@NeilColemanSAi
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Institute for Economic Justice🇿🇦 Co-Founder, Senior Policy Specialist. Former unionist. Politics~Economics🌍 Progressive alternatives✊ Music🎼
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Good people.
Don't let the climate deniers, the exploiters, the oligarchs, the wreckers of people & planet
👉demoralise you
👉defeat you
Goodness, solidarity, decency, can prevail.
But only if we refuse to despair.
Resist! For the sake of humanity & our children.
📢BRAZIL'S ELECTIONS: KEY TAKEAWAYS
In shock results, progressive President Lula yesterday came second to far-right candidate Flavio Bolsonaro. Neither gained an outright majority, & the Presidential contest will now go to a second round on 25 October.
What does this mean for Brazil and globally?
Here are my 6 key takeaways.
1. The size of the challenge for President Lula & the PT (Workers Party) is massive, but not impossible.
With 118 million valid votes cast, President Lula received around 2 million fewer votes (53.87 million) than his far-right challenger Flavio Bolsonaro (56.1 million).
The other candidates, who are mainly right or centre-right, received around 9 million votes between them (and their candidacy falls away in the 2nd round).
So if we assume that around 6 million of these voters may vote for Bolsonaro in the 2nd round, Lula will need at least around 8 million additional votes to have a chance of winning.
This is a massive mountain to climb, and indeed might look impossible, on the surface.
Some Brazilian progressives have already declared defeat.
However there is still considerable space for a turnaround: over 30 million Brazilians failed to vote in the 1st round, and around 6 million voters spoiled their papers. PT activists seem confident that they will be able to mobilise a significant number from these groups for the 2nd round.
President Lula himself said after the results last night that he has never lost a 2nd round fight, and is confident of winning.
Commentators also point out that the gap between the top 2 contenders is the smallest it has been in over 35 years.
So it is premature for Bolsonaro to declare victory or progressive activists to concede defeat.
The fight, while incredibly difficult, remains on.
/2
nitter.cf/ResistenciaNac_/status…
2. If Lula pulls off a small miracle in the 2nd round, he will still have a massive challenge governing.
The far-right Bolsonaristas have taken control of the Congress and the Senate, which will make it extremely difficult for Lula to govern, if he wins.
However this is not entirely new to him- the PT will have around 24% of Congress members, which is a similar proportion the PT held in Lula's first and second term from 2003-2011, as well as in his 3rd term, 2023-2026 when he showed incredible tactical ability to navigate legislation through Congress.
That said, the far right has now replaced many reps from the centre and centre-right, making things more difficult. Their power in the Senate will also give them the ability to pack the Supreme Court, and power in the states offers leverage over important areas including security.
/3
Neil Coleman retweeted
Quienes conocemos la historia de Lula vemos esa mano izquierda de 4 dedos sobre la bandera de Brasil y se nos hace un nudo en la garganta.
Empezó a trabajar a los 12 años.
A los 14 ya estaba en una fábrica y después se convirtió en obrero metalúrgico. A los 18, una prensa le destrozó el meñique de la mano izquierda. Pasó horas buscando atención médica, tuvieron que amputárselo y 13 días después volvió a trabajar.
En 1975, sus compañeros lo eligieron presidente del sindicato metalúrgico con el 92% de los votos. Llegó a representar a 100 mil trabajadores y encabezó huelgas de alrededor de 170 mil.
En 1980, la dictadura militar brasileña, bajo el general João Figueiredo, lo encarceló durante 31 días por su liderazgo obrero.
Esa mano cuenta una historia de clase.
Del dolor nació organización.
De la organización, lucha.
Y de la lucha obrera nació Lula.
6. The left needs to engage with the prospects and limits of social democracy in the current period of capitalism, particularly in the Global South, and the need for new forms of economic and social organisation.
The Brazilian experience raises fundamental questions about the limits of the Lula project, and the need for a more assertive political project that advances new forms of economic and social organisation.
/7
Finally, I should situate my interest in Brazilian politics. - I have been a close observer of the Brazilian situation (as a South African activist, long-time trade unionist, and economic justice advocate) since around 2010 when we started examining what lessons we could learn from the progressive project in Brazil, given the many parallels in the challenges facing Brazil and South Africa.
About a decade ago we produced a book on the 'Lula Moment for South Africa' that can be found here:
independent.academia.edu/Nei…
I remain convinced that Brazil and South Africa have a lot to learn from each other, and share many struggles in common.
Progressive South Africans support the Brazilian movement, with all its limitations, and Presidents Lula's attempts to take forward this important progressive project.
We will hope and support a positive outcome for Brazil on the 25th of October, and will be watching and engaging developments closely as they unfold.
As we say in South Africa Amandla Ngawethu!
Or Power to the People.
Neil Coleman retweeted
This is unserious. How can one compare underdog internationalism in defence of democracy with the massive and overwhelming interference of US empire.
Brazil is the latest rampart against the advance of the far right across the world. What happens there will reverberate far beyond its borders: for the emerging world order, for the future of multilateralism and international law, and for the ability of the Global South to assert its demands and defend its interests.
A declining hegemon tightening its grip on what it still regards as its backyard; crazed oligarchs yearning for a predatory, dystopian social order; and evangelical churches mobilised behind a theocratic political project—many of them nurtured by the US half a century ago as a counterweight to an increasingly pro-poor Catholic Church—are weaponising prejudice, resentment and anger.
They must not prevail. Whatever our misgivings about the Lula government, this is a moment to set those differences aside, defend Brazil against the spread of fascism, and oppose Rubio’s assault on its sovereignty and democracy. There should be no confusion about what is at stake.
An American who lives in Los Angeles jets into Brazil as a tourist the day before a national election -- as part of a foreign ideological group financed almost entirely by foreign money -- and starts telling Brazilians how to vote, marches in campaign events, and purports to explain how Brazilians think.
Yes, the US Govt (and many other countries) interferes in Brazil like it does almost everywhere. But *this* is classic foreign interference, imperialism, and American arrogance finding extreme expression:
Not to mention the Bolsanaro family's deep roots in the military dictatorship.
But other than that, sure they are great champions of freedom.
Replying to @MarioNawfal
Seriously?
Flavio=freedom just like Hitler = democracy and human rights.
Do you know anything about Brazils recent history under Bolsanaro rule, the 10s of thousands of Brazilians who died needlessly during Covid, the corruption, the destruction of the Amazon, the attacks on working people, and on women... the list goes on.
Neil Coleman retweeted
This post sets out clearly how the US is attempting to organise a 'soft coup' in the runup to tomorrow's elections in Brazil, it's modus operandi, and the US's strategic motivation for imposing another disastrous Bolsonaro regime on the Brazilian people.
The stakes are huge!
Vou repetir pela terceira vez até vocês entenderem, porque todos os sinais estão claros, mas fingimos não ver:
Faltando dois dias para a eleição, Marco Rubio, braço direito do 'laranja pedófilo', mandou fechar todos os consulados e a embaixada dos Estados Unidos no Brasil alegando risco de segurança.
A maior emissora do país, que apoiou a ditadura militar no Brasil e que está apoiando o candidato do Trump no Brasil, cancelou um debate na TV por livre e espontânea vontade e jogou a culpa na Justiça Eleitoral para ajudar o candidato do Trump no discurso golpista.
A Agência Brasileira de Inteligência (ABIN) publicou que o Brasil pode sofrer uma tentativa de golpe militar americano. Com o crescimento do Lula nas pesquisas e a grande chance de ele ganhar no primeiro turno, os EUA começaram a intervir nas eleições brasileiras, criando um clima de terror institucional e nas redes sociais.
A Meta derrubou o vídeo do Fábio Porchat. A Meta derrubou a página do PT de São Paulo no Facebook sem justificativa. A Meta bloqueou o Lula de pagar pelo impulsionamento de posts no Facebook e no Instagram.
O Trump mandou um navio de guerra para o Mar do Caribe e enviou drones de guerra carregados de bombas para as fronteiras do Brasil. Hoje acordamos com a informação de que dois aviões comerciais da LATAM Brasil tiveram que fazer pousos de emergência porque o satélite dos EUA estava interferindo no GPS das aeronaves dentro do Brasil.
O André Mendonça, ministro do Supremo Tribunal Federal, aliado do Flávio e de extrema-direita, mandou suspender mais de mil perfis de esquerda que postavam conteúdos contra o Flávio e a favor do Lula. O mesmo ministro proibiu publicações de católicos em apoio ao presidente Lula.
Empresários americanos ligados ao Trump estão derramando dinheiro ilegal na campanha do Flávio em troca de nossas terras raras, que o Flávio prometeu entregar caso ganhe. Todos os vídeos do Flávio Bolsonaro, candidato de extrema-direita no Brasil, estão sendo impulsionados de graça pela Meta para atingir mais pessoas e manipular a eleição.
O grupo de empresários americanos que financiou a campanha do Trump está enviando dinheiro ilegal para bancar a campanha do Flávio por meio do empresário Tallis Gomes. O André Mendonça teve reuniões com pessoas ligadas ao Trump em uma viagem aos EUA e, dois meses depois, começou a vazar informações para prejudicar a campanha do Lula.
Os grupos bolsonaristas radicais de extrema-direita estão comentando e comemorando sobre um suposto ataque ao presidente Lula promovido pelos EUA caso ele vença a eleição.
Precisamos alertar o mundo sobre tudo o que está acontecendo no Brasil. Estamos vivendo mais uma tentativa de golpe dos EUA, assim como aconteceu em 1964. Os EUA querem as nossas praias, as nossas terras raras, o nosso petróleo e a nossa água doce.
Está diante dos nossos olhos, mas não queremos ver. Se a derrota acontecer no dia 4 de outubro, vamos ficar batendo a cabeça na parede tentando entender o que aconteceu — quando tudo esteve ali para todo mundo ver. Não adiantará culpar o Lula ou o PT por uma eventual derrota; também seremos culpados por fazer manifestações e campanha apenas online.
Neil Coleman retweeted
If you saw this plot (described in detail in the post below) unfold in a movie you wouldn't believe it:
A certain Cerimedo, an American puppet close to the Trump administration, a drug smuggler and operator of thousands of Bot farms designed to install the far right in Latin America (playing a key role in ousting a number of progressive governments) ordered a hit on his pregnant girlfriend, who was about to expose his crimes.
Despite being shot twice she survives.
The Bolivian Attorney General has this US operative arrested. He is about to be tried.
The Attorney General is himself then targeted by the US and abducted!
Now US embassy officials have been caught bribing Bolivian lawmakers to make this case go away, and presumably to free Cerimedo.
This incredible story may not make it to the movies, but hopefully those responsible for these outrages, including Marco Rubio, will eventually find themselves in front of the International Criminal Court.
🇧🇴|US Embassy Bribes Lawmakers Inside Bolivian Congress: When the "Shield of the Americas" Becomes a QR Code for Buying Votes
October 2, 2026, La Paz. The Bolivian Legislative Assembly is debating the fate of Attorney General Roger Mariaca. Two days earlier, the US State Department had revoked Mariaca’s visa, accusing him of "soliciting and accepting bribes to facilitate drug trafficking and helping violent criminals evade justice." The US message was clear: Mariaca had to go.
But the US was not content with merely issuing a sanctions statement. It sent personnel directly into the halls of Congress.
Bolivian Senator Ana María Crispín livestreamed the ensuing events on social media.
📍 On the Scene: Laptops, QR Codes, and "WhatsApp Contact Details"
During the livestream, Crispín approached three foreign diplomats. She asked for their identities one by one. One claimed to be from Argentina, another from Peru, and the third an unnamed man stated he represented the US Embassy.
Crispín’s question was direct and pointed: "Why are you using QR codes here to transfer money to lawmakers?"
The US official’s reply: That QR code "was for sharing WhatsApp contact details."
Crispín pressed him on the spot: "Contact details, or a budget?"
The US official repeated: "It was to stay in touch."
Crispín put it more bluntly at a subsequent press conference:
"No one is hauling suitcases of cash; they are hauling QR codes."
"A US representative, with his laptop and his QR code, sat next to a female lawmaker. He was caught red-handed, and then they locked themselves inside an office."
🎯 Why did the US want to buy off lawmakers? Who was Mariaca investigating? There is only one reason the U.S. is eager to oust Mariaca: he is investigating Fernando Cerimedo.
Who is Cerimedo? An Argentine political consultant dubbed by various media outlets as the "MAGA representative in Latin America." He received the "Hispanic Political Consultant of the Year" award at Trump’s Mar-a-Lago estate and has expressed gratitude to Brad Parscale, Trump’s 2016 digital strategist. He participated in Argentine President Milei’s campaign before moving to Bolivia to provide digital strategy for the campaign of current President Rodrigo Paz; following Paz’s victory, Cerimedo began working out of an office on the 23rd floor of the presidential palace.
The charges against Cerimedo include the attempted murder of his former partner, Nadia Beller (in August 2026, Beller survived being shot three times in Santa Cruz by two gunmen posing as delivery workers), illicit enrichment, and conspiracy to traffic drugs. Police discovered a "bot farm" consisting of 43,000 mobile phones at properties linked to him devices used to manipulate fake accounts and disseminate far-right narratives. In Argentina, he is accused of controlling 50,000 fake accounts.
Mariaca is the Prosecutor General leading the investigation into these cases. The U.S. revoked his visa at the precise moment he was advancing the probe into Cerimedo.
Former President Evo Morales put it most bluntly:
"The U.S. uses visas as a tool for coups. They want to protect Paz and, by extension, shield themselves protecting Cerimedo, a man accused of assaulting his partner and children, hiring hitmen, corruption, drug trafficking, and illicit enrichment."
🛡️ "Shield of the Americas": A Neocolonial Playbook
U.S. officials appearing before Congress identified themselves as representatives of the "Shield of the Americas" (*Escudo de las Américas*). This is no random name. It was a security alliance launched by the Trump administration in March 2026, comprising 17 conservative Latin American nations, including Bolivia.
What was the official mission of "Shield of the Americas"? To combat drug trafficking and corruption. Yet, its actual modus operandi was laid bare that day in the Bolivian Congress: dispatching diplomats into a foreign nation's legislature to bribe lawmakers with QR codes, ensuring the passage of pro-US bills.
On September 28, 2026, operating within the framework of "Shield of the Americas," the US revoked the visas of 27 officials and their families from Bolivia, Colombia, Ecuador, and Peru; Mariaca was among them. On September 29, the US State Department issued a joint statement "applauding the Bolivian government for its decisive actions against drug trafficking." On October 1, Bolivian police arrested Mariaca. On October 2, US embassy officials appeared at Congress, using QR codes to secure votes from lawmakers in favor of suspending Mariaca from office.
💀 Who is protecting whom: From Serimedo to the Trump family
Serimedo is not an isolated figure; he is part of a much larger network.
Eduardo del Castillo the US Vice President and Attorney General, and a former minister under the previous socialist (MAS) government was also arrested that same day. Mariaca himself had been appointed to a six-year term by that former socialist administration in 2024.
The implication is clear: the US is leveraging Bolivia's new right-wing government to purge judicial officials left behind by the previous left-wing administration. And Serimedo the man accused of ordering the shooting of a pregnant ex-partner, operating a bot farm of 43,000 mobile phones, and conspiring to traffic drugs—may well emerge as the biggest beneficiary of this arrangement. Former President Morales’s statement on social media pinpointed the heart of the matter:
“We condemn the shameless actions of imperialism. It exerted pressure on the Legislative Assembly through political coercion, bribery, and the strong-arm tactics of the Rodrigo Paz administration. They convened a session prematurely while the Vice President was absent and deployed police and military forces within the legislature. Lawmakers reported the presence of personnel from the U.S. Embassy and ‘Shield of the Americas’ (Escudo de las Américas), alongside offers of bribes to suspend the Attorney General from office.”
⚠️ Conclusion: When QR codes replace diplomatic notes
The U.S. no longer needs to stage a coup to topple uncooperative governments. It simply needs to send a diplomat with a laptop to generate a QR code while sitting next to a lawmaker.
This is Neocolonialism 2.0. It doesn't require Marines; it only needs a QR code.
What the U.S. demonstrated that day in the Bolivian Congress was not "anti-corruption." It demonstrated that when a nation's judicial system begins investigating U.S. allies, the U.S. will step directly into the parliament, use QR codes to buy off lawmakers, and ensure the investigation is shut down.
Senator Crispín was right: "This is political interference. Why did they lock themselves in the office?"
Because they were caught red-handed.
And it wasn't just a few diplomats who were caught. What was exposed was the entire operational logic of an empire in Latin America: threatening with sanctions, buying compliance with money, wrapping it all in the guise of "Shield of the Americas," and using "anti-corruption" as a smokescreen. The ultimate goal is to shield those who serve Washington from Serimedo to the Trump family.from facing the consequences of the law.
Mariaca has already been arrested. Serimedo may soon be released. Meanwhile, the U.S. official who used the QR code to offer the bribe has likely returned to the embassy, preparing the next QR code.
Increíble. EE.UU. apoyando abiertamente el golpe judicial en Bolivia. No quieren que el caso Cerimedo les salpique. Cerimedo trabajaba de cerca con Brad Parscale, el asesor digital de Trump que contribuyó mucho a su victoria electoral en 2016. Tampoco quieren que se exponga todo el apoyo que EE.UU. le ha dado a una extrema derecha latinoamericana íntimamente ligada con el narco.
Now the Bolivian Vice President is being targeted, in another twist in this slow motion coup.
nitter.cf/EvanDyerCBC/status/210…
If you saw this plot (described in detail in the post below) unfold in a movie you wouldn't believe it:
A certain Cerimedo, an American puppet close to the Trump administration, a drug smuggler and operator of thousands of Bot farms designed to install the far right in Latin America (playing a key role in ousting a number of progressive governments) ordered a hit on his pregnant girlfriend, who was about to expose his crimes.
Despite being shot twice she survives.
The Bolivian Attorney General has this US operative arrested. He is about to be tried.
The Attorney General is himself then targeted by the US and abducted!
Now US embassy officials have been caught bribing Bolivian lawmakers to make this case go away, and presumably to free Cerimedo.
This incredible story may not make it to the movies, but hopefully those responsible for these outrages, including Marco Rubio, will eventually find themselves in front of the International Criminal Court.
This post sets out clearly how the US is attempting to organise a 'soft coup' in the runup to tomorrow's elections in Brazil, it's modus operandi, and the US's strategic motivation for imposing another disastrous Bolsonaro regime on the Brazilian people.
The stakes are huge!
Vou repetir pela terceira vez até vocês entenderem, porque todos os sinais estão claros, mas fingimos não ver:
Faltando dois dias para a eleição, Marco Rubio, braço direito do 'laranja pedófilo', mandou fechar todos os consulados e a embaixada dos Estados Unidos no Brasil alegando risco de segurança.
A maior emissora do país, que apoiou a ditadura militar no Brasil e que está apoiando o candidato do Trump no Brasil, cancelou um debate na TV por livre e espontânea vontade e jogou a culpa na Justiça Eleitoral para ajudar o candidato do Trump no discurso golpista.
A Agência Brasileira de Inteligência (ABIN) publicou que o Brasil pode sofrer uma tentativa de golpe militar americano. Com o crescimento do Lula nas pesquisas e a grande chance de ele ganhar no primeiro turno, os EUA começaram a intervir nas eleições brasileiras, criando um clima de terror institucional e nas redes sociais.
A Meta derrubou o vídeo do Fábio Porchat. A Meta derrubou a página do PT de São Paulo no Facebook sem justificativa. A Meta bloqueou o Lula de pagar pelo impulsionamento de posts no Facebook e no Instagram.
O Trump mandou um navio de guerra para o Mar do Caribe e enviou drones de guerra carregados de bombas para as fronteiras do Brasil. Hoje acordamos com a informação de que dois aviões comerciais da LATAM Brasil tiveram que fazer pousos de emergência porque o satélite dos EUA estava interferindo no GPS das aeronaves dentro do Brasil.
O André Mendonça, ministro do Supremo Tribunal Federal, aliado do Flávio e de extrema-direita, mandou suspender mais de mil perfis de esquerda que postavam conteúdos contra o Flávio e a favor do Lula. O mesmo ministro proibiu publicações de católicos em apoio ao presidente Lula.
Empresários americanos ligados ao Trump estão derramando dinheiro ilegal na campanha do Flávio em troca de nossas terras raras, que o Flávio prometeu entregar caso ganhe. Todos os vídeos do Flávio Bolsonaro, candidato de extrema-direita no Brasil, estão sendo impulsionados de graça pela Meta para atingir mais pessoas e manipular a eleição.
O grupo de empresários americanos que financiou a campanha do Trump está enviando dinheiro ilegal para bancar a campanha do Flávio por meio do empresário Tallis Gomes. O André Mendonça teve reuniões com pessoas ligadas ao Trump em uma viagem aos EUA e, dois meses depois, começou a vazar informações para prejudicar a campanha do Lula.
Os grupos bolsonaristas radicais de extrema-direita estão comentando e comemorando sobre um suposto ataque ao presidente Lula promovido pelos EUA caso ele vença a eleição.
Precisamos alertar o mundo sobre tudo o que está acontecendo no Brasil. Estamos vivendo mais uma tentativa de golpe dos EUA, assim como aconteceu em 1964. Os EUA querem as nossas praias, as nossas terras raras, o nosso petróleo e a nossa água doce.
Está diante dos nossos olhos, mas não queremos ver. Se a derrota acontecer no dia 4 de outubro, vamos ficar batendo a cabeça na parede tentando entender o que aconteceu — quando tudo esteve ali para todo mundo ver. Não adiantará culpar o Lula ou o PT por uma eventual derrota; também seremos culpados por fazer manifestações e campanha apenas online.
Now Rubio and his puppet far right regimes in Latin America have issued a joint declaration trying to justify this attack on the justice system in Bolivia, leaving no doubt as to their complicity in this outrage.
nitter.cf/BenjaminNorton/status/…
If you saw this plot (described in detail in the post below) unfold in a movie you wouldn't believe it:
A certain Cerimedo, an American puppet close to the Trump administration, a drug smuggler and operator of thousands of Bot farms designed to install the far right in Latin America (playing a key role in ousting a number of progressive governments) ordered a hit on his pregnant girlfriend, who was about to expose his crimes.
Despite being shot twice she survives.
The Bolivian Attorney General has this US operative arrested. He is about to be tried.
The Attorney General is himself then targeted by the US and abducted!
Now US embassy officials have been caught bribing Bolivian lawmakers to make this case go away, and presumably to free Cerimedo.
This incredible story may not make it to the movies, but hopefully those responsible for these outrages, including Marco Rubio, will eventually find themselves in front of the International Criminal Court.
If you saw this plot (described in detail in the post below) unfold in a movie you wouldn't believe it:
A certain Cerimedo, an American puppet close to the Trump administration, a drug smuggler and operator of thousands of Bot farms designed to install the far right in Latin America (playing a key role in ousting a number of progressive governments) ordered a hit on his pregnant girlfriend, who was about to expose his crimes.
Despite being shot twice she survives.
The Bolivian Attorney General has this US operative arrested. He is about to be tried.
The Attorney General is himself then targeted by the US and abducted!
Now US embassy officials have been caught bribing Bolivian lawmakers to make this case go away, and presumably to free Cerimedo.
This incredible story may not make it to the movies, but hopefully those responsible for these outrages, including Marco Rubio, will eventually find themselves in front of the International Criminal Court.
🇧🇴|US Embassy Bribes Lawmakers Inside Bolivian Congress: When the "Shield of the Americas" Becomes a QR Code for Buying Votes
October 2, 2026, La Paz. The Bolivian Legislative Assembly is debating the fate of Attorney General Roger Mariaca. Two days earlier, the US State Department had revoked Mariaca’s visa, accusing him of "soliciting and accepting bribes to facilitate drug trafficking and helping violent criminals evade justice." The US message was clear: Mariaca had to go.
But the US was not content with merely issuing a sanctions statement. It sent personnel directly into the halls of Congress.
Bolivian Senator Ana María Crispín livestreamed the ensuing events on social media.
📍 On the Scene: Laptops, QR Codes, and "WhatsApp Contact Details"
During the livestream, Crispín approached three foreign diplomats. She asked for their identities one by one. One claimed to be from Argentina, another from Peru, and the third an unnamed man stated he represented the US Embassy.
Crispín’s question was direct and pointed: "Why are you using QR codes here to transfer money to lawmakers?"
The US official’s reply: That QR code "was for sharing WhatsApp contact details."
Crispín pressed him on the spot: "Contact details, or a budget?"
The US official repeated: "It was to stay in touch."
Crispín put it more bluntly at a subsequent press conference:
"No one is hauling suitcases of cash; they are hauling QR codes."
"A US representative, with his laptop and his QR code, sat next to a female lawmaker. He was caught red-handed, and then they locked themselves inside an office."
🎯 Why did the US want to buy off lawmakers? Who was Mariaca investigating? There is only one reason the U.S. is eager to oust Mariaca: he is investigating Fernando Cerimedo.
Who is Cerimedo? An Argentine political consultant dubbed by various media outlets as the "MAGA representative in Latin America." He received the "Hispanic Political Consultant of the Year" award at Trump’s Mar-a-Lago estate and has expressed gratitude to Brad Parscale, Trump’s 2016 digital strategist. He participated in Argentine President Milei’s campaign before moving to Bolivia to provide digital strategy for the campaign of current President Rodrigo Paz; following Paz’s victory, Cerimedo began working out of an office on the 23rd floor of the presidential palace.
The charges against Cerimedo include the attempted murder of his former partner, Nadia Beller (in August 2026, Beller survived being shot three times in Santa Cruz by two gunmen posing as delivery workers), illicit enrichment, and conspiracy to traffic drugs. Police discovered a "bot farm" consisting of 43,000 mobile phones at properties linked to him devices used to manipulate fake accounts and disseminate far-right narratives. In Argentina, he is accused of controlling 50,000 fake accounts.
Mariaca is the Prosecutor General leading the investigation into these cases. The U.S. revoked his visa at the precise moment he was advancing the probe into Cerimedo.
Former President Evo Morales put it most bluntly:
"The U.S. uses visas as a tool for coups. They want to protect Paz and, by extension, shield themselves protecting Cerimedo, a man accused of assaulting his partner and children, hiring hitmen, corruption, drug trafficking, and illicit enrichment."
🛡️ "Shield of the Americas": A Neocolonial Playbook
U.S. officials appearing before Congress identified themselves as representatives of the "Shield of the Americas" (*Escudo de las Américas*). This is no random name. It was a security alliance launched by the Trump administration in March 2026, comprising 17 conservative Latin American nations, including Bolivia.
What was the official mission of "Shield of the Americas"? To combat drug trafficking and corruption. Yet, its actual modus operandi was laid bare that day in the Bolivian Congress: dispatching diplomats into a foreign nation's legislature to bribe lawmakers with QR codes, ensuring the passage of pro-US bills.
On September 28, 2026, operating within the framework of "Shield of the Americas," the US revoked the visas of 27 officials and their families from Bolivia, Colombia, Ecuador, and Peru; Mariaca was among them. On September 29, the US State Department issued a joint statement "applauding the Bolivian government for its decisive actions against drug trafficking." On October 1, Bolivian police arrested Mariaca. On October 2, US embassy officials appeared at Congress, using QR codes to secure votes from lawmakers in favor of suspending Mariaca from office.
💀 Who is protecting whom: From Serimedo to the Trump family
Serimedo is not an isolated figure; he is part of a much larger network.
Eduardo del Castillo the US Vice President and Attorney General, and a former minister under the previous socialist (MAS) government was also arrested that same day. Mariaca himself had been appointed to a six-year term by that former socialist administration in 2024.
The implication is clear: the US is leveraging Bolivia's new right-wing government to purge judicial officials left behind by the previous left-wing administration. And Serimedo the man accused of ordering the shooting of a pregnant ex-partner, operating a bot farm of 43,000 mobile phones, and conspiring to traffic drugs—may well emerge as the biggest beneficiary of this arrangement. Former President Morales’s statement on social media pinpointed the heart of the matter:
“We condemn the shameless actions of imperialism. It exerted pressure on the Legislative Assembly through political coercion, bribery, and the strong-arm tactics of the Rodrigo Paz administration. They convened a session prematurely while the Vice President was absent and deployed police and military forces within the legislature. Lawmakers reported the presence of personnel from the U.S. Embassy and ‘Shield of the Americas’ (Escudo de las Américas), alongside offers of bribes to suspend the Attorney General from office.”
⚠️ Conclusion: When QR codes replace diplomatic notes
The U.S. no longer needs to stage a coup to topple uncooperative governments. It simply needs to send a diplomat with a laptop to generate a QR code while sitting next to a lawmaker.
This is Neocolonialism 2.0. It doesn't require Marines; it only needs a QR code.
What the U.S. demonstrated that day in the Bolivian Congress was not "anti-corruption." It demonstrated that when a nation's judicial system begins investigating U.S. allies, the U.S. will step directly into the parliament, use QR codes to buy off lawmakers, and ensure the investigation is shut down.
Senator Crispín was right: "This is political interference. Why did they lock themselves in the office?"
Because they were caught red-handed.
And it wasn't just a few diplomats who were caught. What was exposed was the entire operational logic of an empire in Latin America: threatening with sanctions, buying compliance with money, wrapping it all in the guise of "Shield of the Americas," and using "anti-corruption" as a smokescreen. The ultimate goal is to shield those who serve Washington from Serimedo to the Trump family.from facing the consequences of the law.
Mariaca has already been arrested. Serimedo may soon be released. Meanwhile, the U.S. official who used the QR code to offer the bribe has likely returned to the embassy, preparing the next QR code.
Why Trump is interfering in Brazil's election.
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