MAY 2004 CONTENTS:
Wanna Buy Cheap Land in Brazil?
The Internet has plenty of offers for those willing to buy a
piece of the Brazilian jungle. The price is good: from US$ 16
to US$ 50 for a hectare of public land in the Brazilian Amazon.
The problem is that government land cannot be sold directly to
the public in Brazil. So the police are warning: 'caveat emptor.'
by Marcela D'Alessandro
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Brazil: Lula Beats Cardoso in 2006
In a hypothetical election against former president Fernando
Henrique Cardoso, Brazilian President Lula would beat his
predecessor. An opinion poll by Ibope reveals that 33 percent of
Brazilians would vote for Lula and 16 percent for Cardoso in the
first round. A runoff vote would be needed to choose the winner.
by Irene Lôbo
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Brazil: Lula Down, Inflation Fears Up
A new poll by the Brazilian Institute of Public Opinion and
Statistics shows that Brazilians are afraid that high inflation
will be back to the country's economy. The same survey also
shows that President Lula's popularity continues to fall. Only 54
percent of the population now say that they trust their chief.
by Irene Lobo
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Saint Leonel Brizola of Brazil
In Brazil, you just need to die to become a saint. Take Leonel
Brizola, for example. Claiming to be a defender of democracy,
he spent his whole life worshiping dictator Getúlio Vargas. As
Governor of Rio, he helped drug dealers by forbidding the police
to enter the favelas. If Rio has no rule it started with Brizola.
by Janer Cristaldo
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Brazil: Minimum Wage Goes to Committee
Brazilian President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva wants a committee
to discuss and present a new minimum wage policy for Brazil.
Had Lula thought about such a commission earlier he
might have avoided much headache and would have a better
chance to win the coming elections for his Workers' Party.
by Carlos Chagas
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Brazil's Debt Over US$ 300 bi
Brazil's debt/GDP ratio spiked in May to 56.8 percent of GDP
due to the real's devaluation against the dollar. According to
the Brazilian government, however, this is good news. They
point that last December the debt/GDP ratio was 58.7 percent,
which means that there has been "a significant reduction."
by Gustavo Bernardes
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The Treacherous Songs of Brazil's Lustful Sirens
Brazil can be a dangerous place for foreign dreamers. We have
seen a good example recently of how things can go terribly wrong.
A 56-year-old Swiss language teacher was thrown from the seventh
floor of his apartment in Rio. A 30-year-old manicurist who was
his long-term girlfriend admitted being involved in the crime.
by John Fitzpatrick
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Brazil: Waiting for Lula... to Get Out
The Lula administration is still mired in inefficiency and inability to
deliver any programs to help the lot of the people or to stimulate
the economy. Meanwhile, Brazilian banks' profits continue to set
record levels. This is one sector of the economy that seems to
prosper regardless of what is going on politically or economically.
by Richard Hayes
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Reliving Brazil's World Cup Excitement
In the midst of all the commotion, someone yelled "pentacampeão,"
which means five-time champion. "We just scored the winning goal."
The crowd, already loud, became ecstatic. Everyone was going crazy,
and while cheering seemed to be an American thing, singing,
dancing, and hollering to the beat of a drum, was purely Brazilian.
by Adam Lee
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Brazil Tells Brazilians: Piracy Is Robbery
Out of every three CDs or DVDs sold in Brazil last year, one was
pirate. Brazil, however, still lacks official data on the economic
damages caused by the sale of falsified products. All that exist
are estimates. It is estimated, for example, that the Brazilian
audiovisual sector loses US$ 120 million a year due to piracy.
by Bianca Estrella
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Brazil Scene: Letters from Prison
"It feels like I’m on the other side of the world, one which I
didn’t need to get to know. I’m really frightened. The people
here fight day and night. It doesn’t take anything to set off
violence or a whole night of blood. It’s hell. I ask God to
get me out of here. Tomorrow no longer belongs to us."
by Tom Phillips
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Brazil: Congress Wants New Economic Model
Brazilian President Lula's recent defeat in the House could be the
first step to disassemble the model responsible for our national
problems. It will be increasingly difficult to justify a law forcing
workers to survive on a miserable minimum wage while we send
US$ 61 billion abroad to pay the external and the public debts.
by Carlos Chagas
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Brazil: Lula's Popularity Is Down
What happened to Brazilian President Lula campaign promise
to double the purchasing power of the Brazilian minimum wage?
Lula has been involved in a fight with Congress to get a smaller
not a bigger salary to workers. The government says, however,
that the workers' purchasing power is the highest in 12 years.
by Cecília Jorge
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Brazil, the South American Tiger
In New York, accompanying Brazilian President Lula in a trade
mission, Brazil's Minister of Finance, Antônio Palocci, said
that Brazil is experiencing a new stage of sustainable growth.
He told 676 American, Canadian, and Mexican businessmen
that Brazil is much less vulnerable to outside shocks today.
by Ana Paula Marra
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Sending Money to Brazil? Charge It.
It is estimated that there are 2.5 million Brazilians living abroad.
Last year they sent US$ 2.9 billion back to Brazil, according
to the Brazilian Central Bank. Most of the remittances come
from the United States, with an estimated 55 percent of them.
Japan is in second place with 27 percent of the remittances.
by Nelson Motta
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Rest in Peace, Brazil's Old Warrior!
Leonel Brizola lost an election, lost another, and then modestly
became the vice presidential running mate of Lula. He set aside
all vanity because that was the moment for the young metal
worker to replace the old engineer in leading Brazil. With the
same coherence he joined the opposition to Lula in recent months.
by Cristovam Buarque
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Brazil: China Lifts Soy Ban
Brazil should resume soon its shipment of soy to China, after
a two-month-long embargo. Losses from the ban are estimated
at US$ 1 billion, according to the Brazilian Ministry of Agriculture.
Lower prices for the product have raised speculation on the ill-will
of Chinese importers, who are now negotiating better terms.
by Luis Waldmann
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Official Mourning for Brizola in Brazil
Brazilian President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva said he deeply regretted
the death of Leonel Brizola, calling him a leading politician that
he always respected and admired. Brizola had enthusiastically
supported Lula when he became President, but grew disillusioned
and turned into a fierce opponent of the government's economic policy.
by Douglas Correa
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Brazil Cries for Its Last Caudillo
Leonel Brizola's position as one of Brazil's leading political
leaders over the past 50 years is undisputed. He spent 15 years
in exile after the military grabbed power from his brother-in-law,
João Goulart, in 1964. When an amnesty was granted in 1979 and
Brizola returned to Brazil he was given a rapturous welcome.
by John Fitzpatrick
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US$ 13 bi: The Low Price to End Brazil's Poverty
With a little more than 2 percent of its revenue Brazil could put
an end to its poverty. By using US$ 13 billion annually, in a few years
Brazil could assure all its children good schools. Everyone would
have housing and healthcare and no one would go hungry. And
these projects would generate employment and revenue.
by Cristovam Buarque
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A Brazil Out of Tune
Musical instruction in the public schools is not a priority for those
responsible for education in Brazil. In the first four grades, the
teaching of arts, and of music as one of them, is done by the class
teacher. From fifth to eighth grade, there's a teacher of artistic
education who may not have specific training in music.
by Flávio Carrança
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Brazil Indians Ready to Die for Land
Despite a judicial order against Brazil's Krahô-Kanela Indians
they refuse to leave Mata Alagada, in the state of Tocantins, a
place they consider traditional land. They have occupied the
area and say nothing will make them give up. Said one Indian,
"My mother is 76 and prefers to die in her land than have to leave."
by Cimi
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Dear, IMF: a Letter from Brazil
We request the completion of the Seventh Review by the IMF. We
emphasize that we will continue to treat the arrangement as
precautionary. As usual, we will maintain a close policy dialogue
with the Fund and stand ready to take additional measures as
appropriate to ensure the achievement of the program's objectives.
by Antônio Palocci
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Brazil's Stagnant Revolution
The Left born in the São Paulo ABC assumed Brazil's presidency
with a project of power but with no project to utilize it. In these
17 months, we have not seen a new vocabulary arise in Brazil.
Zero Hunger is merely a goal, imported from old programs,
like those of the US and the United Nations for poor countries.
by Cristovam Buarque
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Pointers for a Better Brazilian Press
I can't leave out of our "ideal agenda" the issue of a body patterned
after the American Federal Communications Commission (FCC).
The Brazilian government and the electronic media companies
may not be interested in creating such a body, but I consider it
to be our inalienable duty to instigate this discussion.
by Alberto Dines
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Brazil Is Good for Your Pocket, Says Lula
Brazilian President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva is headed to New
York where he will tell investors from the US, Mexico and Canada
that Brazil is a great place in which to invest. Lula will also take part
in the Global Compact Summit, organized by the United Nations.
There he intends to discuss his Zero Hunger Campaign.
by Nelson Motta
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The Ills of Tobacco and TV in Brazil
A judge in São Paulo, Brazil, found against Souza Cruz and
Philip Morris for omitting information about the dangers of
smoking and the transmission of deceptive advertising.
Damages were estimated at US$ 17 billion. People are asking
to be reimbursed for what they willingly paid to get sick.
by Janer Cristaldo
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Brazil: Strikes Try Lula's Party
The implications of Piauí Governor's failure to navigate through
an impending disaster could have wider and more profound
implications for Brazil Lula's Workers' Party. If the strikes in
that state spread this will be shown as yet another example
of the PT being unable to introduce much-needed reforms.
by Guy Burton
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Brazil: It Ends the UNCTAD of the Discontent
For the Secretary of Environment and Development from the
state of Amazonas, in Brazil, is a tremendous absurd for the
whole world to say that the Brazilian forest should be preserved,
because of its value in natural terms. People have to remember
those who live in the forest, he said, in unacceptable poverty.
by Eduardo Mamcasz
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Brazil's Musical Polyglots
My own vote for the most absurd-sounding cover album ever
committed to disc by an established Brazilian artist has got to
go to Crooner by Milton Nascimento. The real "clinchers" are
the American numbers, delivered by Nascimento in absolutely
execrable English, particularly "Only You" and "Beat It."
by Joe Lopes
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How the Viola Got Hip in Brazil
The history of the viola in Brazil always accompanied that of the
man in the field. There are more than 20 different tunings for
the instrument. One of the most common in the states of São Paulo
and Minas is the big onion. It's said that women cry when they
hear violeiros playing in this tuning as if they were chopping onions.
by Rafaela Müller
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Mud and Chaos in Brazilian Music
Brazil's Mangue Beat musical movement shows us that the
dividing line between the public and the private is broken. In an
absolute way. In the conditions of poverty and misery of these
great urban peripheries in Brazil, where private life is absolutely
invaded by the public dimension, or rather by its absence.
by Maria Rita Kehl
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Brazil Silences Community Radios
Given the populism from which current Brazilian President
Lula's campaign emerged, proponents of community radio
in Brazil had hoped for more favorable treatment, but that's
not the case. Transmitting radio signals without official
authorization continues to be a crime punishable by jail.
by Marc Boucher-Colbert
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Brazilian Culture: A State-Funded Bordello
Brazil's culture gigolos managed to revoke the reactionary
law of supply and demand and shove their made-in-Brazil
movies down the throats of the movie-going public. What is
left in the market is the domain of the Americans. Brazil also
has state theatre, state book publishing, and state music.
by Janer Cristaldo
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Ché Is Brazilian Now
Set in Spanish, but conceived by a Brazilian, Motorcycle Diaries
is a Southern Latin American film. There may be no more perfect
a figure from the region to carry the theme of a Latin American
continental cinema than the Argentine-born, Cuban and Latin
American revolutionary, Ernesto Guevara de la Serna, a.k.a. Ché.
by Norman Madarasz
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All the Papers a Gringo Needs to Live in Brazil
Like many things in Brazil getting documents and checking accounts
will depend on the mood of the manager or the official you
are dealing with. It might sound weird but that's the way things
work in Brazil. A nice and friendly conversation might make
things much easier and it could even make the impossible possible.
by Volker Ruthner
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All Brazil You Can Eat in London
Here it is: the Guy Burton Guide to Brazil in London. I will
be the first to admit that it’s far from comprehensive and
bound to miss things out. This is a first step into finding out
more about Brazil in London. These are the resources I use
to gather information about Brazilian life in London and the UK.
by Guy Burton
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Brazilian Love Affairs
The Brazilian press is in love with Brazil's Finance Minister,
Antônio Palocci. One of the reasons for this crush is the
media's distrust of President Lula's chief of staff, José Dirceu,
who is regaining his power after losing it. This just shows how
the Brazilian media manipulates the news when it wants to.
by John Fitzpatrick
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Brazil: Lula's Empty Promises
The Brazilian people does not need Lula, nor wants him
anymore. The Brazilian President didn't keep his promises and
business with China, will only enrich friends. The headlines in
Brazil talk about advances. They forgot the existence of 53 million
indigent, 12 million unemployed and 10 million famished.
by Carlos Chagas
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The Press in Custody, in Brazil
The Brazilian press was not sufficiently shocked by the recent
massacre in Rio's Detention Center, nor was able to shock its
readers. Much less sound the alarm to wake a federal government
immersed in its dramas of conscience. Worse than lying is silence.
Silence saps the energy of those who seek action, chills indignation.
by Alberto Dines
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Cowboy Ronald Reagan and Brazil's Mystique
Brazil is the last big frontier of retirement for Americans. The city
of Barretos is on the road for those Americans who live and love
the country lifestyle. Whether Reagan's legacy has any meaning
for Brazilians in Brazil, Barretos can only gain by honoring
President Reagan in a city where the cowboy is still king.
by Edgardo Quintanilla
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Driving in Brazil and Living to Tell About It
Brazilian drivers have the unfortunate habit of tailgating at
highway speeds. To changes lanes you might want to wave your
hand out the window and hope they don't rear end you. Another
constant menace is the overloaded and underpowered truck.
The exhaust from many of the diesels is amazingly sooty.
by Tom Moore
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Smoking: Brazil's Gift to the World
Tobacco smoking was the great indigenous legacy to civilization.
Not every cultivated person dares to affirm that tobacco was
imported from Latin America natives, to France by Jean Nicot,
hence the name nicotine. Today's cancers and emphysema are in
large part the heritage of the noble savage of our continent.
by Janer Cristaldo
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Brazil: Corruption Here Is a Cancer
The secret of our corruption in Brazil rests in the fact that it is
beyond white hats and black hats, beyond what type of
administration is in power. It goes beyond differences between
branches of government because it is deeply rooted in the state
apparatus. It reached this scale due to a generalized metastasis.
by Alberto Dines
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Brazil Kisses the IMF Goodbye
Brazil's secretary of the Federal Treasury reaffirmed what the Finance
Minister had already announced: Brazil does not intend to renew
its agreement with the International Monetary Fund when that
accord expires at the end of the year. Brazilians don't need
the IMF to know what fiscal responsibility is, says the secretary.
by Gabriela Guerreiro
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Brazil: The Meanness of Lula's Regime
Brazilian House members may face the possibility of being sued
and convicted for crimes against the State. After all, they
consciously ignored the Constitution when they approved the new
minimum wage. Only from Houdini could anyone expect the
possibility of a worker surviving with the approved salary.
by Carlos Chagas
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Brazil: Lula's PT Splits
The creators of the new Socialism and Liberty Party, a dissidence
from the government's Workers' Party, have until September
30, 2005, to make it official. They will need to obtain 438
thousand voters' signatures so they can compete in the 2006
elections. The party's founders believe that this will be easy.
by Stênio Ribeiro
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Brazil's Playgirls
Brazil has no women's movement to speak of and is not a
politically correct country. In a way this is good because we
men are spared the kind of harpies who make life a misery for
men in places like Switzerland and Germany. On the other hand,
women still have a long way to go before being taken seriously.
by John Fitzpatrick
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Brazil: The Foolishness of Sending Troops to Haiti
If Brazil's federal government does not have the courage to take
on its constitutional duties and re-establish the rule of law in a
Rio de Janeiro converted into a no-man's-land, let it at least show
its apprehension and its solidarity with the Brazilians of Rio, at the
mercy of the pusillanimity of the governing couple, the Garotinhos.
by Alberto Dines
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Black Plague May Wipe Out Brazilian Tribes
Brazil's National Health Foundation is being accused of neglect
for letting scores of Amazon Indians die from an acute syndrome
caused by hepatitis. According to backwoodsman Sidney Possuelo,
from the National Indian Foundation, if the same situation
occurred any place else, authorities would order a quarantine.
by Beth Begonha
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The Dark Face of Brazil's Carnaval
Airplanes full of hopeful revellers descend on Salvador, Bahia, Brazil,
in the days before Carnaval anticipating the best time of their lives.
While posh and exclusive hotels are claustrophobically booked up,
many of the poor sleep tucked away in the "safety" of alleyways,
next to dumpsters, on top makeshift garbage bag mattresses.
by Rayme Samuels
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Music: Passion and Glory of Brizzi of Brazil
Composer Aldo Brizzi wrote the music for Brizzi do Brasil,
an album of songs written for Caetano Veloso, Gilberto Gil, Teresa
Salgueiro, Carlinhos Brown and many other illustrious Brazilian
guests. Brizzi reveals how the idea for the project came into being
and how, over a course of four years, it became a reality.
by Aldo Brizzi
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Earning a Living While Preserving in Brazil
The stance of defending growth for the sake of growth in Brazil
has already ravaged 94% of the Atlantic Rain Forest and 18% of
the Amazon Forest and decimated indigenous cultures. A new
program financed by the UN is trying to change this mentality by
recruiting communities to profit through sustainable development.
by Juliana Cézar Nunes
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Bringing Water and Hope to Brazil's Backlands
Brazil's Million Cisterns Project has become an important
component of Brazilian President Lula's Zero Hunger campaign.
MCP has inspired many other organizations to participate in the
funding and/or construction of cisterns, relieving some pressure
from pursuing lofty goals with severely limited resources.
by Phillip Wagner
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Meet the Inventor of Brazil
Brazilianness was commonly understood to mean that
collection of qualities which defined the nation, which
distinguished Brazilians from citizens of Argentina, Portugal,
and the United States—to name three populations whom
Brazilians felt it was important to define themselves against.
by Bryan McCann
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Brazzil Hates Brazil!
Brazil has a very small minority which is fiercely anti-American.
These people are jealous of the power of the United States. They
know that Brazil has the human and natural resources to be the
South American equivalent of the US but is nowhere near catching
up. They use the gringos as an excuse for Brazil's backwardness.
by John Fitzpatrick
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Brazil, a Nation that Doesn't Read
Brazil's publishing industry is the world's eighth in production
volume. But the whole country has only 1,500 book stores while
89 percent of Brazilian municipalities do not have a single
bookstore. According to a new study, 61 percent of Brazil's literate
adult population has very little or no contact with books.
by Cecília Jorge
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Racial Equality in Brazil: A Goal to Shoot For
As fans around the world marvel at the skills of Brazilian soccer
players, they are also witness to the cohesion and harmony with
which the players, from different racial backgrounds, perform. While
this perception of racial equality fits neatly into Brazil's 'racial
democracy', it fails to reflect the broader Brazilian society.
by Stephen de Tarczynski
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Abu Ghraib Is Here, in Brazil
Why do we not confront the evils of child prostitution, of child
labor, of degraded schools, of abandoned childhood, of street
children? Because we are more indignant about the photos of the
distant Iraqi prison than the photos of our own local Abu Ghraib.
Child abuse degrades our children in a graver way.
by Cristovam Buarque
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Brazil Tepid on Renewable Energy
Greenpeace claims that the recent agreements concluded last
month between Brazil and China for the construction of coal-fired
plants and the resumption of the Brazilian nuclear program are
contrary to the position adopted by the country in the past. This
position represents a step backwards for Brazil, says Greenpeace.
by Nádia Faggiani
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Bossa Nova Killed Opera in Brazil
The sultry new sounds that bossa nova actively came to encompass
would give an entirely fresh and original slant to the much-maligned
term "modern classical music," literally transforming guitarist
Bonfá, the shy piano-playing Jobim, and his partner Vinicius de
Moraes, into latter-day Franz Schuberts for their songwriting skills.
by Joe Lopes
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Brazil's Blue Movie for Connoisseurs
In contrast to a modern pornographic film, the trajectory of
A Film of Love (from clothed to naked to ejaculation) is glacially
slow. The tedium of the scenes in the apartment is intercut with
stunningly poetic views, finding poetry where one might least
expect. This is one of the longest 90-minute films I have ever seen.
by Tom Moore
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Brazil Offers 'New Geography of Trade'
São Paulo is getting ready for the UN Conference on Trade and
Development. The meeting is considered the most important
international event to take place in Brazil since the Rio 92 UN
Conference on Environment and Development. Four
thousand representatives from 192 countries will be present.
by Spensy Pimentel
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Brazil: The Survival of the Poorest
They came to São Paulo, Brazil, with hopes of improving their
lives, of earning good wages, and supporting their families
above a mere subsistence level. But, except for a lucky few,
São Paulo's poor are finding life in this megalopolis a constant
struggle and many are no better off than when they first arrived.
by Frank Braun and Eduardo Gentil
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If You Are 5, You Can Work in Brazil
Despite still having some dire problems, Brazilians are
commemorating the reduction in child labor in recent years. From
1995 to 2002, the number of working children and adolescents
in the 5-15 age bracket in Brazil decreased 42.95 percent,
which corresponds to 2,159,670 children and adolescents.
by Luciana Vasconcelos
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