Securing Democracy: My Fight for Press Freedom and Justice in Bolsonaros Brazil

(Hardback)

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There is an increasingly violent and anti-democratic climate prevailing in Brazil as a result of the far-right, authoritarian, dictatorship-supporting movement of President Jair Bolsonaro, which consolidated substantial power in the election held at the end of 2018.

Glenn and the Intercept began their series of explosive exposs last June about rampant corruption at the highest levels of the Bolsonaro government, provoking a wave of violent threats, official acts of reprisal and a powerful fake news machine erected by the Bolsonaro movement against their enemies.

All of those seemingly endless multipronged attacks culminated in criminal charges brought against Glenn by a far-right prosecutor that have been widely condemned domestically and internationally as legally frivolous and a blatant assault on a free press.

The sense of danger and political violence in Glenn Greenwald and David Miranda lives and for many others in Brazil, began almost two years ago. On 14 March 2018, Marielle Franco -- the LGBTQ+, black, favela-raised city councilwoman from Rio de Janeiro -- was gunned down while riding in her car on the streets of Rio at roughly 9pm in a brutal political assassination. Franco was one of Glenn and David's best friends as well as a rising political star, a vessel of hope to so many people marginalized for decades and who had no voice.

Because Glenn is a US citizen with a valid US passport, Glenn and David and their sons could leave Brazil at any time. They would be entitled to automatic US citizenship. But they will never leave Brazil.

This is a book about courage and a refusal to give into tyrany but instead to join hands with those who intend to fight against it.

Reviews

"Securing Democracy ought to be read not only by people concerned about the future of Brazil, but those concerned about the future of the media and democracy throughout the world. While the story is about one country, the issues and themes it covers transcend borders and will for a very long time, especially in an era of rising surveillance techniques and capacities." Globe and Mail Whatever one thinks of Greenwalds personal political iconoclasm, his new book, Securing Democracy: My Fight for Press Freedom and Justice in Bolsonaros Brazil, is a historically significant artifact of our tumultuous, anxious age, with implications that extend beyond the borders of the worlds sixth-most-populous country. Jacobin "In his latest explosive expos, Greenwald turns to his adopted Brazil and the corrupt machinations of its highest leaders....[A] fascinating portrait of the importance of journalism in todays tumultuous political world....A courageous advocate for journalistic and democratic integrity strikes again." Kirkus "Glenn Greenwald has provided an extraordinary contribution to democracy. Together with the team at The Intercept, he exposed the secret mechanism of an operation that, under the pretext of fighting corruption, corrupted part of the judiciary, dismantled the national construction industry and the oil and gas chain, and paved the way for the arrival of the extreme right to power. With his journalistic exposs about Lava Jato, the misdeeds of Sergio Moro, Deltan Dallagnol, and their accomplices finally came to light. Luiz Incio Lula da Silva Glenn Greenwald has helped secure Brazilian democracy by revealing the truth about our country's recent history, which makes this book indispensable.Dilma Rousseff "Every whistleblower is different, but yet all are united by the common purpose of correcting an injustice. But when the system is broken, who can you trust This is the incredible story of a journalist for whom lightning struck twice: Glenn Greenwald, who won a Pulitzer for his work with me to expose a top secret system of global mass surveillance, is contacted by a mysterious new whistleblowerand what he learns will shake a nation to its core." Edward Snowden "Securing Democracy will someday be taught in journalism schools because its a guidebook for how to carry an explosive story from the moment of receipt across a distant finish line. Securing Democracy details what it takes, in the most extreme set of circumstances, in a compelling story that will be instructive for young reporters for generations.Matt Taibbi "As the book's subtitle indicates (My Fight for Press Freedom and Justice in Bolsonaros Brazil), Greenwald sees Operation Carwash as one of the forces that gave impetus to the rise of Bolsonarism and the dissemination of the leaked messages [featured in his investigative reporting] as a way to combat everything that the president represents." Folha de S.Paulo Perhaps the most accomplished journalist of his time. Dan Froomkin Praise for Greenwald's No Place to Hide: "Impassioned . . . Gripping . . . Greenwald amplifies our understanding of the N.S.A.'s sweeping ambitions . . . and delivers a fierce argument in defense of the right of privacy." Michiko Kakutani, The New York Times "Rings with authority . . . Vital for anyone interested in civil liberties . . . This book is an antidote to the common public perception that government spooks are only interested in 'bad' people."Chicago Tribune "Pulse-pounding." Wired

Author Bio

Glenn Greenwald, a former constitutional lawyer and co-founder of The Intercept and The Intercept Brasil, has earned numerous awards for his commentary and investigative journalism, including the 2013 Pulitzer Prize for Public Service, the George Polk Award for national security reporting and Brazil's Vladimir Herzog Human Rights Award in 2020. His 2014 book No Place to Hide: Edward Snowden, the NSA, and the US Security State (Metropolitan Books) was a New York Times bestseller, and his forthcoming book, Securing Democracy: My Fight for Press Freedom and Justice in Bolsonaros Brazil will be published by Haymarket Books on April 6, 2021. He currently publishes his journalism and commentary at Substack and is a columnist for the Brazilian journal Carta Capital.