Javier Milei: “I have the strength!”| Photo: EFE/Franco Trovato Fuoco
A few weeks ago I had the nerve to say that the rightwing lunatic Javier Milei had already lost the presidential election in Argentina. And for this reason I was hit by some readers who said I was “embarrassing” Milei of the right and, I can’t say, even Bolsonaro. To make matters worse, after the text was published, indisputable evidence began to circulate in the bubble in which I live that Milei not only will win, but has already won. Lively!
However, if I insist on saying that Milei won’t win today (18), it’s not because of stubbornness or careful analysis. It’s more about (always) observing a zeitgeist that may even be losing strength. I hope it is. But it’s still pretty powerful. I also enjoy playing with the risk of making mistakes and I know I’ll spend Sunday biting my nails. I accept? Am I wrong? Did I say it right? Am I wrong? (There is some irony in journalistic arrogance, but I don’t know if everyone will understand that.)
In conclusion, the whiny script has already been written, including the postcredits scenes: As soon as Milei’s defeat is announced, the allegations of voter fraud will begin. I don’t think it’s bad. It’s just difficult to accept that we are surrounded by people who prefer Massa there and Lula here. But we are. Oh, if we were.
Before continuing
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Infographics Gazeta do Povo[Clique para ampliar]
iron and fire
Let’s change the subject: What about the drug lady? Luciane Barbosa Farias marched through the offices of the Ministries of Justice, Public Security (!) and Human Rights. She went there to defend issues that, being married to a Red Command chief, she swears have nothing to do with protecting criminals. All right then. In this context, I thought it would be good to leave the revolt aside for a while and include the lady, I mean, Lu Farias (as she prefers to be called) in the confidential archives of Faustão. Because if we put that much pressure on this government, we’ll have a heart attack.
CLICK TO NOT HAVE GHOST/INFARTAGE
Seismologists
Inspired by the impact of the Dona Dama do Tráfico case, I wrote: “Seismologists warn of the impending fall of Flávio Dino.” Why seismologists? Bad of you, dear reader! I thought of seismologists simply because they were technocrats worthy of expressing their political opinions. Nothing more than that. In fact, Dino blocked me on Twitter. And that’s good! Because that day I wasn’t very inspired to write and in the end the authoritarian and useless block gave me a good text.
CLICK TO READ WEIGHT TEXT
discernment
“(…) Discernment is good. The Catholic is not a little robot who is relieved of the task of thinking for himself about what he can and cannot do just because moral teaching exists. As some dear friends like to say, people (in general, not just Catholics) need guidance, and so they welcome the first person to provide a list of “dos/can’ts” for convenience: Can you? get a tattoo? Can you register your child at school? What if it’s in a public school (full of leftist teachers)? Can a woman work outside and wear long pants? Can you vote for so and so? Freedom not everything is possible, but the freedom to choose different paths in the search for the good is part of the essence of Catholicism, and moral teaching is intended to guide us, not to serve to micromanage our lives.”
& Friends
I need to change the title of this column to “Polzonoff & Friends.” Because it’s impossible to go a week without praising the good people around me. Today’s “victim” is once again Marcio Antonio Campos whose only (terrible cacofact, sorry!) flaw is the lack of accents in his name. The excerpt above is exquisite. For an even frame. And it improves with the addition: “But, as I said in the title of the column, we are not all prepared for this conversation.” Or at least not fully prepared. A wellmade discernment requires a wellformed conscience, and this article is rarely spread among the faithful and among the clergy, even in the highest echelons of the Church.”
Have discernment and… click
Cunning
What’s most striking about the documentary “Sly,” about the life of Sylvester Stallone, is the absence of politics. Of course, it’s entirely possible that I missed something. That I got distracted by the popcorn when he said something about Trump or Biden. But I doubt it. Which leads me to the question: who was the last Brazilian artist, be it musician, writer, actor or painter, who cared about the beauty and construction of a work (even if it was a depressing “work about itself”)? without having to resort to platitudes and political controversies?
Crooked plow
Let’s take the case of “Itamar do Torto Arado”. The author of invisible masses and who, on top of that, does not tolerate criticism. He just gave an interview in which he says something very beautiful, even if it sounds like a plagiarism of Gustavo Corção: “Fiction puts us in someone else’s shoes and helps us understand their pain.” I agree! But is the generation raised literary on the basis of crooked plows (and Itamar Vieiras himself) able to understand through fiction the pain of the white, middleclass, heterosexual Christian whom they see as the enemy? I have my doubts here.
Opposition Black Friday
In the midst of the Traffic Lady scandal, and in the week in which Brazilians took to the streets (albeit tentatively), opposition MPs thought it advisable to travel to the United States to, in theory, “denounce the abuses being committed.” in Brasil”. And there they met Congressman George Santos. This one. Can you understand the full political genius of this strategy? Me neither. Maybe because there is no strategy. Much less awesome. Or maybe because I’m too stupid. Always a possibility.
own goal
And Brazil lost to Colombia in the 2026 World Cup qualifiers. I figured it out. I haven’t seen the game. But I was interested in a comment from Roger on Twitter. The one about Ultraje a Rigor. He said Brazil used to be the country of football. And now even that has been taken away from us. Of course, the pig spirits of politicizing everything soon emerged to say that we used to be alienated and therefore robbed by politicians. Huh! And have we stopped getting robbed? No. We have just become a sadder and more bitter country, in a constant state of outrage and revolt. And without even a bit of football to comfort us…
unhealthiness
My friend (I can call him a friend, right?) Gabriel de Arruda Castro has had a difficult week. First, he attended an advanced sealing course for TSE employees. The lyrics are absurdly good, but… bad thing. A few days later, Gabriel was in charge of following a debate at FENAJ the National Association of Journalists. “Debate” is a way of talking, right? Because the event was just an excuse for some crazy people to defend Hamas. Again, excellent writing, but… bad thing. Either way, make Gabriel’s effort worthwhile. Read his texts.
CLICK TO READ TEXT 1
CLICK TO READ TEXT 2
Zambelada of the week
Carla Zambelli got it right. Again? Again, yes. Now the MP decided to “instruct” a school in São Paulo to cancel the performance of a play. All because of the title of the montage: “Catarina and the Art of Killing Fascists.” With a unique intellectual, moral and political skill, Zambelli managed to simultaneously don the hat (the “fascist” in the play’s title) and associate the right with censorship. Really awesome stuff!
If he had bothered to consult Portuguese playwright Tiago Ribeiro’s website, Zambelli would have read that “Catarina is incapable of killing.” [o fascista] or refuses to do so. A family conflict arises, accompanied by several questions. What is a fascist? Is there a place for violence in the fight for a better world? Can we violate the rules of democracy to better defend it?” (my emphasis).
In other words, Zambelli judges the piece by its title. But… art, right? It is always assumed that it is a degenerate communist thing. Worse, it is assumed that all art amounts to playing football with Bolsonaro’s head or cutting off Trump’s head. Zambelli does not even consider that a playwright, even a leftist, could question the degeneration that consists in viewing the enemy as a “fascist” who deserves death. Ah, how we miss this imaginary…
Infographics Gazeta do Povo[Clique para ampliar]