China funds leftist publications in Brazil

A report by The New York Times revealed a network of international influence supported by the Chinese dictatorship. Some of these arms are in Brazil.

The investigation by the American newspaper sheds light on the actions of Neville Roy Singham, a businessman of Indian origin linked to the Communist Party of China. Singham lives in Shanghai and produces, among other things, a city-funded YouTube show — read the party. But his performance goes far beyond that.

According to the newspaper, he is at the forefront of a silent war launched by the Communist Party of China to influence public opinion outside the country. In other words: political propaganda presented as if it weren’t.

In 2017, Singham sold his tech company, Thoughtworks, for $785 million. Now, pro-Chinese dictatorship activism is his main occupation. The network operated by him distributed at least US$ 275 million in recent years, according to the American newspaper.

The transfer of money is carried out through maneuvers that make tracking difficult and uses four non-governmental front organizations based in the United States. The only real presence of these entities are mailboxes. US law does not require nonprofit organizations to disclose who their donors are.

Marxist think tank

Singham funds a web of organizations that aim to spread propaganda (or disinformation) about the Chinese dictatorship. One of the focal points of this web is a think tank called the Tricontinental Institute for Social Research.

The institute presents itself as “an international institution guided by popular movements and organizations in the world, focused on being a point of support and link between academic production and political and social movements”. Brazil, India, Argentina and Africa are the focus of the organization, which cites Karl Marx and Antonio Gramsci as its references.

One of the organization’s headquarters is in Brazil. On the institute’s presentation page, the word “China” simply does not appear. The advisory board has no Chinese — but includes Neuri Rossetto, from the Landless Movement.

Spokesperson for China in Brazil

The article in the American newspaper specifically mentions a Brazilian vehicle financed by the Singham network: Brasil de Fato, a far-left publication that defends the Chinese regime.

Between acidic attacks on the United States, “neoliberalism” and conservative politicians, the page publishes white paper news about the Chinese regime. “China combats desertification to ensure food security and air quality,” says a report published on August 15. Not very subtle, an article published on June 30 was entitled: “China grew and eradicated poverty because it did everything contrary to what neoliberals preach.”

Brasil de Fato is an influential vehicle on the Brazilian left. In 2019, for example, the publication interviewed Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva inside jail. The video has nearly 800,000 views on YouTube. The group has also published exclusive interviews with actor Wagner Moura and former MST president João Pedro Stédile. More recently, the channel started to produce content in English.

On its YouTube channel, Brasil de Fato publishes a weekly program called “Notícias da China”, which presents a pro-Chinese version of events. The content is presented by Marco Fernandes. He, in turn, works for a website called Donsheng News. The page presents itself only as an “international collective of researchers interested in Chinese politics and society”.

Marco also introduces himself as a researcher at the Tricontinental Institute and organizer of “No Cold War”—another Chinese pro-dictatorship publication with a nebulous profile and links to Singham. “A new Cold War against China goes against the interests of humanity,” proclaims the page.

The founder of the Spotniks website, Rodrigo da Silva, also showed that other Brazilian websites, such as Brasil 247 and Opera Mundi, publish articles by Vijay Prashad, director of the Tricontinental Institute. In addition, Brasil de Fato, No Cold War and the Tricontinental Institute held an online seminar with the participation of former President Dilma Rousseff and João Pedro Stédile, in addition to former Chancellor Celso Amorim and Professor Elias Jabbour, from State University of Rio de Janeiro. The event took place in 2021.

Chinese influence around the world is also present in academic circles. As Gazeta do Povo has shown, the Beijing regime uses the Confucius Institutes to spread its tentacles. In Brazil, eleven universities maintain branches of the Chinese center.

>> Be part of the Life and Citizenship channel on Telegram