Dilma continues to be spied on by the US – a complaint.

Having closely followed political news since I was 18 years old, I am still surprised by the shameless way in which the powerful manipulate public opinion in these sad tropics.

When Fantástico revealed that President Dilma Rousseff was being spied on by the US in 2013, there was all that uproar, and she, to simulate an independence that the PT had abdicated since the infamous pact with capital signed in 2002 ("let me pretend that I exercise political power and I will do nothing that displeases economic power"), went to cry her heart out at the UN, the wailing wall to which the impotent celebrities of politics resort.

The US delegation, in a clear act of mockery, didn't allow any high-ranking officials to listen to Dilma's rant. But this ridiculousness was sold to the Brazilian people as a worthy redress. Fool me once, shame on you.

Two months ago, The New York Times confirmed that, as expected, Dilma remained on the list of leaders to be spied on. This time, the TV let it go unnoticed, and both government and opposition groups avoided highlighting news that would cause unease in relations between Brazil and the US. Some because they prioritize political expediency over any principles; others because they prioritize business over any principles.

Outraged national dignity doesn't matter, nor will it ever matter, to these sordid people. But, if we never expect anything more than customary amorality from the vassals of capital, we expected a very different reaction from the party we helped forge.

It is disheartening to see that, for the PT (Workers' Party), today it is equally acceptable to swallow the gigantic toad that the US is shoving down its throat as it is to delegate economic management to a Chicago Boy after spending decades speaking out against neoliberalism.

The great Plinio de Arruda Sampaio was right: if it was going to come to this, it would have been better if the PT had never won the government.