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‘I’m very proud to join Steve Bannon as the leader of The Movement in Brazil, representing Latin American nations. We will work with him to reclaim sovereignty from progressive globalist elitist forces and expand common sense nationalism for all citizens of Latin America,’ announced Eduardo Bolsonaro, son of Brazil’s president, on Saturday.
The alliance represents the expansion of Steve Bannon’s ‘The Movement’ into Latin America, on the heels of the ascension of Eduardo’s father, Jair, in Brasilia. Bannon, the former White House chief strategist, is attempting to string together a coalition of the like-minded – an illiberal internationale, some claim. Bannon’s ally, Hungarian President Viktor Orbán, has long accepted the characterization of his government as an ‘illiberal democracy.’
‘We stand together in our pursuit of a populist nationalist agenda for prosperity and sovereignty for citizens throughout the world,’ Bannon said.
Bannon endorsed Jair Bolsonaro late in the campaign in 2018, lending the insurgent some international gravitas. Bolsonaro in office has cultivated a ragtag cohort internationally, including President Donald Trump’s White House and President Benjamin Netanyahu in Jerusalem.
Critics of Bannon’s machinations complain that so far his efforts haven’t amounted to much; Bannon insists The Movement’s first confab will happen in March in Brussels. Bolsonaro the younger appeared to beam with pride in pictures with Bannon released on his Instagram, showing the former US senior administration official in Rio.‘The Movement is expanding beyond Europe to our friends in South America,’ Bannon’s partner Mischaël Modrikamen said. ‘Eventually, we hope to reach citizens in all nations who feel abandoned by the globalist world order and want their governments to re-assert sovereignty.’
Bannon’s incision south of the Rio Grande comes as Washington turns its attention to the region – relatively neglected in recents as the United States became embroiled in the Middle East – with a renewed focus. The Pentagon, ahead of the president’s State of the Union address on Tuesday, announced this weekend that 3,750 additional troops are to be deployed to the border.
This comes as National Security Adviser John Bolton insists Cuba, Venezuela and Nicaragua represent an unacceptable ‘Troika of Tyranny’ in an arena where America has vital national interests. Mike Pompeo’s State Department has been particularly ferocious in the main theater – Venezuela – as the administration pivots to an official regime change policy. Vice President Mike Pence reiterated support of the Washington-christened antipope, Juan Guaidó, speaking to a group of Venezuelan exiles last week in Doral, Florida. ‘The safety and security of Guaidó and his family are of great importance to the American people,’ Trump lieutenant said of the interim Venezuelan president. Regarding how far Washington might go to help force out Nicolás Maduro, Pence didn’t skip a beat: ‘All options are on the table.’
And for Bannon, these are happier days. President Donald Trump, strikingly, publicly praised his former aide this weekend for the first time since his political excommunication last year. Speaking to The New York Times, Trump lamented Bannon’s involvement with gossip auteur Michael Wolff, but added: ‘And yet, Bannon, now, if you’ve seen him on an interview over the last six months, I think there’s nobody that speaks better. It’s a crazy situation.’
A crazy situation, indeed.
