All Threats Came in Waves
During the beloved presidency of John F. Kennedy, discussions between Kennedy and the American Ambassador in Brazil, Lincoln Gordon, led to the planning of the removal of the democratically elected president of Brazil, João Goulart. This covert operation, later known as Operation Brother Sam, marked a significant intervention by the United States in Brazilian politics.
I grew up under this military dictatorship. The media stream that came in the airwaves in Brazil portrayed a benign image of the U.S. military personnel with TV shows like The A Team, I Dream of Gennie, and Bewitched to name a few. This innocuous appearance was at odds with the brutality of the regime the population experienced. Students were tortured and killed, artists were censored and sent into exile, congress dissolved, habeas corpus suspended. No elections for the next 24 years. Through media and entertainment, we got to see how generally well Americans lived while witnessing the erosion of our democracy and all of its consequences.
The territory we call Brazil is historically a place of invasions, international disputes, forced displacement and dispossession. From European settlers to the capitalist wars led by the United States in the 20th century, a lot of the threats came in physical waves and later, by airwaves.
All Threats Came in Waves speaks about a process of becoming that extrapolates the United States’ borders. A more sophisticated invasion that doesn’t require boots on the ground. A war fought with economic sanctions and incentives hidden under a thick layer of propaganda.
