International
Brazilian voters wear loyalty on their sleeves

AFP
Brazilians wore their loyalty on their sleeves, literally, as they turned out in large numbers Sunday dressed to flaunt their political preference in a polarized presidential election.
Many were decked out from head to toe in the red of leftist front-runner Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva’s Workers’ Party, others in the yellow-and-green Brazilian colors far-right incumbent Jair Bolsonaro has claimed as his own.
It is a reflection of the tribalized nature of Brazilian politics, and made for colorful scenes at voting stations in Rio de Janeiro, Sao Paulo and Brasilia with bandanas, flags, shirts, stickers, even lipstick and colored sunglasses chosen to match a voter’s political leaning.
“There is no secret vote… it’s all in plain sight,” Debora Mattos, 45, told AFP after casting her vote near Rio’s famous Copacabana tourist beach.
She wore a T-shirt with an image of the Brazilian flag; a white top with the words “Bolsonaro president” and the incumbent’s face tied around her waist.
Brazilian law allows individual voters to wear clothing or paraphernalia advertising their political allegiance, as long as they do not distribute party political material or engage in campaigning.
As red- and yellow-clad voters mixed in thousands of voting queues around Latin America’s biggest democracy, there were no reports of disagreements half-way into the eight hours of voting.
Bolsonaro himself voted in Rio de Janeiro in a T-shirt of yellow and green.
Lula opted for a more statesmanly look: casting his ballot in Sao Paulo state in a dark suit and a blue button-up shirt.
Unlike Bolsonaro, who had urged his supporters to turn out in the national colors as he had, Lula told his fans to come any which way they liked. Just come.
In the capital, Brasilia, 32-year-old policeman Andre Ribeiro took the bold step of draping himself in a Worker’s Party flag in a Bolsonaro-majority area where he was a red speck in a sea of yellow and green.
He complained of followers of Bolsonaro “stealing” the national colors.
At a polling station in Rio, Marcio Lessa, 59, opted for white.
“I’m afraid of being attacked,” he told AFP, flashing an “L” with his right thumb and forefinger while silently mouthing “Lula.”
Some chose their outfit to make a different point: about unity.
One of them, 32-year-old Juliana Trevisan, 32, wore a green-and-yellow shirt… with Lula’s image, voting in Rio.
International
Paraguay summons Brazilian ambassador over Itaipú espionage scandal

Paraguay summoned the Brazilian ambassador in Asunción on Tuesday to demand “explanations” and called its own representative in Brasília for consultations following Brazil’s acknowledgment of an espionage operation. The Brazilian government, led by President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva, attributed the operation to the previous administration.
The surveillance effort aimed to uncover Paraguay’s position in now-suspended negotiations with Brazil regarding the pricing of electricity from the binational Itaipú hydroelectric plant, according to reports in the Brazilian press.
The Brazilian government “categorically denied any involvement in the intelligence operation,” stating in a Foreign Ministry communiqué on Monday that the espionage was carried out under former President Jair Bolsonaro’s administration (2019-2023).
“The operation was authorized by the previous government in June 2022 and was annulled by the interim director of the (state intelligence agency) ABIN on March 27, 2023, as soon as the current administration became aware of it,” Brazil’s government asserted.
Paraguay’s Foreign Minister Rubén Ramírez announced that Brazilian Ambassador José Antonio Marcondes de Carvalho was summoned “to provide detailed explanations” regarding the operation. Additionally, Paraguay recalled its diplomatic representative in Brasília “to report on aspects related to the intelligence activity conducted by Brazil regarding Paraguay’s government affairs.”
International
Elon Musk to step down as government advisor, per Trump insiders

President Donald Trump has informed his inner circle that Elon Musk will be stepping down from his role as a government advisor, according to a report by Politico today.
Citing three individuals close to Trump, Politico states that the president is pleased with Musk’s leadership at the Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE), where he has implemented significant budget cuts. However, both have agreed that it is time for Musk to return to his businesses and support Trump from a different position outside the government.
A senior administration official told Politico that Musk will likely maintain an informal advisory role and continue to be an occasional visitor to the White House. Another source warned that anyone thinking Musk will completely disappear from Trump’s circle is “deluding themselves.”
According to the sources, this transition is expected to coincide with the end of Musk’s tenure as a “special government employee,” a temporary status that exempts him from certain ethics and conflict-of-interest regulations. This 130-day period is set to expire in late May or early June.
International
Milei vows to make Argentina so strong that Falkland Islanders “choose” to join

Argentine President Javier Milei reaffirmed his country’s claim over the Falkland Islands (known as the Islas Malvinas in Argentina) and praised the role of the nation’s armed forces during a ceremony marking the “Veterans and Fallen Soldiers of the Malvinas War Day,” commemorating 43 years since the 1982 conflict with the United Kingdom.
Argentina continues to assert sovereignty over the islands, arguing that Britain unlawfully seized them in 1833.
“If sovereignty over the Malvinas is the issue, we have always made it clear that the most important vote is the one cast with one’s feet. We hope that one day, the Malvinas residents will choose to vote with their feet and join us,” Milei stated.
“That is why we aim to become a global power—so much so that they would prefer to be Argentine, making deterrence or persuasion unnecessary. This is why we have embarked on a path of liberation, working to make Argentina the freest country in the world and once again the nation with the highest GDP per capita on the planet,” he added.
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