They tried, but it wasn’t possible
Brazil’s coup has restored power to its natural owners, white men.
Most Brazilians backed Rousseff’s impeachment but in one of the world’s biggest racial and cultural melting pots, where more than half the 200 million people identify themselves as black or mixed, the makeup of Temer’s government raised alarm.
Leftists, minorities and many lower-income Brazilians fear that a deep economic recession, and the spending cuts that the new government says are essential to spur a recovery, could mean rolling back progressive policies.
“The rallying cry right now is the economy and that can become an excuse to scrap anything related to matters of inclusion, equality or culture,” says Esther Solano, a sociologist at the Federal University of São Paulo.
She points to one of the first decisions by Temer: to fold a ministry of women, racial equality and human rights into the far-bigger ministry of justice, led by a man.
That sounds familiar – never mind women’s rights, we want human rights. All lives matter. I don’t see color.
Aides say the new Cabinet was selected quickly from the ranks of parties who would support the new government. “We tried to look for women,” said Eliseu Padilha, Temer’s new chief of staff, “but it wasn’t possible.”
That’s what they all say.
It’s never possible to find women, I mean they’re such a small percentage of the population and all, right?
Absolutely. Often when you go looking for them they’re all at the beauty salon so it’s just hopeless.
The usual Latin American samba steps, two steps forward, three steps backwards. The legacy of Spanish and Portugese colonialism combined with the nasty neoliberalism of the US, the Brazilian working class is condemned to another generation of oppression and poverty. Washington will probably approve.
Somewhere in here there’s a sketch comedy bit. Working title is ‘Search Committee’… I’m seeing two broad comics, very serious, all through. They’re Adam Westing the hell out of it, probably in vaguely film noir trenchcoats…
And sure, they look _everywhere_… The cigar lounge, the whisky lounge, the private club with the big leather armchairs. It’s all a blur of older gents with monocles, glasses of cognac held in a puzzled, thoughtful pose, while they ponder this very difficult request…
“Women?” each says, thoughtfully? “Erm, no… Wouldn’t have any _idea_ where one finds those… Have you maybe tried that internet thing the kids are ‘using? Can’t figure it myself, told it involves typing, not so much my thing, old boy… Sorry I can’t help….”
I have images like that in my head too – along with a smirking Michael Shermer saying “it’s more of a guy thing.”
I like the Shermer thing. But dunno. I want people to laugh, watching this thing. If ruefully…
Not harm themselves. And/or others.
… or, switching genres maybe a mite too drastically, and with apologies as I know you’ve no great fondness for Tolkien, I also found myself thinking of the ents losing the entwives…
‘No, seriously, we mean we actually _lost_ them. Careless of us, sure, but there you go…’
(/I mean, after all, we _are_ trees, let’s remember. Not much in the way of a central nervous system going on at all, here, let alone long-term memory… My smartphone calendar mostly has stuff like ‘remember to floss’… Oh… Wait… No… Let’s not be silly; it’s not like I have _teeth_, either, do I…)
Women aren’t that hard to find. Even Mitt Romney had binders of them.
You win.