In case you missed them, here are some stories coming out of Brazil since last week:
Economy
Brazil's Credit Boom Could End in Tears, BusinessWeek
"The data in Brazil are troubling: Late payments on credit cards and other consumer loans jumped 23 percent in November from a year earlier, prompting government leaders to begin scaling back their easy-credit policies. "It's time to be a little bit careful about the B in BRIC," says Jim O'Neill, chairman of Goldman Sachs Asset Management (GS) and the man who coined the BRIC acronym for Brazil, Russia, India, and China."
Brazil's raw materials and the Chinese bikini problem, BBC
"And it is not just the bikini industry that is suffering. A recent study found that more than 80% of Brazil's manufactured exports are being adversely affected by competition from China. That is a real danger to the Brazilian economy because mining and commodities are not very labour intensive. The bulk of the Brazilian workforce is employed in manufacturing industries."
Brazilian billionaire battles to keep channels, Variety
"Brazilian billionaire Silvio Santos' media interests are under threat after allegations of fraud in the banking arm of his Grupo Silvio Santos conglom. Accounting errors that allegedly inflated the value of GSS' Banco Panamericano are being probed by the country's central bank after Santos was forced to ask for a 2.5 billion real ($1.5 billion) bailout to keep Panamericano from insolvency in November.
Environment
ThyssenKrupp steel plant in Rio fined over environmental damage, Monsters & Critics
"CSA is to pay a fine of 1.66 million dollars and damages of 8.3 million dollars to improve the living standards of locals, Brazilian media reported Thursday, citing Rio de Janeiro state Environment Minister Carlos Minc. The damages are to finance sewage projects, road paving and a health centre. The plant will undergo environmental scrutiny by rival firm Uniminas, and cameras are to be installed on its premises that provide footage directly to the state environmental agency."
100 Tons of Fish Die Near Brazil, Care2
"Since last Thursday, 100 tons of sardines, croaker, and catfish have died near Paraná, Brazil. The 100 ton count came from a survey conducted by the Federation of Fishermen’s Colony of Paraná, Paranaguá. It has been reported by this fishing association that 2,800 fisherman depend on fish caught in the area for their daily incomes."
Labor
Brazil Minister Backs Air Workers' Demand for 10% Raise as Strike Looms, Bloomberg
"Brazilian Labor Minister Carlos Lupi said he backs airline workers’ demand for a 10 percent wage increase as carriers Gol Linhas Aereas Inteligentes SA and Tam SA make “a lot of money” from increased traffic by the nation’s growing middle class. Lupi, in an interview in Brasilia yesterday, said that salaries in Latin America’s biggest economy will increase faster than inflation this year as the country reaches full employment by year-end. The pay increases won’t stoke inflation, which is being fueled by speculative capital inflows that have pushed the country’s exchange rate to “worrisome” levels, he said."
Protests over gays-only toilets in Brazil, AFP
"As Brazil gears up for its annual carnival festivities, a row has broken out over toilets for the exclusive use of gays and transvestites in samba schools readying for the event. Protesters claim the recent designation in the premises of Unidos de Tujuca, one of the top Rio de Janeiro samba schools preparing a parade for the March 4-9 carnival, resembles the forced separation of blacks and whites in the past."
Rio de Janeiro
For Rio slum residents and police a mixed blessing, Washington Post
"In Santa Marta, two years of police presence have eased the tension. Conversation and beer flows easily as locals elbow outsiders in packed bars. On a hot summer day, women sitting on their stoops chat with passers-by, with children running up and down the long stairways leading into the slum. Residents lead visitors around the once off-limits Santa Marta as they earn certification through a state program to be official city guides. Since August, when the program was launched, about 200 people a day visit the slum."
Op-Ed
To Beat Back Poverty, Pay the Poor, New York Times blog
"Brazil’s conditional cash transfer programs were begun before the government of President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva, but he consolidated various programs and expanded it. It now covers about 50 million Brazilians, about a quarter of the country. It pays a monthly stipend of about $13 to poor families for each child 15 or younger who is attending school, up to three children. Families can get additional payments of $19 a month for each child of 16 or 17 still in school, up to two children. Families that live in extreme poverty get a basic benefit of about $40, with no conditions...It has long been clear that Bolsa Familia has reduced poverty in Brazil. But research has only recently revealed its role in enabling Brazil to reduce economic inequality."
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Posted by: Amela | January 12, 2011 at 05:12 AM