Presenter Carlos Massa, Ratinho, defended Tuesday (7) a military intervention “equal to that of Singapore” to improve the situation in Brazil.
“I know what I’m about to talk about here may even shock you, but it’s time to do the same as you did in Singapore. A general walked in, fixed the country, and a year later organized elections. he fixed it, called everyone denounced and said, “You have 24 hours to leave the country or you will be shot.” He cleaned up Singapore, “he said on a broadcast. on Massa FM radio, which he owns.
In addition to defending an illegal act, Mouse gave false information. Singapore had no military intervention and was not commanded by an active general. And the fight against corruption has been work for decades.
The country, which is an island state of 5.8 million people, has made a huge economic leap in a generation and has become one of the financial centers of Asia. The transition, led by Prime Minister Lee Kuan Yew, was based on major stimulus programs for the economy, such as job creation.
On the other hand, Lee determined strict control of the population, curbing the opposition and a fierce fight against corruption, waged for decades. See below for more details on the country’s history.
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Did the military rule Singapore?
No. The country became independent in 1965, and since then it has had three Prime Ministers, all civilians and from the same party, the PAP (Popular Action Party).
Lee Kuan Yew, who led from 1965 to 1990, graduated in law, served as a lawyer, and in 1954 founded PAP. At the time, Singapore was still under British rule.
In 1959, the PAP was the most voted in the elections. In that year, Singapore became a free state, although still linked to the UK on some issues. In 1962, the country decided, in a referendum, to be part of Malaysia, but the arrangement did not work and the region became independent in 1965.
After Lee, he took over Goh Chok Tong, a trained economist who led from 1990 to 2004. The country’s current leader, Lee Hsien Loong, son of the first prime minister, served in the military for 13 years and came to the general position. However, he left his post in the armed forces when he entered politics in 1984.
If there is no change in the ruling party, is Singapore a dictatorship?
It is considered a fragile democracy, as the elections are still ongoing, but opposition is limited. In the last election, in 2020, the PAP had 61% of the vote. In the previous election, in 2015, he had obtained 70% preference.
The country is a parliamentary republic, in which the party which obtains the most votes in the elections appoints the Prime Minister, who will lead the government.
“The government continues to use strict and general laws to prosecute [autores de] critical speeches, or qualifying them as “fake news” and ordering social networks to block this content, “said a report by the NGO Human Rights Watch.
One of the laws, passed in 2019, gives the government the power to declare online content to be fake and demand unilateral correction. If the author or the platform does not comply with the order, they can be punished with a fine and up to one year in prison.
What other rights are restricted?
There is a death penalty for crimes such as homicide and drug trafficking. Homosexuality can lead to prison. And lashes are used as punishment for dozens of crimes.
How did the fight against corruption go there?
By strict rules of conduct, efficient inspection and exemplary punishment. The country has an anti-corruption agency, called CPIB, created in the 1950s. It concentrates all the investigations on the subject in the country and has the power to make arrests, search operations, to assign witnesses and analyze the bank details of the respondents.
Lee, in the 1960s, made it clear that he saw the fight against corruption as a key element in lifting the country out of poverty. Over the decades, there have been several public punishments, to set an example. On the other hand, the government increased the salaries of civil servants, so that they had less reason to take bribes. However, there was criticism that the payments would be too high.
Did it work?
In 2020, the country was ranked as the third country with the lowest corruption perception in the world by Transparency International, out of 180 countries assessed. Brazil was in 94th position.
Despite this, cases of corruption continue to occur. In recent years, there have been prosecutions of improper relationships between companies and public officials.