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Can't We All Get Along in Brazil? Otherwise We Will All Sink Together

rodney@brazzil.com (Fernando Henrique Cardoso) — Tue, 03 Sep 2013 18:34:14 +0000

It does not take a lot of imagination, and you won't need to get into details, in order to realize that we are experiencing a difficult phase in Brazil. Let's start, however, by the international situation.

The Arrival of Cuban Doctors Is Revealing the Cruel Face of Brazil's Medical Class

rodney@brazzil.com (Luciano Martins Costa) — Mon, 26 Aug 2013 17:05:26 +0000

Brazil's newspapers were surprised by the Brazilian government's decision to import 4000 doctors from Cuba to fill critical positions in places where there is no public or private health care. The first 400 should arrive next week and will be sent to cities or neighborhoods for which Brazilian or foreign doctors didn't show any interest in the first phase of the More Doctors program enrollment.

Recife's Teatro de Santa Isabel Fans Festival Fervor

rodney@brazzil.com (Bruce Gilman) — Sun, 11 Aug 2013 04:43:11 +0000

One of the most noteworthy examples of neoclassical architecture in Brazil, the Teatro de Santa Isabel (1850), extended a very large welcome mat to musicians from both Brazil and the United States last week for the first Festival Moacir Santos, a celebration of the Maestro's work and a perspective of its impact in the United States.

Rape and the Basic Unfairness of Brazil's Society

rodney@brazzil.com (Jennifer Bisgaier) — Wed, 24 Jul 2013 18:43:30 +0000

In late March, the brutal gang rape of an American tourist in a transit van in Rio de Janeiro garnered worldwide attention. Brazilian authorities responded by quickly arresting three suspects as well as banning vans being driven through the South Zone of the city. However, just two weeks earlier a Brazilian woman from the North Zone of Rio, which consists largely of a favela district, was raped by the same men in the same van, and the Brazilian government took no action.

What's Wrong with Brazil's Once-Thought-Indestructible Petrobras

rodney@brazzil.com (B. Michael Rubin) — Mon, 22 Jul 2013 18:28:20 +0000

It is widely believed that the countries which best manage their energy needs today will have the most productive economic futures. Until now, Brazil has been among an elite group of countries facing an optimistic energy future. For most of the past decade, Brazil has been "energy independent", limiting its total consumption of energy to what it could produce. (In fact, Brazil has imported some oil and gas, but at approximately the same levels it was exporting.)

Brazil's Left Parties Are Old and Bureaucratized, Warns MST's Leader

rodney@brazzil.com (Nilton Viana) — Mon, 08 Jul 2013 18:53:47 +0000

"It is time for the government to ally with the people or pay the bill in the future." This is one of the evaluations of João Pedro Stédile, from the national coordination of the MST (Landless Movement) on demonstrations across the country. According to him, there is an urban crisis installed in Brazilian cities, provoked by this stage of finance capitalism.

The Speech the President of Brazil Should Have Made

rodney@brazzil.com (Cristovam Buarque) — Mon, 08 Jul 2013 18:47:18 +0000

"Young people of Brazil, young men and women:

"We were wrong. Forgetting your dreams, we all made mistakes, all of us who received your mandate to govern Brazil well. All of us, we politicians and our parties, made mistakes. But, I must admit that those who erred the most were those of us who have been governing Brazil for the last 10 years. As your president, I myself was even more in error.

Mass Protests Awaken Brazil's Political Consciousness

rodney@brazzil.com (Adam Frankel) — Mon, 01 Jul 2013 18:52:15 +0000

In what has been deemed Brazil's largest political mobilization in over two decades, protesters took to the country's streets during the last several weeks to demonstrate deep dissatisfaction with the billions of public dollars being spent on World Cup preparations and a growing rejection of the country's endemically corrupt political system. While protests initially focused on rising transportation costs caused by spiraling inflation and a quickly devaluing currency, they soon encompassed a wider range of issues.

Rio-based Pandeiro Jazz Pioneer Scott Feiner Goes the Crowdfunding Way

rodney@brazzil.com (Ernest Barteldes) — Wed, 26 Jun 2013 06:42:13 +0000

Rio de Janeiro-based Scott Feiner, like many independent artists of late, is reaching out to his fans to help finance the production of his fourth release, A View From Below, which is the first to feature solely music penned by the bandleader.

Brazil Is No Paradise. The Fantasy Is Over.

rodney@brazzil.com (Arthur Ituassu) — Thu, 20 Jun 2013 17:09:13 +0000

It was, is, a political earthquake. Suddenly, on 17 June 2013, more than 150,000 people appeared on the streets to protest in eleven major Brazilian cities. The day will be remembered as the biggest political demonstration in the country since 1992, when the young caras pintadas ("painted-faces") pushed for the impeachment of the president, Fernando Collor de Mello.