Brazil

Olha o Picolé

The Brazilian street vendors’ call “Olha o picolé!” (“Look at the Popsicle”) will evoke memories of steamy days for anyone who grew up in Brazil. But the picolé, once considered a cheap alternative to ice cream, has gone upscale. Now sold at shopping malls and even French restaurants, the picolé has become a favorite of … Read more

Ciro? Serra? 10 Candidates Who Could Become Brazil’s Next President

This article is adapted from AQ’s most recent issue, “Fixing Brazil.” To receive the print edition at home, subscribe here. Leia em português MARINA SILVA, 58, FORMER ENVIRONMENTAL MINISTER Why she might win: Current frontrunner combines anti-establishment cred with a centrist economic platform. Clear anti-corruption message. Inspiring life story. Can appeal to wealthy, poor and … Read more

Why Trade Is Key to Brazil’s Economic Recovery

This article is adapted from AQ’s most recent issue, “Fixing Brazil.” To receive the print edition at home, subscribe here. Foreign trade will play an important role in Brazil’s economic recovery. With the cooling of internal demand, the international market is critical for revitalizing national industry — a central element of job and income creation. The importance … Read more

AQ Top 5 Politicians Under 40: Eduardo Leite

This article is adapted from AQ’s most recent issue, “Fixing Brazil.” To see the rest of our Top 5, click here. Leer en español When Eduardo Leite ran for mayor of the small city of Pelotas in Brazil’s southernmost state of Rio Grande do Sul, the son of university professors did not have much of a … Read more

Five Goals for Brazil’s New Foreign Policy

This article is adapted from AQ’s most recent issue, “Fixing Brazil.” To receive the print edition at home, subscribe here. Not long ago, Brazil was at the forefront of the emerging-country movement to transform the global order. As a key member of the BRICS group, it was a vocal advocate for reforming the U.N. Security … Read more

Was It ALL Her Fault? An Economist Re-examines Brazil’s Crisis

This article is adapted from AQ’s most recent issue, “Fixing Brazil.” To receive the print edition at home, subscribe here. Leia em português The date was October 12, 2010, and Brazil’s finance minister was addressing New York’s financial community under crystal chandeliers at the Americas Society/Council of the Americas. Two weeks earlier, Guido Mantega had caused a sensation by denouncing … Read more

Brazil’s Farmers Are Ready for a Boom. Will the Government Let It Happen?

This article is adapted from AQ’s most recent issue, “Fixing Brazil.” To receive the print edition at home, subscribe here. In 1979, Brazilian rancher Flavio Turquino purchased 54,000 acres deep inside Mato Grosso, a landlocked state whose name means “thick forest,” for about $1 an acre. He had already scouted the land in his single-prop … Read more

Temer and Refugees in Brazil: Off the Mark

At a United Nations summit in New York last week, Brazil’s President Michel Temer proudly declared that his country was home to more than 95,000 refugees. The revelation stirred admiring nods from diplomats in attendance at a time when the number of global refugees has surpassed that of World War II, creating a serious threat … Read more

Brazil’s ‘Car Wash’ Probe: Tell Me How This Ends

During their first year in the spotlight, the young federal prosecutors leading the “Operation Car Wash” corruption probe seemed to handle themselves with an eerie, almost cinematic grace. From the case’s obscure roots of money laundering at a gas station, to its eruption into an unprecedented scandal that helped bring down Dilma Rousseff’s presidency, the … Read more

Brazil Finds Remnants of Its Dictatorial Past in a Radio Show

If you’re driving in Brazil on a weekday evening and want some music for your drive, you should probably pack a CD. Chances are you’ll catch A Voz do Brasil, the country’s longest-running radio show, if you turn on the radio between 7 p.m. and 8 p.m. This is because Brazilian law mandates that radio … Read more

Why Brazil’s Olympic Gold Could Boost Its New President

The year was 1994, and a depressed Brazil was desperately in need of a lift. Recent years had seen a president impeached for corruption, inflation in excess of 2,500 percent, horrendous massacres of innocents inside a prison and outside a church, and a general feeling the country couldn’t do anything right. As June approached, so … Read more

BNDES Helped Save the Olympics. But Is it Hurting Brazil?

Corrections appended below Updated 8/17/2016 New leadership atop Brazil’s massive national development bank is unwinding a decade of rampant lending that fed large conglomerates and strained the country’s finances. Over the past half-century, Brazil’s Banco Nacional de Desenvolvimento Economico e Social (BNDES) built huge power plants and highways through the industrial southeast, aided social programs in the … Read more

A ‘School of Rock’ in Rio’s Biggest Favela

Kids from Rio de Janeiro’s largest favela are reaching new heights – literally. Equipped with grippy shoes, hand chalk and encouragement from renowned climbers worldwide, young people from the Rio neighborhood of Rocinha are increasingly taking to the city’s tallest mountains in search of recreation, thrills and, for some, a way to avoid the pitfalls … Read more