And the show goes on.

Reading newspapers and magazines, or watching television news, is a daily exercise in indignation. Then we stop and think: is there any hope for this country? That is, if we stick to national news, because expanding to international news we could ask the same question: is there any hope for the world?

Let's take the Folha de S. Paulo newspaper from May 11th. It could be O Globo or Estadão, since the news coverage is very similar, but let's go with Folha.

The headline: “Boards provide income for Kassab's allies.” The mayor of São Paulo, like practically all government officials who control public companies, appoints friends, political protégés, secretaries, and ministers to positions on the boards of directors and supervisory boards of public companies. This guarantees the president, governors, and mayors control of the companies and provides good remuneration to those appointed, which for some means an increase in income compared to what they earn in their positions.

Also on the front page: “Panties, bras, and briefs will carry anti-cancer warnings.” Underwear will, by decision of the Senate and the Chamber of Deputies, have to warn its users about the risks of cancer. Proposal by a congressman from Goiás.

We continue with the first one: "The Angélica subway station will now be in Pacaembu." Merchants and residents of Higienópolis, a wealthy neighborhood, won and managed to move the station to Pacaembu to avoid crowds circulating in the surrounding area. But the residents near Pacaembu also didn't want the station.

Finally: "Agreement allows for today's vote on the Forest Code." The government and members of parliament reportedly reached a consensus on the text, but it is unclear exactly what that consensus is.

On page A4: “Prosecutor’s Office files lawsuit to curb excessive salaries.” The Federal Public Prosecutor’s Office has filed three lawsuits against salaries paid by the Federal Government, the Chamber of Deputies, and the Senate that exceed the ceiling of R$ 26,7.

And, on the following pages, we learn that mayors want to use funds from previous years for projects that haven't even started yet, that ministers are returning improperly received per diem payments, that the Minister of Transport is going to sue the governor of Ceará, and that state deputies in Alagoas have increased their salaries by 108,59%.

These are just a few news items of the day. In a country with enormous needs, high levels of poverty and illiteracy, problems of all kinds affect the majority of the population, and especially the poorest – whether they earn R$70, R$80 or R$100 a month. Governments, politicians and authorities have lost touch with reality and navigate the news as if the real Brazil didn't exist, as if the world revolved around them.

If there were the necessary political will, simple measures could be taken in relation to all this news:

1 – Substantially reduce compensation for participation on the boards of public companies. Public employees, including ministers and secretaries, would be prohibited from receiving such compensation, as they are already paid by the state.

2 – Carry out a broad reform of the State to review the functioning of the National Congress, making it more objective and efficient and drastically reducing its cost to the country. Perhaps even abolishing the Senate. No one will stop a congressman from presenting a ridiculous bill, but with a review of the legislative process and with greater efficiency, the Senate and the Chamber can reduce the blunders they produce daily, including on days when parliamentarians do not usually work.

3 – Establish legitimate representatives of the population in cities, not corrupt city councils, to decide, among other things, where subway stations will be located. But based on the collective interest of all segments of the population, and not on elitist associations that manage to pressure a weak governor.

4 – Make decisions that affect the population more transparent. What agreement was made? Who made it? Is it possible to take seriously a vote in which agreements are made behind closed doors and at least 27 senators and representatives will vote in their own self-interest, since they have debts that will be forgiven, and more than 300 received money from companies that will benefit?

5 – Automatically and without exception cut salaries above R$ 26,7, across all branches of government and at all levels. But if there are judges who want to circumvent the salary cap with opportunistic pretexts, then it becomes difficult.

6 – If the works were not started during the budget period, too bad for the mayors. They will be included in a new budget, according to the new reality. In fact, mayors should work in their municipalities and not come to Brasília to, in the end, bolster the coffers of nightclubs.

7 – Ministers don't have to travel to their home states every weekend, especially with agendas that are merely pretexts to justify spending on airfare, much less receiving per diem allowances. Anyone who wants to be a minister has to live in Brasília.

8 – Is the minister really going to sue the governor? Or is he just creating a false narrative? And if he does sue, how many years will it take the justice system to reach a decision?

9 – State deputies should have a fair salary, yes. Around R$ 20 per month is a high standard for Alagoas, but it would be acceptable if the deputies actually worked, five days a week, and there were no expense allowances, office allowances, other perks, and that little bit of money (big money?) on the side that some (many?) deputies earn illicitly.

None of that will happen, so the news will remain the same. Things will only improve if the outrage of those who have nothing to do with it increases.

Intellectual gymnastics

It is interesting, but not at all edifying, to observe the efforts of journalists, academics, and some media figures considered intellectuals to justify the violation of international law by the United States in the operation in which Osama bin Laden was killed. They come up with the most amusing, if not tragic, justifications.

So we can agree on this: if the leaders of any country believe that George W. Bush is the greatest threat to world peace, it will be legitimate for them to send a commando to assassinate him in the United States. This way, there will be no risk of him authorizing further invasions of countries, attacks on civilians, and the murder and torture of prisoners.

Of course not, right? So stop justifying the unjustifiable. Laws exist to be obeyed, by the strong and the weak, by the powerful and the poor. Even in the United States!

 

Incoherence

In one day, the ministers of the Supreme Federal Court unanimously made a historic decision that made the country proud.

The next day, three of them, one with his wife, travel to the United States for a pointless and unnecessary event, at the expense of public funds.

It's amazing how authorities, even the highest-ranking ones, can't resist a free trip.