A new historical comparison draws striking parallels between alleged U.S. election interference in Brazil and recent claims of foreign influence in American politics. In 1962, the Kennedy administration reportedly funneled millions in covert funding to opposition forces ahead of Brazil’s elections, aiming to counter perceived communist influence in the region. Historians describe how the CIA and State Department worked behind the scenes to sway the vote through propaganda and financial support for right-wing candidates. The echoes of such intervention resurface in current debates over foreign meddling in U.S. elections.
Claims that Trump and Rubio are trying to influence result have parallels with CIA intervention 64 years agoThe 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. Continue reading...
