OCTOBER 2003 CONTENTS:
Brazil: Favela Gets Ghetto-Fabulous
While a new initiative by Rio's police hopes to clamp down on
the drugs trade by occupying many of the city's favelas, life in
the slums is drawing foreign students these days. At Rocinha,
South America's largest slum, 23 per cent of the residents have
a credit card and 93 per cent have at least one TV set at home.
by Tom Phillips
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Brazil: Lula Is the One Mad Now
Brazilian President Lula forgot the protocol niceties and went
into the attack against his predecessors in the presidency. He
accused them of cowardice for not having solved the problems
of hunger and drought in Brazil. The opposition criticized the
tone and the content of the presidential remarks.
by Émerson Luiz
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Brazil Getting Less Kick out of Soccer
While soccer in North America can boast of some successful
signs of positive growth, all is not going as well as it should
for the sport in Brazil. In spite of its current premier ranking, the
Brazilian national team has so far performed perfunctorily,
if rather unremarkably, in a series of recent friendlies.
by Joe Lopes
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Brazil: When the Media Gets in Bed with Power
Strapped for money, the Brazilian media has just stepped into a
minefield by announcing its formal proposal for procurement of federal
financing. All interlocutors involved are conscious of their own
responsibilities. The federal government, however, is not hiding its own assessment
that the state of the media is a matter of national interest.
by Alberto Dines
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Brazil: A New Referendum on Lula
The hoarse voice of the streets in Brazil is tired of believing in unkept
promises. Elections are coming and there is still time to turn the
game around. Public money and favors of the central power, however,
will hardly change the Brazilian national mood. The fact is
that nobody can stand the belt tightening anymore.
by Carlos Chagas
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Brazil-USA: Bumpy Road Ahead
I foresee a deterioration of relations between the Bush administration
and Lula's PT version of Brazil. The American president will
soon remove career diplomat Donna Hrinak as the US envoy to Brazil.
This is a shame as she understands Brazil well. Her replacement
will probably be a Bush right-wing political appointee.
by Richard Hayes
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Brazil: No Cake for Lula's Birthday
Brazilians are worried about the economy's bad shape. Since
January, Brazil's economy is practically stagnant; joblessness
has risen and income of those with a job has declined. A
national survey taken last week shows that unemployment is
seen as the number one reason for the country's rampant violence.
by Émerson Luiz
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Brazil's Romário in 'Six Chickens and a Raging Bull'
Fluminense's president, David Fischel, criticized football star
Romário for attacking a fan after a training session, but does not
intend to punish him. The striker, however, will have to explain
his actions to the police. And the fan who used chickens to taunt
Romário might be prosecuted for cruelty against animals.
by Tom Phillips
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Halloween Is Catching in Brazil
Brazilians do not go trick-or-treating the conventional way. They
celebrate child-buffet style. Some people in Brazil, however, have started to do like the Americans in their apartment buildings
and complexes. A friend of mine sent her children out
trick-or-treating and they came back with very interesting loot.
by Monica Trentini
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Brazil: Indians in Fear in Their Land
The president of the Indigenous People's Committee, Agostinho
Rodrigues, gave an emotional report of how he no longer
has anywhere to fish, hunt or gather honey for his children,
and that when they try to gather from the lands that the
farm-owners control, they are chased away by armed guards.
by Cimi
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No More Laughing All the Way for Banks in Brazil
Foreign banks now own only around 20 percent of Brazilian banks
and only a handful are big players in the retail market. Foreign groups
like Deutsche Bank and the UK's Lloyds, have shut up shop or run
their operations down to a minimum. They have sold their
Brazilian assets to local banks who are now back in charge.
by John Fitzpatrick
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How Outsourcing Can Benefit Brazil
Brazil ranks third in country attractiveness for offshore IT
outsourcing, only behind India and Canada. Some of Brazil's
universities have outstanding computer science programs. But
Brazil's weaknesses are distinct. Its generally poor knowledge of
the English language poses a problem for projects that demand fluency.
by Chris R. Adams
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Brazil: Ecologists Mad at Lula
Brazilian environmental groups are not happy with the measures
taken by a government that they expected would be much friendlier
to their cause. Brazil's largest NGO's dealing with environmental
issues sent President Lula a letter expressing their indignation
over the policies adopted by his administration.
by AB
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Brazil, a Global Deadbeat
This is not a new story. Brazil has been here before. International
organizations in which the country is member are not being paid.
Rentals of overseas offices are not being paid on time and
utility bills payments are late. Brazilian diplomats serving
around the world are also getting their salaries delayed.
by Émerson Luiz
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It Ain't Easy Being a Kid in Brazil
One study from the University of Brasília shows that 69 percent
of the victims of sexual abuse in Brazil are children. The work
concluded that in a majority of cases the violence is done
within the very home of the young person. The number of
denunciations is insignificant with respect to the reality.
by Rogéria Araújo
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Sinatra Revealed Me the Sounds of Brazil
Bossa nova combines the textures and rhythms of samba, jazz,
20th century classical music, and even Hollywood film music, to
form a distinctly Brazilian style. It is melodically and harmonically
complex, drawing from the chord progressions of jazz and from
the harmonic language of composers like Debussy and Ravel.
by Joshua Reinhold
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In Brazil, Sterilization Is the Best Pill
Registered sterilizations in the central-west of Brazil, the country's
new agriculture frontier, reach 59 percent of women of
child-bearing age. Many such surgical interventions are
clandestine. In the poorest areas of Brazil, politicians frequently
offer women free sterilizations in exchange for a vote.
by Adital
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Brazil's Demoralized Constitution
The result of the lack of respect for the Constitution is
there for all to see: 55 million destitutes surviving on
half a minimum wage, 13 million unemployed, 20 million
citizens who don't know if they will eat a meal, domestic
corporations condemned to failure because they need to
free-compete with privileged multinationals.
by Carlos Chagas
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Brazil: Something Rotten in Academia
The "business" of college education in Brazil moves millions of
dollars and it is attracting the attention of foreign "investors"
who have already sensed where and how to bypass the control systems
now in place. Unscrupulous politicians and educators are all excited.
Something has to be done, urgently.
by Alberto Dines
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Brazil: Seeing Dollar Signs
Brazilian banks are betting in a growing economy for 2004.
At the same time, some Lula's economic advisers have been
warning the President that the continuous devaluation of the
dollar represents a danger to the economy. A group of
businessmen want an exchange of around 3 reais per dollar.
by Alessandra Dalevi
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Paraguay: Where Brazil Buys Cheap Dreams
There were tales of the wonders that could be gotten in Paraguay:
strange mechanical birds, talking sticks, Japanese umbrellas, and
radios we had never seen before. Some people even assured
everyone that one could buy imported cars there! This Puerto Stroessner
was a true Ali-Baba's cave. Not free, but at least possible.
by Eva Paulino Bueno
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Brazil: Picking a Fight with the U.S. Is not Smart
At the recent WTO talks in Cancun, Brazil was impatient and was singled
out by the U.S. as one of the countries responsible for the impasse
which led to the talks breaking down. Brazilian President Lula's
aggressive public stance put it openly against the U.S. and
the E.U. This was foolish.
by John Fitzpatrick
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Five Million Kids Still Working in Brazil
Despite all the efforts by the Brazilian government to end child
labor, there are still too many children working in Brazil,
according to the Brazilian Institute of Geography and
Statistics. A whole one million of these working kids are not
going to school. And 300,000 of them are less than 9 years old.
by Francesco Neves
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Brazil's G-22 Group Crumbling
Four Latin American countries have already abandoned the G-22,
a group led by Brazil to oppose the economic policies of the
United States and the European Union. Costa Rica, El Salvador,
Peru and Colombia, all of them seem to have been seduced by
Washington's promises and scared by the US threats.
by Émerson Luiz
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Brazil: Plenty of Good New$
There is a clear message in the sudden surge of interest by
foreign investors in Brazil: they believe the country has
overcome bad times and is ready for an overdue recovery. The
Brazilian economy and stock market seem euphoric and plenty
of positive indexes tell that the recession might be already over.
by Alessandra Dalevi
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Human Rights: Brazil Gets an F from UN
After two weeks investigating human rights abuses in six
Brazilian states, the UN's special Rapporteur Asma Jahangir's
verdict is highly critical. It's appalling that the military police kill
with impunity, she said, and even sadder that some government
officials will look you in the eye and say all is well.
by Tom Phillips
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Brazil: How to Reduce Unemployment
To improve the unemployment rate in Brazil overnight, the
Brazilian government should adopt the same system of
counting the unemployed being used by the
United States government. It is a simple method that uses several
techniques including lies, deception and misinformation.
by Ricardo C. Amaral
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Once again: Brazilians Are Not Hispanic
A number of the diverse populations who migrated to Brazil
include: Portugal, Italy, Poland, France, Germany, Lebanon,
Syria, Japan, Russia, Austria, Turkey all of which are
disengaged from the Hispanic-Latino paradigms. Brazilians
don't belong to an illusory Hispanic or Latino "race."
by Alan P. Marcus
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Brazil, Land of Cachaça. It's the Law.
The Brazilian national drink, the cachaça, has graduated to its own
category. A government decree presents all the specifications of
the sugar cane liquor and the information will soon be sent to the
World Trade Organization. Brazil exports 11 million liters of the
product a year, and wants to increase it to 40 million.
by AB
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Brazil: 9 Months of Lula and No Birth to Celebrate
Brazilian President Lula thinks that words are a substitute for
actions. He just said that homeless people could be accommodated
in empty buildings. This is the kind of simplistic idea, much like
the Zero Hunger project, that sounds good but will not work in
practice. You need a strong economy to create jobs.
by John Fitzpatrick
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Brazil: Punishing Thieves and Public
Public works that are needed by the population cannot stop
every time an irregularity is found. To stop them is a stupid idea.
It will only harm those for whom they were created in the first
place. The law is the one demanding the interruption.
It is the law, therefore, that must be changed.
by Carlos Chagas
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FTAA: ...And Brazil Was Left Alone
The U.S. was incensed at Brazil in Port of Spain. Brasília proposed
that Americans and Canadians wouldn't have a tariff reduction in the
FTAA. On the other hand, Latin American countries saw this as a
Brazilian maneuver to take advantage of poorer countries while
hurting their chances of having access to the U.S. and Canada.
by Francesco Neves
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Brazil Soy: The Seeds of Discord
There is a growing movement in Brazil against genetically
modified soy, which was liberated for planting. Critics of the
government say that the Brazilian Ministry of Agriculture is
being transformed into an arm of American Monsanto,
the company responsible for the genetically modified grains.
by Adital
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Brazil: Women's Flaws at Lula's Cabinet
Two Brazilian women ministers are having a hard time.
Benedita da Silva had to explain a trip to an evangelical meeting
in Buenos Aires at taxpayers' expense. Lula forgave her. Marina
Silva didn't resign after genetically modified crops were
approved against her will. Lula is not happy with her.
by John Fitzpatrick
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Brazil: Talking to Dom Tomás, the Bishop of the Landless
They call occupations by the landless "violent," but what about
the violence of hunger, or the harassment of those on these
settlements. Ex-president Cardoso accused the landless movement
of being political. That's not an accusation. That's a
compliment. To be called apolitical would be an insult.
by Belisa Ribeiro
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Brazil: Still the Inequality Champion
Brazil's Human Development Index went up dramatically in
the 1990s. This improvement, however, occurred through
an extreme concentration of income that widened even
more the gap between rich and poor Brazilians.
No other big country has such a disparity between haves and have nots.
by Rodolfo Espinoza
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In Brazil, Police Are The Crook
Death squads and hired killers belong not just to 1980s São Paulo,
but to the here and now of contemporary Brazil. According to
a new report handed to the UN, the victims of death squads
are almost without exception poor, black men, between
15 and 24 years old, accused of petty crime.
by Tom Phillips
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Economy: Brazil Down to 15. Behind India.
From 1998 to 2003, Brazil fell from the 8th to the 12th position
among the richest countries in the world. In this short
period, the country was passed by Canada and Spain (1999),
Mexico (2001), and South Korea (2002). Now, the Netherlands,
Australia and India are also ahead in the ranking.
by Alessandra Dalevi
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Brazil: Lula's Global Fan Club Is Thinning
By helping form a new organization of developing countries—the
so-called G-22—Brazil has managed to put itself into the losers'
camp. Lula's speech at the U.N. was deservedly met with
indifference. It was dull, pious and irrelevant. The world was
not interested in a sermon from a Third World spokesman.
by John Fitzpatrick
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Long Live the Captain -
In Portuguese
I liked him very much and I feel bad for what I felt right there:
he was my idol, my warrior, my myth although he wasn't more
than a contumacious loser. Hadn't the romantic captain understood
the new times? And these times weren't they interested in
knowing about him? Hi world was already agonizing.
by Emanuel Medeiros Vieira
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