Michael Royster
The Curmudgeon moved to Rio over forty years ago, and remained there until late 2018. He's been writing political commentary for The Rio Times for nine years. He once referred to himself as a WASP (look it up) but doesn't any more because it embarrasses him.
Letter: “A Shiver Of Sharks (doo-doo, doo-doo-doo-doo!)”
RIO DE JANEIRO, BRAZIL - Please allow me to introduce myself: I’m a baseball fan. More specifically: a lifelong, unswervingly loyal New York Yankees...
Opinion: Bolsonaro’s Campaign Speech at UN Shows His Determination to Run for Re-election
RIBEIRÃO PRETO, BRAZIL – As noted in a prior column, Jair Bolsonaro’s 2018 campaign platform stated that he would NOT be a candidate for...
Opinion: A Curmudgeonly Response to “Gender Ideology”: “E pur si muove!”
RIBEIRÃO PRETO, BRAZIL - President Bolsonaro’s radical-right administration has publicly stated that there is no difference between sex and gender; since the Garden of...
Opinion: Whose Amazon is it Anyway? A Demurrer
RIBEIRÃO PRETO, SP, BRAZIL - In a thoughtful article published in The Rio Times Monday, August 19th, Peter Rosenwald gave a series of answers...
Opinion: Is President Bolsonaro Running for Re-Election?
Ribeirão Preto, SP – One plank of Jair Bolsonaro’s campaign platform in 2018 stated that he would not be a candidate for re-election if...
Opinion: Brazilians’ Diffident Attitude towards Climate Change
RIBEIRÃO PRETO, BRAZIL - A recent DataFolha poll indicates that some 85 percent of Brazilians believe in global warming, and some 72 percent believe...
Opinion: In Defense of Glenn Greenwald, or Vaza Jato vs. Lava Jato
RIBEIRÃO PRETO, BRAZIL – (aka The Curmudgeon): Glenn Greenwald, the American journalist who became famous worldwide for having collaborated with Edward Snowden in publishing...
Opinion: “Environmental Psychosis” and Brazil’s Amazon
RIBEIRÃO PRETO, Brazil – On his return from Japan, where he participated in the G20 meeting and met several of the world’s great and...
Brazil’s Bolsonaro: “How’s He Doing after Six Months in Office?”
Column, by Michael Royster
RIBEIRÃO PRETO, Brazil – This coming Monday, July 1st, will mark the beginning of the second semester of Jair Bolsonaro’s reign...
Lava-Jato: Chronicle of a Death Foretold
Column, by Michael Royster
RIBEIRÃO PRETO, BRAZIL – Twice last year there were times when the imminent passing of Lava-Jato into history, accompanied by cheering...
“Yo, el Supremo”; or “The Toffoli Factor”: a Cautionary Tale From Brazil
Opinion, by Michael Royster
SÃO PAULO, BRAZIL – In 1974, Paraguayan author Augusto Roa Bastos published a novel, whose title in English was “I, the...
Opinion: Brazil’s Continuing Institutional Problem
Opinion, by Michael Royster
RIBEIRÃO PRETO, BRAZIL – Three years ago, the Curmudgeon published a comment describing Brazil's biggest problem: the 1988 Constitution created an...
Opinion: Bolsonaro, the Bad News Bairns and Oily Oakentree
Opinion by Michael Royster
RIBERÃO PRETO, BRAZIL — The latest pronouncement from stargazer Olavo de Carvalho (aka Oily Oakentree) was that he would stop shaking...
Opinion: Is Sergio Moro “Too Big to Fail”?
Opinion by Michael Royster
RIBERÃO PRETO, SP – When President-elect Bolsonaro announced he would appoint crusading Lava Jato Judge Sergio Moro as his Super-Minister for...