Brazil

This week in Latin America: the Pope on climate change—teacher evaluations in Mexico—Brazil’s corruption scandal—the beautiful game

Here’s a look at some of the stories we’re following this week: Religious Leaders Respond to Pope Francis’ Climate Views: Reaction was swift and loud following the publication of Pope Francis’ encyclical on the environment, Friday. While his sweeping indictment of the global response to climate change inspired some to question the pontiff’s understanding of economic policy, the … Read more

Brazil Plans to Fight Economic Woes with $64 Billion Infrastructure Plan

On Tuesday, the Brazilian government unveiled a 198.4 billion reais ($64 billion) infrastructure plan aimed at restoring economic growth through private investments in the country’s depleted roads, rail and ports. “The increase of investments in the Brazilian economy must be done by the private sector,” said Brazilian Planning Minister Nelson Barbosa. “There is a huge demand for better infrastructure … Read more

Brazil’s Corruption Graveyard

At a secondhand bookstore in Brazil, I recently found an old copy of Graham Greene’s novella-turned-screenplay “The Third Man.” Set in the shadowy streets and sewers of post-World War II Vienna, a police investigation reveals that the leader of a crime ring has faked his death to evade police. A coffin is exhumed, a body … Read more

Is Brazil’s World Cup Next on the List?

The U.S. Justice Department accused more than a dozen people this week of being involved in a massive FIFA corruption scandal that spanned more than two decades. Several high-level officials were arrested in a luxury Zurich hotel Wednesday, including former Confederação Brasileira de Futebol (Brazilian Football Confederation—CBF) President José Maria Marin. “Our investigation revealed that … Read more

Rousseff Signs Investment Agreements with Peña Nieto

Brazilian President Dilma Rousseff met Tuesday with Mexican President Enrique Peña Nieto in Mexico City to foster a closer relationship between the two largest markets in Latin America and the Caribbean. This event was Rousseff’s first official visit to Mexico since she first became president in 2011. Rousseff kicked off her official visit to Mexico … Read more

The Next Chapter for China in the Americas

Chinese Premier Li Keqiang begins an eight day trip to South America today, landing in Brazil with a promise of some $50 billion in Chinese investments in Brazilian infrastructure. This trip follows on and is consistent with the promise that President Xi Jinping made in January to invest $250 billion in Latin America and the Caribbean … Read more

Brazil: Up for Sale

Brazil is up for sale, and bargain-hunters from Sam Zell to Stephen Schwarzman are looking for deals. If the country’s economy could be spread onto a monopoly board, distressed domestic utilities like Companhia Energética de Minas Gerais S.A. (Cemig) would be selling for a bargain, while infrastructure like airports and railroads would be begging for … Read more

Brazil’s Lower House Passes Amendment to Austerity Bill in Setback for Government

On Wednesday, Brazil’s Chamber of Deputies passed its second austerity bill in a week, just hours before approving an amendment that changed the bill’s direction and increased federal spending for retirees. If passed by the Senate, the amended bill faces a possible presidential veto and represents a roadblock to the government’s strategy for increasing revenues. … Read more

Unpopular Austerity Measures May Be Brazil’s Best Path to Growth

A proposed government austerity package may keep Brazil from a credit rating downgrade, but could cost President Dilma Rousseff some of her biggest supporters: the country’s labor unions. Lawmakers in Brazil’s lower house passed a proposed bill this week that would limit thousands of workers’ access to social security benefits. The MP 665 bill was … Read more

Sixty Percent of Latin Americans Will Have Internet Access in 2016

The number of Latin Americans with access to the Internet will increase by 20 percent over the next twelve months, according to the Latin American and Caribbean Internet Address Registry (LACNIC). The Uruguay-based NGO is one of five Regional Internet Registries in the world that assigns and administers IP addresses to local Internet service providers—it also advocates for Internet development in … Read more

Festivals: Brazil’s Boi-Bumbá

If Rio de Janeiro’s Carnaval is the greatest party in the world, then Boi Bumbá (beat the bull) is a close second. Every June, thousands of Brazilians flock to the small Amazonian river town of Parintins, Amazonas—halfway between Santarém and Manaus—to celebrate Brazil’s second-largest annual festival. Boi Bumbá pits the city’s two samba schools—the Garantido … Read more

The Washington Dissensus

Brazil is little understood or appreciated in the United States. The lack of knowledge about the world’s seventh largest economy—and the second largest democracy in the Western Hemisphere—is particularly evident in Washington beyond a small circle of “Brazil hands.” When the subject of Brazil comes up at all in Beltway policy circles, it is usually … Read more

Brazil’s Internet Bill of Rights

In April 2014, Web luminaries Sir Tim Berners-Lee and Vint Cerf joined over 850 academics, government officials and activists in São Paulo to attend NETmundial, Brazil’s unique Internet forum. At the opening ceremony, Brazilian President Dilma Rousseff signed into law the Marco Civil da Internet (Civil Rights Framework for the Internet), which established a groundbreaking … Read more