Echoes of cold war as US accused of meddling in another Brazilian election

1 September 2026 at 15:00

Claims that Trump and Rubio are trying to influence result have parallels with CIA intervention 64 years ago

The year was 1962 and the Kennedy administration was desperate to swing Brazil’s congressional elections against its leftwing president, João Goulart, as a way of countering the supposed communist threat sweeping a region the US considered its back yard.

Historians say that in the lead-up to the vote, the CIA and the Department of State secretly channelled millions of dollars to opposition candidates and a group tasked with spreading rightwing propaganda and stirring up unrest.

Echoes of cold war as US accused of meddling in another Brazilian election

The Guardian

By: Tom Phillips in Rio de Janeiro

1 September 2026 at 15:00

Claims that Trump and Rubio are trying to influence result have parallels with CIA intervention 64 years ago

The year was 1962 and the Kennedy administration was desperate to swing Brazil’s congressional elections against its leftwing president, João Goulart, as a way of countering the supposed communist threat sweeping a region the US considered its back yard.

Historians say that in the lead-up to the vote, the CIA and the Department of State secretly channelled millions of dollars to opposition candidates and a group tasked with spreading rightwing propaganda and stirring up unrest.

Performance and belonging: Rio de Janeiro’s ballroom scene – photo essay

The Guardian

By: Juliana Bizzo

31 August 2026 at 09:00

A look at the ballroom scene across Maré, Lapa, Gamboa and the city centre. The photographer Juliana Bizzo has documented a movement born from Black and Latinx LGBTQ+ communities in the US that has more recently evolved in Rio, growing from the city’s first ball in 2016

My first encounter with Rio de Janeiro’s ballroom scene was in 2023, during Noite das Estrelas, an artistic occupation that moved through the streets of Maré. From the top of a sound truck, the performer and drag queen Preta Queen B Rull, of the Kiki House of Mamba Negra, sang as people followed her through the neighbourhood. Before we had even reached our destination, the procession had changed the rhythm of the street.

Preta Queen B Rull performs from a sound truck during Noite das Estrelas.

UK urged to ban imports of Brazilian meat over health concerns

The Guardian

By: Fiona Harvey Environment editor

28 August 2026 at 18:13

Brazil has failed to prove compliance with EU rules on use of antibiotics in cattle and poultry farming

The UK’s leading farming organisations and animal health experts have called for an urgent ban on imports of Brazilian meat, in light of concerns over the safety of imports.

The National Farmers’ Union in England and its sister organisations in the devolved administrations wrote to the government on Friday warning that public health was at risk.