allowed corporations to devote virtually unlimited funds to political campaigns, provided that they were spent independently of candidates and political parties.

On Thursday, a ruling by Brazil’s Supreme Federal Court did the exact opposite, prohibiting businesses from financing campaigns in a move that has been hailed as crucial to the fight to rid Brazilian politics of rampant corruption.

Although touted by good governance advocates as vital to the fight against graft and malfeasance, others believe the development in Brazil will simply force campaign cash under the table.

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Op-ed: Rousseff needs to level with Brazil

Al Jazeera America

SÃO PAULO — On Aug. 16, hundreds of thousands of protesters across Brazil took to the streets demanding President Dilma Rousseff’s ouster over an economy in recession and a corruption scandal at the state-run oil firm Petrobras.

Police estimated at least 879,000 people joined the nationwide demonstrations. Rousseff, who was re-elected to a second term by a whisker 10 months ago, has seen her approval rating dip over the past few months. There is now little confidence in her ability to govern effectively and get Brazil’s economy back into the black.

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Major protests against President Rousseff sweep Brazil

VICE News

SÃO PAULO — Over the past year, Brazil’s President Dilma Rousseff has weathered waves of criticism over government fraud, financial mismanagement, and bloated public spending on infrastructure projects for mega sporting events like last year’s World Cup — and the outlook hasn’t improved since her narrow re-election last October.

A sagging economy and the biggest corruption scandal to ever hit the country have pummeled Rousseff’s popularity to its all-time lowest level, according a Datafolha poll released on Wednesday, with 62 percent of those surveyed describing their assessment of the president as “bad” or “terrible.” Only 13 percent thought highly of her. Read Full Article

Rousseff first-round win ‘now possible’ – latest poll

Anadolu Agency

SÃO PAULO — Brazil’s incumbent president Dilma Rousseff could now be on course for a first-round win in next week’s crunch presidential elections, experts said on Friday after a major poll was published.

According to the latest Datafolha election poll ahead of the first-round vote on 5 October, Rousseff has very nearly doubled her first-round lead to 13 points and pulled ahead of her main rival in a runoff scenario.

The Datafolha poll showed 40 percent would vote for Rousseff, presidential candidate for the Workers’ Party, whereas support for Brazilian Socialist Party candidate Marina Silva had dropped to 27 percent.

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Brazil elections take shape as final parties register

Anadolu Agency

SÃO PAULO – With just over three months to go to general elections, four final political parties are holding conferences across Brazil on Monday to announce their preferred presidential candidates and official party alliances.

According to Brazilian election laws, parties must officially register their intention to participate in this year’s general elections between 10 and 30 June.

The first round of elections will take place on 5 October and 141.8 million people are eligible to vote.

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Brazil’s Rousseff slips further in election poll

Anadolu Agency

SÃO PAULO – The number of people set to vote for Brazilian President Dilma Rousseff at this year’s general elections has slipped to a 2014 low, according to a poll of voters’ intentions published on Friday.

Only 34% of Brazilians questioned said they would vote for a second term in office for Rousseff, the latest survey by media polling institute Datafolha of 4,337 people across Brazil revealed – down from 37% in early May, and 44% in February.

However, Rousseff’s closest rival presidential hopefuls, Aécio Neves and Eduardo Campos, also both registered a drop in support, unlike in May, when both made gains.

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Joaquim Barbosa, Brazil’s first black Chief Justice, to retire

Anadolu Agency

SÃO PAULO (AA) – The President of Brazil’s Supreme Court, Joaquim Barbosa, the first black person to hold the position, is to retire in June, it was announced on Thursday.

Nominated to join Brazil’s highest court by former Brazilian president Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva in 2003, Barbosa, 59, rose up the ranks to head the court as Chief Justice in November 2012.

He is one of Brazil’s most popular and influential public figures, and was voted in the top 100 influential men in the world by Time Magazine in 2013.

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