Volcanoes are erupting in The Philippines, but on-fire Australia received some welcome rain. The Iran war cries have been called off and The Donald’s military powers are about to be hamstrung by the Senate. Meanwhile, his impeachment trial is starting, and we’re all on Twitter for a front-row seat.
What Could Go Right? Accountability Came for These Authoritarian Wannabes
Courts in Brazil and South Korea bring down the hammer
Emma Varvaloucas
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Accountability Came for These Authoritarian Wannabes
It might seem unbelievable to those of us glued to the “Mad King Trump” TV channel, but the past few weeks have been good ones for democracy—just not in the United States. In Brazil and South Korea, the judicial system has ensured that two top politicians are being held accountable for power grabs that went south.
Brazil
Late last month, Brazil’s Supreme Court ruled that former president Jair Bolsonaro must stand trial for an alleged conspiracy to overthrow the results of the country’s 2022 presidential election. The plot, according to an investigative police report, entailed killing the winner, current president Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva, the vice president, and a supreme court justice.
Bolsonaro is not the only one facing charges for crimes associated with the planned coup d’etat. A handful of high-ranking military officials are, too, for the first time in Brazilian history. Criminal proceedings officially began last week.
Bolsonaro’s claims of electoral fraud, which culminated in a January 6th-style incursion into Brazil’s main political buildings by antidemocratic protestors, had already gotten him barred from running for public office until 2030. He continues to say, however, that he will not heed the ruling.
Despite Bolsonaro’s serious—some say existential—threat to Brazil’s democracy, note political scientists Marcus André Melo and Carlos Pereira in their article “Why Didn’t Brazilian Democracy Die?,” it not only survived, but politics has “returned to business as usual” in just two years.
South Korea
Earlier this month, South Korea’s Constitutional Court unanimously upheld the impeachment of former president Yoon Suk Yeol. Yoon was impeached by parliament after he unexpectedly declared emergency martial law in December of last year, citing vague dangers to the nation such as “antistate forces.” It was the first time martial law had been imposed in South Korea since a 1980 military coup.
When parliamentarians gathered at the country’s statehouse to repeal the declaration, Yoon sent troops to block their entry into the building. The vote went through anyway, and martial law was lifted within hours.
The Court’s decision regarding Yoon’s impeachment is the final say on the matter. His party has accepted the verdict and issued an apology, as has Yoon himself, who is also facing criminal charges related to the controversy.
The country’s prime minister is currently serving as its interim president. South Koreans will vote for a new president by early June 3.
What Could Go Right? S7 E7: What American Global Empire? with Daniel Bessner & Derek Davison
What can be done to change United States foreign policy? Zachary and Emma speak to US foreign policy experts and co-hosts of the American Prestige podcast, journalist Daniel Bessner and historian Derek Davison. Daniel is the author of Democracy in Exile and Derek runs the Foreign Exchanges newsletter. They discuss the American public’s engagement with foreign policy, the impacts of US global dominance, potential for a reformed policy that considers global interests, and why we shouldn’t call Donald Trump a fascist. | Listen now
By the Numbers
90%: The share of secondary schools in England that have some kind of a ban on smartphone use during school hours in place, according to a national survey.
65.2%: The homeownership rate in the US, up from 63.5% in 2013. Homeownership rates have improved across all racial and ethnic groups over the past decade, but large gaps among them remain.
39%: The reduction in plastic waste found along Australia’s coastlines in the last decade, a sign that the Australian public is becoming aware of its harms.
49: The number of anti-trans bills, out of the 533 that were introduced in US state legislatures last year, that passed into law. How did advocacy work prevail, even in ruby red states?
Quick Hits
More people than at any other point in history are now covered by some form of social protection, such as targeted cash transfers, disability or unemployment benefits, and pensions, according to a new report from the World Bank, which tracked such programs’ expansion over the last decade. This leaves out 1.6 billion people in poorer countries, however, who still have no access to them.
Last week, a judge in Idaho expanded the medical exemptions that apply to the state’s near-total abortion ban. A woman can now legally obtain an abortion if “good faith medical judgment” ascertains any risk of death from continuing on with the pregnancy.
Most of the world’s shipping industry has agreed to a historic deal that will make it the first to implement a sector-wide carbon tax, starting in 2028. The agreement is a compromise, however, that falls short of what many had hoped for.
Tiny worms, then a fly, and now a mouse: a team of scientists has mapped the structure in one cubic millimeter of a mouse’s brain, a milestone on the road to mapping it in its entirety. Just that small section yielded 1.6 petabytes of data, “the equivalent of 22 years of nonstop high-definition video,” reports The New York Times.
Would you live in an all-electric neighborhood? They are being built across the US. Some are showing surprising weather resilience—one such neighborhood in Florida never lost power during last year’s Hurricane Milton, while the ones surrounding it did for two weeks.
Nigerian officials have arrested the alleged mastermind behind a transnational smuggling ring spiriting the scales of pangolins—the only mammals completely covered in scales—out of Africa and into China for use in traditional medicine. Nigeria is the main hub for illegal wildlife trade in West Africa, and the arrest was part of wider efforts to crack down on it.
What we’re watching: A federal judge has ordered four Trump administration officials to testify about whether they have taken steps to facilitate the return of Kilmar Abrego Garcia, who was mistakenly deported to El Salvador.
Editor’s pick: In the Central Asian nation of Kyrgyzstan, locals are chipping away at Russian imperialism by pushing to replace Russian as the official language with their native Kyrgyz.
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