To be clear I don't disagree, leftist support is indeed often just vides. But some people are definitely taking this chance to put their fangs out and show us how much more rhetorically virtuous they are for using the correct "term" on the "correct people".

The previous commenter is literaly trying to police the entire socialist base here (and presumably elsewhere if it were up to their standards) worldwide on how we should use "critical support" which I think is quite a lot more serious, you're trying to defend them, but your comment is quite outside of their actual goal here.

Yes we're materially disconnected I agree 100%, yet it doesn't seem to have any bearing on this for either side, I mean if they too acknowledge this why the panic over moral fake vibe support him? Either critical support matters at all in which case lets try to police it or it doesn't and who cares.

The longer the U.S. is doubting the effects of hardened metal darts hitting at MACH 10 and the Oreshnik missile's availability the greater the need for Russia to hit a real U.S. target.

Is this supposed to be a joke? Its hilariously funny for the majority American user base here to say this shit with a straight face. I guess you can say whatever nonsense when you think you got the mod team on your side lol.

You're assuming too much? What people are defending is critical support, ultimately it just means admitting yes he did a cool good and necessary thing and no we don't particularly care about him as an idol or figure.

The context here is entirely on social interactions between ourselves and likely libs and others, if someone IRL asks you about this guy, the issue is entirely on how you handle this answer. Are you willing to call yourself a communist and say yes you like what he did to your friend or someone politicaly engaged etc?

Of course we're not his legal team, we're not even a movement or org, that seems like a strawman.

Also the other user's argument is basically "this is a bad look" which is hilariously out of touch anyway.

Yeah that is fair, I guess my own optimism that as things get worse it will be harder and harder for liberals to try and push the normal common sense civility narrative and that seems to be their weakest point even though yes it is definitely dangerous.

lol I wonder if you ask them if the IDF is real then and what are they doing, dropping thousands of bombs on random empty tents and cardboard targets in the desert just for money?

However, are people willing to spend the next 25+ years with the knowledge that there's a 30% chance the US will just begin a nuclear exchange and end humanity? If not, then they better be emotionally prepared for more disappointments and missed opportunities from Russia, China, and Iran being too passive.

I am more than happy to once again make the argument. Socialists should not give Chinese nuclear fearmongering.

Why? Because nuclear fear mongering is as you say a mere hypothetical. The giant elephant in the room is climate change. If we don't fight now, we may as well not bother. The future is 100% certain. Billions will migrate and die, mass economic collapse and large uninhabitable regions.

Yes it turns out that 30 years timeframe is the only time frame we got left. Its over otherwise. CPC coping that they'll just communism their way out of this into the future is like billionaires and their New Zealand bunkers quite honestly.

Regardless, even if climate change is dismissed I believe it is the highest form of hypocrisy for Chinese interests to fearmonger about US nukes while they simultaneously were willing to work against the DPRK's nuclear program.

Once again Chinese state media gives you the most straight foward position of the party without fail. DPRK bad, DPRK against Chinese nuclear non-proliferation!

Please remember very carefully both China and Russia initially sanctioned DPRK after their successful test in 2016.

We had Chinese "experts" explaining to us how Kim’s nuke stand threatens Northeast Asia

"Kim's remarks showed that recent sanctions have been effective, but Pyongyang will not give up its nuclear capabilities completely due to the sanctions. But we should persuade the North to go back to the negotiating table, but not press too hard with military force,"Lü said.

I'm sorry, if damn China doesn't want they also demonstrated the absolute cowardice in stopping others directly and indirectly.

From the beginning our criticism of China is the lack of Chinese action serves as a barrier that diminishes global south initiative. Vijay Prashad said this in one of the first time I realized China's inaction can indeed be harmful*.

BTW absolutely funny literaly just this dual purpose ban/"excuse" against the US not even 12 months later but to protect Chinese national interests! China was pathetic here they can and will protect their interests, a Israel sanction/trade embargo was possible even if symbolic.

We don't need to give China the benefit of doubt anymore, they meet with US officials and shake hands, they literally already made deals in Saudi Arabia. They literaly told the Houthis to "think of the world trade consequences please!".

IMO socialists should absolutely not tolerate Chinese fearmongering about nukes given their absolute lack of desire to fight the US through any other means. Their absolute lack of solidarity for Palestine(beyond optics and "diplomacy") and most importantly their very own hypocritical stance towards the DPRK nuclear program.

I'm not sure what the point of your comment since you praise DPRK's courgage but also repeat Chinese nuclear fear mongering so please excuse me for that. Either way IMO as I said socialists need to move away completely from Chinese excuses.

UHC's profits were 17B in 2021 and 21B in 2022. Brian Thompson was getting a salary of only 10M per year from 2021-24. This seems like a pretty low profit:CEO wage ratio, but more analysis is necessary

I wont bother checking right now but you can look at his SEC fillings for what he was doing with his shares if anything. Executives are mostly paid in shares and bonuses not just a salary. In fact this is exactly the point why sometimes social and economic inequality measurements can skew towards liberal apologia since salary very obviously doesn't equal wealth so capitalist societies can have lower wage inequality but higher wealth inequality where most of the money is made through financial instruments not wages.

CHAZ maybe.

To be quite honest, unless you give an example I can't answer.

But as for Brazil imagine the China situation a decade ago with all their air polution in Beijing yeah? One of the great challenges for China has always been dealing with enviromental issues, but their state control allowed them to handled it. As much as capitalists don't like it China, they have to abide by CPC environmental rules. Praise dengism when it works! And it did there.

This is vastly different from the current situation in the Amazon and Brazil. I'm sure you know of the Bolsonaro government horros so that is not even the point but rather the structural issue of Brazilian environmental issues that is very related to the much needed and much fought for land agrarian reform. Again here the difference between China and Brazil are obvious yeah? China solved this issue in the 20th century, Brazil did not.

Brazilian land is still vastly in control of hereditary capitalist groups and large families that date all the way back to colonial era.

I wont go too much in depth here but the context of land reform is key because most of the amazon deforestation, most of the land used for cattle and farming for exports, sometimes obtained illegaly and in direct armed confrontation with the federal government.

The best example of this is the very recent historicaly castastrophic forest fires. First I'll give you what the westerners are saying yeah?

The hypothesis that criminals are piggybacking on climate change needs more study, Lima said. But there is some evidence for it. One clue is that the conservation area that has suffered the most damage is Jamanxim National Forest. Dozens of landgrabbers have been illegally ranching cattle there, hoping their operations will be legalized.

It is near the city of Novo Progresso, a deforestation hotspot where Bolsonaro, who favors economic development over forest preservation, received 83% of the votes in his failed 2022 re-election bid.

Unlike wildfire in North America, where blazes sometimes reach treetops and expand from there, in the Amazon rainforest, fire spreads mostly through leaves on the ground, causing less harm. The deforestation control agency, known as INPE, tallies these areas as burn scars, not as deforestation.

That is why, despite the surge in fire, this year’s deforestation rate is still slowing under President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva and could end 2024 with a 60% reduction compared to Bolsonaro’s years. This shows how deforestation is only one metric — and one that does not provide a full picture for damage to the forest in a given year.

“In areas where the fire was very intense, the forest may completely collapse,” Claudio Almeida, a senior officer at INPE, told the AP. “Even regions where the fire was not as intense are now severely degraded and fragile. Another season of intense drought and fires could lead to the breakdown of the forest.”

So important points:

1- Deforestation metrics are not going to match forest fires,

2- There is evidence criminals are using the opportunity to cause more fires. Criminals, but for what purpose could they have to do this?

Now I'll give you the PCBR analysis "Agribusiness must be held responsible for the fires. " of it(google TL) I can't quote everything

However, accidental cases cannot hide the deliberate actions of fires to expand pasture and crop areas. One of the areas most affected by the fires and which contributed most to the production of toxic smoke in August was the Arc of Deforestation, an area that runs from the east and south of Pará to the west, passing through Mato Grosso, southern Amazonas, Rondônia and Acre.

Indigenous Lands (IL) invaded by mining are also being heavily attacked by arson. The Kayapó (PA), Munduruku (PA) and Sararé (MT) territories, which are currently the most affected by mining, suffered 1,111 fires between August 1st and 28th. This number is almost seven times higher than the 163 fires recorded in these territories in 2023. In these cases, the inaction of the Lula government in not having carried out the eviction of mining from the ILs is decisive. Furthermore, according to the Indimap platform , 3,469 points with flames were identified in ILs in Brazil in the week between August 19th and 26th alone.

In the case of sugarcane crops in the state of São Paulo, it is important to remember that the use of fire was predominant in the harvest until the 2008/2009 harvest . In the 2010/2011 harvest, 2.1 million hectares of sugarcane were burned in São Paulo. An area 26 times larger than the 80 thousand hectares burned in August 2024. There are a series of studies that have pointed to the worsening health of part of the population in the producing regions due to the burning of sugarcane.

Since sugarcane burning is nothing new, the swift actions proposed by the São Paulo government and the federal government in favor of sugar mill owners and plantation owners are primarily political and ideological in nature. They aim to place agribusiness as the victim of the fires, disguising its responsibility for climate change and for many of the deliberately set fires. The measure that has drawn the most attention is the so-called emergency measure , which prevents landowners from being fined or sanctioned by environmental agencies. It is a blank check to practice burning, since all one has to do is go to the municipal Agriculture House and declare themselves a victim.

In addition, the measures include transferring another portion of the public fund to agribusiness. Ruralist and Bolsonaro supporter Guilherme Piai, Secretary of Agriculture and Supply for the state of São Paulo, announced credit with 0% interest and a two-year grace period for landowners affected by the fires. Carlos Fávaro, Minister of Agriculture, said that the federal government is also studying proposals along the same lines.

They go further I recommend reading. So I'm sure most of this is obvious yeah, capitalist pigs go burr.

But here is the fundamental context. If China were to be making FTAs while simultaneously enacting pro-landowner/agribusiness law, giving them tax breaks and incentives while failing to protect their own national interests(i.e environmental protection), then they would be victims of imperialism at best and just another global south country government compromised by capitalists interests at worst. Obviously China already got a much tougher handle on their internal interests.

This is not the same for Brazil. When Brazil goes in the international stage and does nothing but yet another FTA with the imperialist powers for absolutely no gain but further exploitation, natural destruction and capital interests, then they're not resisting imperialism. We need to ask "but wait are they fighting at home then?"

THIS is where ultimate critique lies with Lula/PT government and legacy. The answer is sadly, no they're not fighting at home. Put aside the government's own neoliberal austerity push, in the environmental case here the government is unable and unwilling to fight the landowner class.

If you ask me to make an argument Lula/PT are "anti-imperialists" and all I got to show for is neoliberalism at home, compromising and subjecting to corporate and agricultural business interests while stepping on landmines trying to navigate US/EU vs BRICS? I got no argument then.

Why? Because Lula is out there signing a FTA that benefits agrobusiness, the same agrobusiness which the Lula government gives record tax breaks for. Agribusiness is champion of federal government tax benefits

Data on federal tax incentives for 2024 reveal the government's economic priorities, with emphasis on the agricultural and technology sectors, which are the biggest beneficiaries on the list. Agribusiness alone accounts for 18.7% of the tax waiver amount.

The total tax benefits amount to R$546 billion, with the overwhelming majority of those benefiting from them being members of the country's ruling classes, such as large landowners, Braskem, Globo, TAM, and Azul Linhas Aéreas. The funds from the 2024 tax breaks alone could finance the entire Bolsa Família program for three consecutive years, if collected.

More worrying, however, is the volume of benefits granted to pesticides used by large-scale landowners in rural production. Totaling R$10.7 billion, tax breaks on pesticides often benefit the acquisition and application of chemical products that are internationally condemned as harmful and polluting.

There is a long breakdown of each industry I wont quote but the conclusion

Federal tax incentives in 2024 demonstrate an inestimable value of public resources that are given on a silver platter to the country's ruling classes. A significant concentration of agribusiness in these revenues can be observed. In the context of the austerity discourse of the Lula-Alckmin government, in which the desired cut of R$50 billion in public services such as health and education is being hinted at, the tax breaks for the national bourgeoisie are even more scandalous, demonstrating that their privileges will remain not only intact, but will grow, while the working people will end up paying the bill for Minister Fernando Haddad's economic agenda.

Anti-imperialism isn't signing trade deals and then smashing the neoliberal boot at home. We may all be victims but these politicians are not fighters.

To be absolutely fair, nobody denies there was an improvement from Bolsonaro. Do not mistake this as Lula is as bad as Bolsonaro, it is bad in another way.

As some people are looking for a bigger picture I want to once again bring the real left wing struggle in Brazil right now. In general I suggest only mild/low expectations for BRICS in SA.

1- First as a reminder the analysis that Trump's election is a serious bad result for South America/Brazil still holds. Not only the USDBRL reached historic high $6,00 mark as a result of Haddad's plan. The market as expected wanted more and did not enjoy the smoke screen.

Yet on rather on another historical front the Mercosur-EU trade deal finaly happened after 25 years of negotiations. Yes almost before og BRICS was even a thing! Hilarious irony. Brazil seems to be hedging its bets, or at least accepting this geopolitical play from the EU side, I'd argue the BRICS Venezuela issue was the first sign of this hedge.

As Nakedcapitalism recently put it EU Nears Finish Line on Trade Deal With South American Bloc in an Effort to Deal Blow to China

On the South American side, there are strong reasons to believe that the deal will lead to the following:

More fires and deforestation in the Amazon. Escalation of invasion of indigenous territories, land-grabbing and violent attacks. A disruption of local food production. Increased use of dangerous pesticides.

Why Does the EU Ruling Class Want the Deal?

While agriculture products are the largest slice of the Mercosur exports to the EU (32.4 percent), mineral products are second at 29.6 percent. The South American countries have plenty of what the EU is looking for, including lithium, graphite, nickel, manganese, and rare earth elements. The EU is currently almost completely reliant on China for minerals needed for EV batteries, solar panels, wind energy, and green hydrogen — all part of the bloc’s flailing green transition.

Even if the EU is able to secure more critical minerals from Mercosur with this trade deal, who will do the processing? There’s still no clear answer. Von der Leyen likes to tout her tools like the bloc’s Net-Zero Industry Act (NZIA), which aims for the EU to process 40 percent of the strategic raw materials it uses by 2030. The NZIA allows projects to bypass many environmental and social impact reviews, but there’s no budget, and the policies do nothing to change Europe’s disadvantages, which include a lack of subsidies compared to the US and China and much higher energy costs thanks to their “de-risking” away from Russian energy.

Yet the “de-risking” — code for the EU’s eager role as a US proxy in the fight against Russia and China — continues.

Thus far, it’s mostly been a disaster on every level — strategically, economically, and environmentally.

My wholesome BRICS leader can't possibly be signing a relic of the 2000's Free Trade Agreement that only causes environmental damage and favors the landowner class that violently opposes him and the left no way!

Though the other BRICS leader can just happily smile away as these dangerous initiatives fail anyway. Is this what a win-win/mutually beneficial deal looks like?

2- I need to remind people Lula's government went from a mostly mixed to good first half to a terrible neoliberal boot on the working class second half.

The Maduro spout was not a coincidence. Lula wants to pander to many sectors including the religious fundamentalist evengelicals that demonize the Cuban/Venezuelan revolutions.

The current Haddad(Finance Minister) despite the smoke screen(some tax exemption for poor) the focus remains, cut one of the biggest Brazilian welfare programs the BPC i.e retirement and social welfare money for people who can't retire due to illness etc.

Right now we have Federal Council of Social Services (CFESS)(1) making a public announcement against it I quote below.

Among the main points, the PL imposes technological barriers to access and permanence of the benefit - such as biometric registration and registration updating, without investment to make it viable. Furthermore, it limits the real increase in the minimum wage and, consequently, the value of the BPC, putting at risk the income of the beneficiary to meet their basic needs. Another point of setback is the reduction of elderly people and people with disabilities to the category of “infra-citizens”, by changing the concept of “family” without legal, social and scientific support.

The bill also backslides in the defense of human rights and reveals its ableist nature by resuming the concept of “person with disabilities” as someone who is “incapable of independent living and working,” violating international treaties and disregarding the Brazilian Inclusion Law (LBI) itself.

The bill also jeopardizes the survival chances of families with multiple members living in poverty, as it revokes the rule that income from a BPC already granted and other social security benefits is not taken into account for the eligibility of another member for the BPC. The bill is racist, ableist, misogynistic, patriarchal, and ageist, and it undermines the Brazilian welfare state and could lead to hunger, putting the lives of the population at risk.

Therefore, we demand the withdrawal of Bill 4614/2024 from the Chamber of Deputies, we say no to fiscal adjustment, and we invite social workers to send emails and messages on the social networks of the deputies, showing that the Social Service repudiates this bill!

Among the left political opposition only mainly PSOL have managed to oppose this monstrous neoliberal attack. In his vote he says

Congressman Chico Alencar (PSOL-RJ) told Brasil de Fato that the PSOL bench will analyze the proposals sent by the government, but added that the party's parliamentarians will reject any type of favoritism towards the financial market, while workers foot the bill.
“Our overall position is against this package. We are not interested in calming the market; what we are interested in is starting to reduce social inequalities in Brazil and calming the tensions arising from these contradictions in society,” he said.

Yet this whole initiative has been the Lula's government own decision, the bill came from the government and not the opposition!

*Earlier this year Brazil already made a historical decision to increase tax on cheap(<USD$50) foreign imports, almost entirely from China e.g clothing, phone casings, every sort of cheap electronic etc. Basically Brazilians buy a lot of much cheaper clothing and stuff from China. Global south deindustrialization goes brrrrr!!!!

The local retail chain capitalists don't like this as they also only import from China and sell for a profit while Brazilians could just buy from Aliexpress for far cheaper. Yes another instance of inter-BRICS fighting where imperialist capitalists won.

3- The best for last, as a final warning don't listen to just Worker Party/PT Lula fans online.

Jones Manoel's Video because fuck twitter Here is Andre Esteves, Chairman of BTG Pactual, the biggest investment bank in Latin America, bragging about how the market managed to privatize several Brazilian utility companies and the left didn't do anything.

In the last three years, we privatized three of the six largest companies under state control. This year, Sabesp is the largest sanitation company in Brazil. Last year, Copel, which is the largest company, was the largest state-controlled energy company. The year before, it was privatized.

Privatizing Eletrobras, something that 10 years ago most of us here would have thought impossible to happen.* And to remember, Eletrobras was privatized 3 months before the election. We had the privilege of coordinating the three privatizations of Copel and Eletrobras. Because it is a huge privilege and a huge responsibility. For us at BTG, now three months before the election, we are privatizing the third largest state-owned company in Brazil.

And there was no text. No one showed up at the BTG headquarters with a cardboard sign saying I am against, right? Most of us here are from a generation that saw the privatizations there in the late 90s, right? That happened in Rio de Janeiro in Praça 15, which turned into a war zone, tear gas, investors, raising of blows, union confusion, you didn't know why it was happening, right? This time we privatized Eletrobras three months before the election and no one showed up with a cardboard sign to say I'm against it, so Brazilian society has changed.

Imagine having a banker tell it to you with a straight face lol.

I said before and I maintain the warning: Lula will not be re-elected unless there is a massive course correction. Be extremely careful with thinking state level business deals between countries, which IMO is realy the maximum extent of Chinese/dengist anti-imperialism so far, actualy reflects in our day to day struggles and the political situation at the ground level.

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