Brazil has finally taken the step to full “rogue nation” status.
Brazil’s lower house has passed a bill that will suspend patent rights on innovator AIDS drugs. As a result, local drug manufacturers will be allowed to copy patent-protected AIDS drugs.
The Rogue-in-Chief, President Lula, says it will lower prices and increase competition. That’s like saying if I break into your house and steal your television and sell it on the black market for half the price of a new one, I have lowered prices and increased competition.
The truth is that Brazil is walking away from the group of nations that strive to be part of civil society, and has become a petty, corrupt thief. And it’s not just with regards to drugs.
A May 31 article in the Dallas Morning News by Jim Landers notes:
- “Crime lords around the world have discovered that stealing intellectual property can be more profitable and less risky than drug trafficking."
“Brazil is an important destination in the global piracy market, draining billions of dollars from U.S. companies, eliminating jobs and raising prices for legitimate products.”
The article also notes, “Three downtown shopping areas here sell only counterfeit, pirated and smuggled goods.”
But aren’t these well-meaning people behind the piracy? No, the article correctly points out they are crime lords and the Chinese mafia.
The fact is that history is replete with self-serving thieves who take other people’s property for their own gain — but excuse their actions as a way to help others. A Bloombergarticle quotes someone from the Workers Party as saying, “Patents have to be suspended if they’re harming public health.”
Such thieves used to be called communists; maybe now we should just call them Brazilians.