|
 It's a good bet that President Fernando Henrique Cardoso
will close out his second term in office in 2002 and
not conclude a proper tax reform, thus reneging on one
of the major campaign promises from 1994, the year he was originally elected.
By Brazzil Magazine
For being naughty and appearing cheery and fresh with his hands covering the
naked boobies of a Brazilian dancer, Santa Claus didn't get any gifts this past Christmas.
Au contraire, he was scolded and the magazine that showed him on the cover in the wicked
posture had to pay a fine for its daringly bad taste.
The appearance of dancer Carla Perez in the company of Santa on the December cover of Playboy
magazine—the publication was released on the first week of December—provoked
the ire of those who make a living dressing as the Good Old Man during the Christmas
season. Papais Noéis (as they are called in Brazil) from Rio and São Paulo protested
loudly against the sacrilege. In Rio, a group of Santas placed a black stripe on their red
caps as sign of mourning.
Limachen Cherem, the director of a school for Santas from Rio, was fuming: "We are
in mourning. In our school the student learns to live the character with dignity and
respect. It is not enough to wear the clothes and go out there. You need to portray and
honor the image of the Good Old Man. The magazine cover is in bad taste. It doesn't make
sense to show Papai Noel looking like a sexual pervert. When my three-year-old daughter
saw the cover of the magazine printed in the newspaper she asked many questions. How many
children will have the same reaction? Even being a Carla Perez's fan, my daughter was
shocked with the image of Santa Claus and Carla. Children see Santa as an innocent
character, something almost holy. It's very sad to see this belief destroyed. There was no
need to place Santa Claus together with a naked woman."
There is no other country like Brazil in which the lines between men's magazines like Playboy
and mainstream publications are so blurred. It's a rare month that the daily papers don't
deal with controversies brought by the nudity displayed in the glossy monthly. This time,
several papers not only talked about the cover in question but also reproduced it,
bringing the image of the naughty Santa inside the home.
The controversy was compounded when a zealous judge from Rio sent workers with a black
stripe to cover the exposed derriere of the same Carla Perez, this time showing her nudity
on billboards throughout the city, once again publicizing her appearance in Playboy.
The copy accompanying the billboard showing the indecently exposed dancer read:
"Santa Claus will never again go out with those viadinhos." In
Portuguese, the word viadinho has double meaning. It means little deer, but also,
little queers. At that time, thanks to all the free publicity, the magazine was already
sold out in newsstands across the nation.
Although paired with Santa in the cover, inside the magazine, Perez was photographed in
Chapada dos Veadeiros, state of Goiás, with a background reminiscent of the American Old
West. Posed as a cowgirl, Perez was dressed in no more than a hat and a whip, at times
galloping on a white stallion. The dailies didn't forget to mention that the Carla shown
this Christmas was a much-improved version of the model from past seasons. Thanks to
plastic surgery she was able to show a new nose, a new stomach, new breasts-enlarged by
almost two inches-and even new buttocks, her trademark.
Talking to No. (Notícia e Opinião—News and Opinion), a Webzine,
Carla Perez, tried to soothe those who complained about what they thought were too-radical
changes in her body: "My nose might have changed, but my butt is still the
same." And added quite philosophically: "I used to be a mere butt."
Among several published articles commenting on her new look, at least one made
reference to American pop singer Michael Jackson and his multiple face mutations. The
23-year-old dancer has being surgically improving her body since she was 20. Since 1997
she has added 220 mg of silicone to her breasts, removed acne spots from her face,
smoothed her hair, lifted her nose, straightened her belly, and even touched up her
derriere.
Perez, who posed for Playboy for the first time when she was 18, was
cited as saying: "After the last essay for Playboy I decided that I wouldn't
pose nude again. But the magazine insisted since January and I decided to show another
Carla Perez. My nose is becoming famous now. But my career has gone through phases. In the
beginning I was a butt, which was an injustice since I dance with my legs and my swing and
not with my derriere. After awhile I left the band É o Tchan and started to be known as a
TV announcer. Today I feel people refer to my butt in a kinder way. They don't call it bunda
anymore, but bumbum."
Carla's new layout has also fired up the main plastic surgeons in the country. The
best-known, world-renowned Ivo Pitanguy commented: "We need to know whether there is
a real need for plastic surgery or whether it is a mere whim. We also have to keep in mind
that we are dealing with a human being and not only a physical structure" For Rawlson
de Thuim, another famous plastic surgeon, the dancer had the right to do what she did:
"Her nose looks great. Before it didn't fit her face. And there is no problem of age.
We can have breast implants starting at age 14."
To what Hugo de Castro, another plastic professional, retorts: "People like this
who are obsessed with changing their own characteristics have a disease. This is a case
for psychoanalysis." Surgeon Edmar Fontoura also participated in the debate:
"The plastic surgery that removes somebody's identity is a problem. You can't go to a
doctor's office and ask to have the face of somebody else. That's what happened to Michael
Jackson who wanted to look like Diana Ross."
Behavior
Not All Quiet on the Front
Self-appointed national conscience weekly newsmagazine Veja (circulation: 1.2
million copies) sounded the alarm: there is a shortage of silicone in Brazil. The warning
came in a full-page article illustrated with the semi-covered breasts of eight Brazilian
female celebrities and the reader was invited to match a face to every mammary with
correct answers shown in a little box.
Since 1998 the number of Brazilian women turning to plastic surgery to improve on their
bosoms has jumped from 10,000 to more than 20,000. The implant fever has been triggered by
a series of well-publicized breast enhancement procedures done by famous women like
children's entertainer Xuxa, veteran movie and TV actress Vera Fisher and dancer-presenter
Carla Perez, whose claim to fame until now has been a prominent derriere that she has
frequently exposed in Brazilian Playboy.
Silicone implants have become a coveted Christmas gift in some quarters. The SBCP
(Sociedade Brasileira de Cirurgia Plástica—Brazilian Society of Plastic Surgery)
estimates that there was an increase of 30 percent in silicone implants this past
December, many of them as gifts from fathers to daughters and from husbands to wives.
Veja cites Luiz Carlos Garcia, president of SBCP, commenting on the crisis:
"It's not like an outbreak or calamity, but some people are being forced to postpone
this surgery up to 10 days. Celebrity surgeon Ivo Pitanguy wasn't spared the inconvenience
and the silicone stock in his clinic is dangerously low. "Since July the number of
patients has doubled," revealed Pitanguy. "And these clients are not only new
ones, but returning customers who decided to further enlarge their breasts."
While Xuxa has added a modest 150 mg of silicone and model Luma de Oliveira opted for
175 mg, the national preference nowadays is 175 mg, which, according to those in the know,
is enough to give breasts that coveted hilly roundness that gives tactile and visual
pleasure to women and men alike. All this implanting furor has even earned a term to
designate women improved by silicone: they are the siliconadas (the siliconated
ladies).
Webzine No. told the story of Juliana Gentil Limas, 32, an architect from São
Paulo who got new buttocks as a Christmas gift from her boyfriend. Juliana revealed that
she was thrilled with the gift: "I wasn't offended. Au contraire! I laughed and
jumped at the idea. I hated my butt that was turned to the inside." She had the
operation and was planning to have a premiere of the results on a beach in Bahia by the
first of the year. "The new derriere doesn't look bad at all," she said.
"If actresses can go for the works why can't I?"
Prices haven't deterred those Santas willing to give silicone as gifts. New breasts
cost anywhere from $2500 to $4000. A new bumbum, however, is considerably more:
from $6000 to $8000. With this kind of money you can buy a new car. In popular clinics the
wait for a new you can be long. At Santé in São Paulo, for example, appointments for a
consultation aren't available until July, 2001.
Much of the silicone used in Brazil has to be imported because the country has only one
manufacturer. Rio's Silimed is producing 1200 breast prostheses a year, more than double
what they were making five years ago. Some of the material is exported, though, and
Brazilian clinics have to look for the product overseas. In all this booby-enhancing craze
some doctors have detected what most see as a disturbing trend: an increasing number of
teens enlarging their breasts.
Language
Wot Did Ya Say
Residing in the same city, but living worlds apart, Carioca (from Rio) youngsters share
at times the slang that trickles down from favelas (shantytowns) nestled in the
hills to the middle- and upper-middle-class youth from Rio's south zone neighborhoods. The
sharing of the new terms usually occurs during funk balls promoted at the favelas.
Patricinha (little Patricia) and Mauricinho (little Maurice), two terms used to
designate yuppies, have widespread use in Brazil, but it was created by street kids in
Rio. By the way, most of the new slang originates in Rio and spreads throughout the
country via popular song lyrics and sometimes with the help of that omnipresent Brazilian
behavior shaper: the novelas (soap operas).
One of the most recent slang terms to win widespread acceptance is the word sufocador
(choker), which designates an annoying person, a bore. Talking to Rio's daily O Globo,
DJ Marlboro, a slang creator in his own right, expressed his love for argot: "These
are expressions created by people who have no schooling and invent words to express their
ideas. They are perfect and things seem to make much more sense with the help of such
words."
O Globo has compiled a small glossary of new slang current making the rounds:
arrumar conflito (literally to arrange conflict)—to get into a fight, to
give someone a hard time
bombar (to bomb)—to be a hit, to be lively. As in: A festa está
bombando (The party is a success.)
CB—"abbreviation" of sangue bom (good blood), a cool person
demorô (it took long)—finally
tá dominado (it's controlled)—it's all finished
que emotion (what an emotion)—it's great
entrar na fita (get into the tape)—to understand, to participate in a
conversation
mala (bag)—a bore
multiface (multifaced)—a cheater
ninguém merece (no one deserves it)—said of someone who is a pest
passar cerol na mão (to apply wax to the hand)—to take a woman to bed
perder (to lose)—to go through an embarrassing situation
pichadão (covered with pitch)—ugly, charmless
popozuda (woman with a big butt)—pretty, shapely woman
preparado (prepared)—smart, modern
show (show)—excellent. As in: Esse filme foi show. (This was a great
movie.)
sinistro (sinister)—very good, very bad
sufocador (choker)—a bore
teco-teco (small plane)—ugly woman; the opposite of avião
(plane)—gorgeous woman
terror (terror)—someone brave or very good at what she/he does
Human Rights
A Fresh Look
According to Amnesty International a new investigation is needed to look into the
military police action of April 22, 2000 against indigenous and black groups, landless
activists, and others protesting against Brazil's official 500th anniversary celebrations
in Porto Seguro, Bahia state.
On that day, when Brazil celebrated the 500th anniversary of the Portuguese
navigator Pedro Álvares Cabral's arrival in Brazil, 30 protestors were injured, and over
140 were temporarily detained, when military police reportedly attacked peaceful
protestors using tear gas, rubber bullets and baton charges. At the end of the year, those
responsible for the operation - and the human rights violations committed - remained no
closer to justice.
"The authorities have not responded adequately to the strong witness and
documentary evidence of unprovoked and disproportionate police force against
demonstrators," said the human rights organization. "A full review of the case
is essential."
In its new report, Amnesty International argues that instead of investigating and
bringing to account all those responsible, and also compensating the victims, the
authorities sought to portray the victims as the perpetrators. The organization also
stated that the authorities justified the police action in terms of preventing disruptions
to the official celebrations.
Last year, a federal police investigation exonerated the military police from
allegations of excessive and arbitrary use of force. However, the federal prosecutors
office responsible for initiating investigations in the case has been highly critical of
the investigation, calling it inadequate and superficial, and is seeking to disprove its
findings.
"The problem is that those seeking to further the investigations have faced lack
of resources and overt official support for the military police officers involved—the
officer in charge of the operation was promoted in recognition for his role," said
Amnesty International.
"It is the responsibility of the authorities, both state and federal, to ensure
that a full and fair judicial process can take place. So far, the authorities have
appeared unwilling to establish such a climate, denying the victims the right to justice
and redress," the organization added.
Amnesty International has documented over many years human rights violations against
indigenous peoples and other minorities, including the failure of the judicial system to
provide justice. The events of April 22, and the subsequent failure to effectively
investigate the abuses and adequately compensate the victims, lend further weight to the
claims of these groups that the judicial system discriminates against them.
Background
On April 22, 2000, the Bahia state military police reportedly used arbitrary and
excessive police force in order to prevent protestors from the Marcha
Indígena 2000 and Outros 500 campaign from reaching Porto Seguro, Bahia, where
official celebrations were taking place. Photographs and witnesses appear to support the
claims of those who participated in the protest that the police action was unprovoked. For
a copy of the report, "Brazil: Police Violence & the 500th
Anniversary" (AMR 19/29/00, December 2000) or for more information you can call
Amnesty
International's press office in London, UK, on +44 20 7413 5566
Amnesty International, 1 Easton St., London WC1X 0DW. Their Website:
http://www.amnesty.org
Entertainment
Take Me to the Movies
After decades of declining public attendance, Brazilian movie theaters are celebrating
full houses and exhibitors are busy building more theaters in the big cities and the
interior. The latest numbers from the BNDES (Banco Nacional de Desenvolvimento Econômico
e Social—National Bank for Economic and Social Development) are in and they show that
Brazilians spent more than $250 million at the box office in the year 2000, 37 percent
more than in the previous year. There was a movie-going public of 169.2 million people,
six million more than in 1997. "People are back to the theaters," says a cheery
BNDES manager Willian Saab.
Curiously, the increase of public and profit occurred at the same time that ticket
prices had fallen. The average ticket that cost $4.60 in 1997 is now $2.87. And according
to Saab, prices should continue to decline due to stiffer competition in the market place.
Large chains like Rio's Grupo Severiano Ribeiro have different prices for different
neighborhoods and students throughout the country pay only half price. In the best
neighborhoods in the south zone of Rio, tickets can cost as much as $6.
The Severiano Ribeiro group is investing close to $25 million to open five new
multiplexes in Vitória (Espírito Santo), Fortaleza (Ceará), Rio, and São Paulo. The
American group Cinemark, which already has more screens than any other company (215), will
be opening new theaters in 2001 in several cities in the interior. They have big plans for
Brazil since the country is their second best market after the U.S. The UCI (United
Cinemas International) group, a joint venture between Universal and Paramount Studios
isn't complaining either. They were expecting to make close to $40 million dollars in
2000, after having earned $25 million the year before.
The potential of the Brazilian movie market is enormous. With less than 1500 movie
theaters throughout the country (blockbusters in the U.S. open simultaneously in twice or
three times as many screens), there are only 8.4 movie theatres for every one million
Brazilians. The best places for growth are now towns from the interior that had been
abandoned in recent years by theater owners. In many cases the theater already exists and
all it needs is to be remodeled and modernized. Between 1997 and 2000 there was a growth
of 32 percent in the purchase of movies tickets in Brazil, which is still too little when
you know that it translates to a per capita jump from 0.32 to 0.47 tickets per year.
Economy
The X Factor
All this fuss for an X? State oil company Petrobras had barely announced that it had
changed its name to PetroBrax when nationalists of all colors started to rally against the
move. Politicians from antagonist parties and worker union leaders let it to be known that
they would fight the new name, even going to court if necessary. Not because they didn't
like the sound of it, even if it was true for some, but because they smelled something
funny in the arrangement: probably a prelude to privatize the giant oil conglomerate.
The name change didn't last more than a couple of days though. Pressured by the public
reaction, Petrobras posted this message on its Website, 48 hours after having
announced-with fanfare-its new name: "Petrobras has suspended the measures to change
the trademark of the company. The decision was made at the request of the President of the
Republic, responding to the public reaction to this change. Questions concerning
Petrobras's foreign commercial activity will be analyzed at the appropriate time,"
Henri Philippe Reichstul Presidente da Petrobras.
Those responsible for the new name argued that it was a necessary measure to rid the
company of an image of inefficiency. The x, according to them, lends an air of modernity
and technological cutting edge (Esso has also changed to Exxon, hasn't it?) and would make
Petrobras—it had a record $5 billion profit in 2000—much more competitive in a
global market. The name change was announced December 26 and Petrobras has already paid
$350,000 to the São Paulo designing firm UND for the new PetroBrax logo.
That would be the fourth time that the company logo is altered. From 1954 to 1993, the
different logos always kept the Brazilian flag colors (green and yellow) and an image that
evoked the shape of the flag. In the last seven years the abbreviation BR received
prominence in the logo, but the name Petrobras and the yellow and green colors were kept.
What some House representatives were complaining about was the price tag attached to
the name conversion: $50 million in order to change logos and signs in approximately 7000
gas stations owned by Petrobras in Brazil and Argentina. The hastily-assembled Frente
Parlamentar Nacionalista (Nationalist Parliamentary Front) made up by 132 congressmen of
several parties took an urgent measure and summoned Petrobras president, Henri Philippe
Reichstul, to find a good explanation for the announced change. "A $50-million x is
way too much," said representative Vivaldo Barbosa, the Front president. Barbosa is
from Rio de Janeiro and belongs to the opposition party PDT (Partido Democrático
Trabalhista—Democratic Labor Party)
Rio representative Carlos Santana, from the PT (Partido dos Trabalhadores—Workers'
Party), another opposition party, has joined the chorus of protests: "It is
absurd," he said, "that in a country of 40 million miserable people, who are
starving, we can spend $50 million to throw in the trash the patrimony of a 50-year-old
company that is a resounding success here and overseas. There is no need for a name
change. The Petrobras name is more than 30 years old and it is well known. The Petrobras
president said that this was a commercial question. But we are worried that this is just
the first step to totally privatize the company." Santana admitted, however, that he
would like to see a more aggressive Petrobras acting in the international market.
The announcement of the new name didn't go well with the vast majority of the public if
the Globo On Line site is a reliable gauge. More than 80 percent of 2890 readers answered
No to the question: "Do you agree with the name change from Petrobras to PetroBrax
for better acceptance of the company in the foreign market?"
São Paulo CUT (Central Única dos Trabalhadores—Unified Workers' Central)'s
president, Antônio Carlos Spis, seemed indignant: "This a demoralization for the
Brazilian society. The measure's intention is to decharacterize the state company
trademark for a population that for 50 years saw Petrobras as a typically Brazilian
company. The company should invest in better working conditions for its workers and in the
maintenance of equipment so new ecological disasters can be avoided."
In the year 2000 alone, Petrobras had six serious incidents of oil leakage. On January
18, 1.3 million liters of oil contaminated the Guanabara Bay in Rio, after a duct at the
Duque de Caxias Refinery broke. On March 16, problems in the Almirante Barroso maritime
terminal caused the release of 7.250 liters of oil on Ilha Bela's pristine shores in São
Paulo's north coast. In what became the worst environmental disaster for Petrobras in the
last 26 years, 4 million liters of oil escaped from Presidente Getúlio Vargas Refinery,
on July 16, contaminating rivers and land in Araucária, a metropolitan area in Curitiba,
Paraná's state capital.
On August 8, an oil leakage in Caraúbas, state of Rio Grande do Norte, caused damage
to 80 km of Northeastern caatinga (brushwood area). 1,800 liters were spilled at
the time. Ilha Bela was again flooded by 86,000 liters of oil on November 4 when the cargo
ship Verginia II at the service of Petrobras had an accident. This time the coast of
Caraguatatuba and São Sebastião were also contaminated. On October 27, another 3000
liters of oil leaked from a Braspetro's (a Petrobras subsidiary) pipe, damaging
Paranaguá's bay in the state of Paraná.
Even people who are not known for their nationalism didn't favor Petrobras's attempt to
change its name. Pedro Martins Júnior, vice-president of Chase Manhattan Bank of Brazil,
for example, suggested that the state company should be worried with more pressing
questions such as opening the market and finding new ways for getting foreign financing.
"Looking at this as an investor I don't see it as a priority," he commented.
"I don't believe that the name change will have any significant impact on the
company's business."
Despite the recent criticism and oil spills, Petrobras had much to celebrate in 2000.
It increased its daily production from 1.3 million barrels in 1999 to 1.4 million last
year. But the company also started to prepare for the coming years with the opening of the
market. By 2005, the competition will have taken 30 percent of the fuel market. The
Petrobras monopoly erosion will accelerate starting January of next year, when the state
company will no longer be the exclusive seller of gasoline and diesel oil in Brazil.
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