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Michael Royster

The Curmudgeon moved to Rio over forty years ago, and remained there until late 2018. He's been writing political commentary for The Rio Times for nine years. He once referred to himself as a WASP (look it up) but doesn't any more because it embarrasses him.

Opinion: Brazil’s Centrão – Slouching towards Bedlam?

RIO DE JANEIRO, BRAZIL - (Opinion) “Things fall apart; the centre cannot hold; mere anarchy is loosed upon the world… And what rough beast,...

Opinion: The historical roots of the “secret budget” in Brazil, aka the “Bolsolão”, explained

RIO DE JANEIRO, BRAZIL – (Opinion) The title for this essay could have been “How the 300 Scoundrels morphed into the Centrão and want...

Opinion: Will COP26 be yet another Cop-out?

RIO DE JANEIRO, BRAZIL – (Opinion) At the 1992 “Earth Summit” held in Rio de Janeiro and known here as “Eco-92”, 154 countries agreed...

Opinion: ‘Operation Varginha’ – From Halloween to All Souls’ Day

RIO DE JANEIRO, BRAZIL – (Opinion). Today, November 2, is All Souls’ Day (“Finados”), a legal holiday in Brazil, when most Brazilians are mourning...

Covid-19 Opinion: Yes, Big Pharma firms have huge profits – and they deserve them

Opinion, by Michael Royster Rio de Janeiro, Brazil – (Opinion) Anti-vaccine arguments come in all sizes, shapes, and political colors. The latest species to infest...

Opinion: Will Kabul become another Saigon?

RIO DE JANEIRO, BRAZIL – (Opinion) Current events in Afghanistan bring back to me, an American, the distressing vision of the fall of Saigon:...

Opinion: Speculating on Bolsonaro’s “indications” of election fraud in 2018

RIO DE JANEIRO, BRAZIL - (Opinion) On Thursday, July 29, President Bolsonaro, speaking to supporters in front of the Planalto Palace, said he would...

Opinion: The Ambassador, the Centrão, and the Semi-presidential Express. All Aboard in Brazil?

RIO DE JANEIRO, BRAZIL - (Opinion) On his way out the door, U.S. Ambassador to Brazil Todd Chapman, who is taking early retirement, said...

Opinion: Is Brazil’s Centrão voting bloc considering a “parliamentary coup”?

RIO DE JANEIRO, BRAZIL - (Opinion) According to reliable sources, Brazil’s Chamber of Deputies president, Arthur Lira, has recently said that there are four...

Analysis: Some intended (and unintended) effects of Brazil’s proposal to tax dividends

Rio de Janeiro, Brazil – Brazil’s Ministry of the Economy has proposed initiating a 20% tax on dividends and other profit distributions received by...

Opinion: Will Brazil’s Covid CPI actually accomplish something?

RIO DE JANEIRO, BRAZIL – (Opinion) Created in April by Brazil’s Senate, the parliamentary investigative committee known as the Covid CPI is scheduled to...

Opinion: BRIC by BRIC – a geopolitical analysis of Brazil’s “Covaxin” cause célèbre

RIO DE JANEIRO, BRAZIL – (Opinion) All but one of the so-called BRICS countries – Brazil, Russia, India, China, but not South Africa –...

Opinion: Happy Anniversary … Not!

RIO DE JANEIRO, BRAZIL – (Opinion) Saturday, June 19, the city of Ribeirão Preto, São Paulo, where I now live, celebrated 165 years since...

Opinion: “Invincible, inflexible and indigestible” – Brazil’s President as Macho Man

RIO DE JANEIRO, BRAZIL – (OPINION)  Brazil’s president Jair Bolsonaro has never been known for either subtlety or modesty. Last week, on the eve...

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