Danielle McLaughlin misses on the Brazil election and ‘corruption’

The Editor, The Sunday Star Times,  Auckland,  08 January, 2019

NOT FOR PUBLICATION

Attn: Danielle McLaughlin

Dear Editor:

Danielle McLaughlin’s look at ‘populism’ (30 December) repeats a careless misinterpretation of the Brazilian election. The Workers Party was not accused of corruption in the sense of money corruption.  There was no evidence, or even any clear accusation, of individuals of the Workers Party benefiting financially.   By contrast the opposition (victorious) party had several prominent members in court defending such money corruption charges.  So you have it precisely backwards.  Very careless of you.  Might you look to clarify this in your column?

The kind of ‘corruption’ which the opposition was referring to is similar to references by Donald Trump who you so frequently discredit. So there is an inconsistency there in your characterization of ‘corruption’.   The kind of ‘corruption’ which Trump and Bolsonaro are referring to is the use of public money for public projects; they have similar ideas of what public money should be used for, with less tax on the rich.  This has traditionally been viewed as a political contest.  But to the desperate right wing, which knows their ideology is dead in a world searching for sustainability, it has become a pseudo-religious contest of existential threat, hence they grasp the term ‘corruption’ for themselves.

Sincerely,

Richard Keller