Brazil

Who Doesn’t Spy?

“Nations be spyin’, yo!” That’s how Jon Stewart of The Daily Show recently summed up the ongoing-and-ever-expanding allegations that the U.S. National Security Agency spied on Brazil and other nations, a story to which Wikipedia now devotes more than 33,000 words and nearly 600 source references. “All nations act in their own self-interest,” Stewart said on … Read more

Rio Soccer Convention Cancelled Amid Fears of Unrest

The Rio de Janeiro state government announced on Tuesday night that it would cancel this year’s Soccerex Global Convention, the premier business event for the international soccer community, citing a financial dispute over the use of public funds. But Soccerex CEO Duncan Revie rebuffed the government’s claim, saying instead that “ongoing civil unrest” in Rio … Read more

Monday Memo: Brazil’s Economy – Argentine Debt – Tropical Storm Sonia – Honduran Police Abuses – Uruguayan Marijuana

Likely top stories this week: Brazil will reduce lending by 20 percent next year; Argentina wins a stay on its $1.33 billion payment; Tropical Storm Sonia Hits Mexico; Honduras’ police chief denies abuses; Brazilian delegation opposes Uruguayan marijuana legalization. Brazil to Reduce Lending Due to Budget Deficit: Brazilian Finance Minister Guido Mantega said Friday that … Read more

Monday Memo: Argentine Midterms – UN Anti-Spying Measure – U.S. Immigration – Paraguay and Mercosur – FARC Releases Captive

Likely top stories this week: Argentine opposition gains influence in midterms; Brazil and Germany lead a UN anti-spying initiative; lobbyists push for U.S. immigration reform; Paraguay to represent Mercosur in negotiations with EU; hostage Kevin Scott Sutay is released by the FARC. Argentines Vote in Midterm Elections: With 72 percent of the votes counted in … Read more

Snubbing the U.S., Brazil Turns its Foreign Policy to the Global South

Brazil’s postponement of its White House state dinner–seen as a long-awaited wedding ceremony for the two countries after a very drawn out courtship–may signal more than just President Rousseff’s anger with revelations that the U.S. National Security Agency (NSA) had been spying on her personal life and Petrobrás, the state oil company. Since the postponement … Read more

Monday Memo: Protesters & Police Clash in Brazil – Train Crashes in Buenos Aires – Hurricane Raymond Nears Mexico – Bachelet Leads Polls in Chile – U.S. Surveillance in Mexico

Likely top stories this week: Protesters clash with Brazilian police forces in Rio de Janeiro; A commuter train crash injures 30 in Buenos Aires; Hurricane Raymond builds strength near Mexico’s Pacific coast; Michele Bachelet leads the polls in next month’s presidential elections in Chile; Newly leaked documents reveal that the U.S. spied on former Mexican … Read more

Is Brazil the New Regional Champion of Democracy?

Addressing the United Nations General Assembly in September 2010, U.S. President Barack Obama appealed to rising democracies around the world to help spread the democratic message, declaring that “we need your voices to speak out,” and reminding them that “part of the price of our own freedom is standing up for the freedom of others.”1 … Read more

Capital Controls:Investment Flows in Latin America

Capital control policies in emerging market (EM) economies have fluctuated for the past two decades as markets have responded to changing global dynamics. This continues to be the case in 2013. The term capital controls refers to a wide array of tools policymakers use to limit the flow of capital in and out of their … Read more

Prost, Brazil!

Grab a stein-full of caipirinha and stroll down to Ipanema beach in your lederhosen—it’s Germany-Brazil Year in Brazil. The yearlong festival, aimed at deepening German-Brazilian relations, kicked off in May with the opening of the German-Brazilian Economic Forum in São Paulo. “Brazil is one of the most successful new centers of power in the world,” … Read more

Impunity & the Multiple Facets of Violence in Brazil

In June and August of this year, millions of Brazilians took to the streets in 120 cities across the country to protest public transportation fare hikes, political corruption and excessive public spending on the 2014 World Cup and the 2016 Summer Olympics. Dozens of these demonstrations ended in confrontations between police and protesters. Over the … Read more

Panorama

Stay up-to-date with the latest trends and events from around the hemisphere with AQ‘s Panorama. Each issue, AQ packs its bags and offers readers travel tips on a new Americas destination.

Latin America’s New Friend, Janet Yellen

Janet Yellen, nominated by President Obama last week to be the new chairwoman of the U.S. Federal Reserve, might not know it yet, but she has friends in high places in Latin America. This is because many in the region rightly believe that Yellen’s forecasted doveishness will give Latin America time to make the necessary … Read more

Rio’s Maracanã Stadium Reopens to Tourists

The Estádio Jornalista Mário Filho in Rio de Janeiro—better known as the Maracanã—reopens its doors to tourists today, almost three years after it was closed for renovations. Visitors can now take a guided tour of the historic stadium where nearly 200,000 people watched Uruguay beat Brazil in the 1950 World Cup Final—the largest crowd ever … Read more

A Check on Trust for Rio’s Expanding Pacification Program

Two contrasting images of the police pacification programs in Rio de Janeiro this week are likely to remain in the public’s memory. The first is the swift and publicity-laden police occupation on Sunday of the Lins de Vasconcelos favela in Rio’s Northern Zone, where the Brazilian and Rio state flags were flown in a demonstration … Read more