Adventures of a Gringa

Brazil News Round Up

The news has been a bit slow the last few days, but here are some interesting headlines from this week:

Carrefour to acquire Pão de Açucar with US$3 billion investment from BNDES, despite agreement with rival Casino

Brazil's Pao de Acucar agrees to investor buyout, Reuters

Carrefour and Casino: face off in Brazil, FT Beyond Brics

French food fight: two French firms fighting for dominance of the Brazilian retail market, The Economist

BNDES defends involvement in Pão de Açucar-Carrefour merger, Reuters Brazil

“BNDES support is good for consumers and good for Brazil," says CBD chairman, EXAME

 

Brazilian judge gives male couple approval for country’s first gay marriage, Washington Post

São Paulo state Judge Fernando Henrique Pinto ruled two men could convert their civil union into a full marriage. Brazil’s Supreme Court cleared the way in May for the recognition of same-sex civil unions, but stopped short of approving gay marriages. A court statement said Pinto made the decision based on the top court’s ruling on civil unions and on Brazil’s constitution, which outlines how a civil union can be converted into a legal marriage.

Here's a photo of the ceremony, via the Estadão Flickr feed. And here's a video:

 

Brazilians are the most optimistic people in the world, says study, Radar Online

On a scale of 0 to 10, Brazilians gave an average of 8.7 in their expectations of how satisfied they would be with their lives in 2014. The number was more than all of the 144 countries included in the study. In expecations for 2011, Brazil was also at the top.

Amazon Deforestation Rates Double as Brazil Weighs Bill to Pardon Farmers, Bloomberg

Deforestation rates in the Brazilian Amazon, the world’s biggest rain forest, more than doubled last month as farmers become more confident they’ll be granted amnesty for illegal logging. Almost 268 square kilometers (66,200 acres) of protected rain forest were cut down in May, up from 110 square kilometers a year ago, the National Institute for Space Research said today.

In related news, Globo reported that up to 60 percent of wood that comes from the Amazon is wasted in the extraction process.

Brazilian Congress to limit powers of FIFA, IOC, Miami Herald

In legislation aimed at reducing the bureaucracy for infrastructure work for both events, a clause was removed that allowed FIFA and the International Olympic Committee to request project changes without cost limits to the Brazilian government. It was approved late Tuesday by the lower house of Congress. The bill also added an element of transparency after critics had complained that details on future bidding processes did not have to be made available to the public.

Six thousand Brazilians barred from European countries in 2010, Globo

Spain barred the most Brazilians out of any European country, followed by France. Itamaraty is discussing the possibility of requiring proof of lodging and a copy of a bank statement [from European tourists entering Brazil], particularly for Spaniards.

But on the flip side, it was reported this week that Brazilians spent US$8.33 billion abroad from January to May of this year, a 45 percent increase from the same period last year.

Brazilians boiling, blaming Big Pharma for new FDA office in Brazil, Dag Blog

Brazilian officials are in Washington, D.C., today to speak with the Food and Drug and Administration to attempt to get them to change their minds about building an FDA office in Brasília. In what Brazilian magazine Epoca is calling the first speed bump in President Dilma Rousseff’s dealings with the United States, the U.S. announced on April 26 it’s plans to build an FDA office in Brasilia – a move Brazilian officials are saying was never discussed with them.

For more interesting Brazil stories as they happen, follow me on Twitter!

Fighting Crime in Rio

One of the big challenges for Rio de Janeiro in the next few years is to bring crime under control. As the Rio government continues to install pacification units in the city's favelas, taking areas by force that were previously controlled by drug traffickers and militias, it still begs to question whether the strategy is effectively tackling the type of crime that effects Cariocas in their day to day lives.

The Rio state government has aggressively pursued the UPP strategy using both military and PR tactics to establish state control in the city's slums. The show of force in some of the city's most dangerous neighborhoods is the cornerstone of Governor Sérgio Cabral's plan to reduce violence in the city. In theory, imposing control in areas were crime allegedly originates should reduce the murders, muggings, robberies, carjackings, and other crimes that continue terrorize the city. So is it working?

According to some of the official numbers, possibly. Murder rates went down 18 percent in 2010, and supposedly muggings have been reduced, though like in this article, the numbers are missing. (The article only cites one neighborhood, Tijuca, where homicides and car robberies have been reduced by half). Numbers released earlier in the year showed declines in violent crimes from the year before, and the trends appear to continue. This month, the government released new numbers about crime reduction, comparing numbers from April 2010 to numbers from April 2011. There was a 16 percent reduction in car thefts, a 15 percent reduction in muggings, and a 7 percent decrease in murders, as well as a reduction in violent crimes.

But if you take a look at the ISP's raw data, it does seem possible that these numbers are not all-encompassing, and it's very likely that crimes like muggings and theft are underreported. Meanwhile, if you examine murder rates, they seem like a trickier barometer for measuring the success of recent public security measures. That's because if you look at national data, like from the Mapa da Violência, it shows that murder rates in Brazilian capitals having been declining, in particular from 2003 to 2008 (while they increased in rural areas). In reality, murder rates in Rio have been declining since the late 90s, before Cabral took office in 2007. In 1998, Rio de Janeiro state had the third highest murder rate in the country with 55.3 murders per 100,000, and in 2008 moved down to the seventh highest murder rate with 34 murders per 100,000 in the state. While the city of Rio de Janeiro had the fifth highest murder rate in Brazil in 1998, with 62.6 murders per 100,000, the numbers were reduced by half to 31 per 100,000 in 2008, putting the city in 20th place as one of the state capitals with some of the least murders capita. In fact, in 2008, there were fewer murders per capita in Rio than in Brasília, Curitiba, Belo Horizonte and Porto Alegre. (For these numbers, download the Sumário Executivo) Did recent security policies help contribute to these numbers? Or are other forces at play - or both?

Despite reductions in homicide rates, crimes like muggings and armed robbery continue to plague the city. Though the media has toned down a bit in terms of sensationalizing crime in the last few years, it's still hard to avoid -- every day, there's a disconcerting story, even if it's buried on the fifth page of the paper. Though the city is well on its way to becoming a global capital, these types of crimes still seem to be the norm.

Tourists, obviously, are still easy targets: last week, a group of Canadian and Australian documentary filmmakers were mugged in Santa Teresa by two men with a knife, and all of their equipment was stolen. (Note to foreigners interested in filming in Rio: it's not the best idea to walk around Santa Teresa at night in general, let alone with expensive cameras). Also last week, a 24 year-old French tourist was taking the bondinho (street car) from Centro to Santa Teresa, and leaned out too far to take a photo and fell from the top of Arcos da Lapa. (I've witnessed accidents in the same place before, though not fatal) The protective netting lining the arches precisely to protect people from falling broke, and the man was killed nearly instantly. But while he lay dying on the ground, eyewitnesses claim street kids robbed the tourist's camera and belongings.

But Cariocas themselves are all too often the victims of crime, and no one is exempt - young, old, famous, powerful, armed, defenseless - anyone can be a target. This weekend, for example, two armed men forced their way into an apartment building in Ipanema, where they broke into the apartment of the national Minister of Defense's son. He and his wife were held at gunpoint while the men stole R$500 and jewelery, and they were luckily unharmed. Police are investigating as to why the criminals targeted only Jobim's son's apartment. The governor himself was the victim of an attempted robbery last week, when several men tried to steal a motorcycle from Cabral's motorcade. Though Cabral had left by helicopter minutes before, his security guards exchanged heavy fire with the criminals. Nobody was hurt, but the would-be thieves escaped.

It's no coincidence that Cabral hired Rudy Giuliani as a public security consultant for the upcoming World Cup and Olympics; the former New York City mayor helped reduce crime rates with his "zero tolerance" approach. But the big question is if the UPP strategy and current public security measures will have a long term impact on crime rates that affect the daily quality of life for Cariocas, and if those changes are sustainable. For the wealthy, it's natural to invest in armored cars, electrified fences, and armed security guards. But more investment is needed in public security policies beyond the favelas, particularly in beefing up police presence around the city, and ensuring that police themselves are well-trained, better paid, and acting in the best interests of the populace. There's no doubt that the city will be a very safe place during the World Cup and the Olympics, but the goal of attaining the same level of security well before and long after the city's big events is still far off.

Brazil: An Inconvenient History

Years before PBS's Black in Latin America series, BBC released an interesting documentary about slavery in Brazil called Brazil - An Inconvenient History. You'll see some familiar faces from the Brazil episode of the PBS documentary, and some similar themes, but the BBC documentary is much more focused on history than identity. There are times when it's a bit drier and more academic than the PBS documentary, but nevertheless worth watching. There are some incredibly harrowing details, and it uses interesting first person accounts from historical texts and documents.

Now it's available online, so watch here!

English

 

Português (legendado) - Parte I

 

Parte II

Parte III

Parte IV

Via Deep Brazil

Brazil News Update

Since my last politics update, here's what's happened:

President Dilma reshuffled her cabinet again, naming another woman, Ideli Salvatti, as one of her top advisors. Salvatti, formerly the Fisheries Minister, will now serve as Dilma's congressional relations minister. Despite the shake up, Dilma's popularity has actually increased, with a 49 percent approval rating in the polls. While the cabinet changes had some analysts nervous, the new appointments seem to be working fine for Dilma, and have helped increase the number of women in the highest ranks of power in Brasília. Plus, by bringing an end to the Palocci debacle, Dilma proved she could in fact deal with some of the trickier, more public aspects of governance.

The Battisti case hasn't quite come to an end. He was released from prison on June 9th, and the Italian government began to take action. The Italians recalled their ambassador in Brazil, and have vowed to bring the case to the Hague. Lula cancelled his visit to Italy last week, and Brazilian volleyball players at the World Beach Volleyball Championship in Rome narrowly avoided being pelted by oranges, when spectators threw them onto the sand in protest. While Battisti awaits his permanent residency request to be decided this Wednesday, some Italian officials have threatened to boycott the World Military Games in Rio this July, or even the 2014 World Cup (though that seems highly unlikely).

In Rio, the more than 400 firefighters under arrest were released on June 11th. That didn't stop nearly 30,000 people from participating in a march of solidarity the following day in Copacabana, including teachers from Rio state schools, who are still on strike and protested in another march later in the week. Firefighters are still in negotiations for higher salaries, but rejected the government's most recent proposal. They're also fighting for amnesty after the arrests. While negotiations continue, there are likely to be local political repercussions.

On the economic front, economists lowered yearly inflation predictions for 2011, but raised them for 2012. In the short term, prices are likely to go down as the economy slows. There is some concern that consumer defaults will rise this year and perhaps lead to a credit bubble, though with insufficient information on borrowers, it's hard to tell exact levels of indebtedness. The job market continues to speed along; in May, 252,000 jobs were added, and 1.17 million jobs have been created since the beginning of 2011. The luxury industry is still booming, and Brazil's investment grade was upgraded again this week.

Drug Liberalization in Brazil

In a country where major cities are plagued by organized crime and drug trafficking, it's no surprise that a liberalization movement has grown and has gained a steady foothold among urban youth and intellectuals. Just in the past year, two documentaries were released about drug policy, including Quebrando O Tabú, featuring former president Fernando Henrique Cardoso, Bill Clinton, Jimmy Carter, and Paulo Coelho, and Cortina de Fumaça, which also includes FHC, Fernando Gabeira, and dozens of experts in Brazil and abroad.

More videos from Quebrando O Tabú

Cortina de Fumaça is currently showing at the Petrobras Brazil Film Festival in New York, which I was lucky enough to see early this week. If you can't make it to the next screening, you can watch here:

But here's the catch: in Brazil, it's illegal to publicly protest drug policy, since it's illegal to "apologize for" or defend crime and illegal substances. In the past, drug liberalization marches, known as Marchas da Maconha (Marijuana Marches) were broken up by police, and protesters arrested.

Most recently, there was a march in São Paulo in May, which was violently repressed by police after the event was forbidden by local courts. In fact, the same month, Marijuana Marches were prohibited by the courts in nine cities. To protest the repression of the São Paulo march, a week later, thousands of people (somewhere between 2,000 and 5,000) took to the streets of Brazil's largest city in what they called the Marcha da Liberdade, or the Freedom March.

 

The Freedom March inspired planning for new marches throughout Brazil, but there was some question as to how they would take place given past events. Some events, like the Rio de Janeiro march, were calling it the Marcha da Liberdade instead of the Marcha da Maconha, both to protest censorship and to attempt to ensure the event could take place. But today, the Supreme Court ruled in a unanimous decision that protesters will be able to hold Marijuana Marches, declaring that the protests were not defending drug trafficking. The justices defended the protesters' freedom of speech, explaining that it was their constitutional right to express their views.

Now, this weekend, marches are planned all over Brazil, including massive events in São Paulo and Rio, as well as events in more than 30 other cities.

 

This will be a very interesting movement to watch, because though it seems unlikely that major legislation will come anytime soon, it's an issue that is gaining momentum and has the support of some powerful and influential people, from TV stars to the ex-president. It's possible that this issue will become a more salient, national debate in the near future.

Q&A With Diário Do Rio's Quintino Gomes

There are quite a few blogs about life in Rio de Janeiro, but you'll be hard-pressed to find one that is dedicated nearly in its entirety to celebrating the city, and you'll find few bloggers as passionate about his city as Quintino Gomes. Diário do Rio has become a very successful blog that details all there is to know about the exciting things going on in Rio de Janeiro, from new movies being filmed to cultural events to new architecture projects. It's the place to go to not only find interesting news, but also learn about Rio's history, culture, and sports. Quintino and I have been collaborating for quite some time, since we have a bit of overlap, and the blog is one of my favorites to keep in touch with everything that's going on in the Cidade Maravilhosa.  So I thought I'd chat with him and find out more about the blog and his mission. The original interview is below in Portuguese, and this is my translation.

Q&A With Quintino Gomes

How did you come up with the idea for Diário do Rio? When did you start the blog?

One day, I mentioned to a friend that there weren't any blogs about Rio, except for blogs just for events, and he said, why don't you start one? Plus, at the time the Pan American Games were coming up, and people only criticized the city, saying it wouldn't be able to hold the games and that it would be a disaster. And right before the Pan Games began, they started calling it the Pan of Brazil, as if the city wasn't the one investing in holding the event. So on January 1st, 2007, right after New Year's, I went and started the Diário do Rio.

Do you have a job besides blogging, or do you make a living from the blog?

I still work, right now with social media, but I'd love to be able to make a living just from the blog. But unfortunately I can't.

How big is your readership?

There are around 300,000 pageviews per month, sometimes a little less, sometimes a little more. On Facebook, there are nearly 22,000 fans, with a good level of engagement. On Twitter, there are only 2,435 followers.

The focus of the blog is on the good things about Rio, like culture, history, sports, etc. Why is that important?

Self-esteem. Cariocas live in one of the most beautiful cities in the world, but four years ago the media didn't help. When you read the news about Rio, you'd only see violence, violence, and more violence. What about the positive news about the city? Today, it's fashionable to say that now it's "Rio's Turning Point," or "Rio's Defining Moment" but that's a lie - Rio always had tons of good things to do, and you only needed the willingness to be able to see that.

Someone recently told my husband about the so-called Dry Law crossers, people who are paid to drive through police checkpoints after the drivers have been drinking. Have you heard about that?

Never, but it's possible they exist. There's just one problem - certainly, the Dry Law enforcers are going to find it odd that the same person is going through the checkpoint three or four times in a different car. It's risky.

What do you think about what happened with the firefighters?

The governor from the PMDB party, Sérgio Cabral, lives in another world. He treats civil servants badly, since he considers them an expense and not an investment. Earning R$950 a month is already a miserable wage, and even more so when you take into consideration that they're risking their own lives. The invasion of the firefighters headquarters was an act of desperation after months of trying to reach an agreement. Using BOPE, who are well respected by Cariocas, to attack the firefighters was a PR attempt that went incredibly wrong. It awakened society to the firefighters' situation and it began to repeat itself here in Rio with a movement similar to the Spanish "Indignados." Some Cariocas put red ribbons on their cars, and I made a point of changing the Diário do Rio logo during that time. Now the Rio state teachers are on strike, and they earn R$750 a month. It could be a snowball effect, which I hope it is.

What's your opinion about the Olympics and the World Cup?

The Olympics were extremely important for Cariocas, since it was like an endorsement that the world gave to the city, validating its ability to hold events, to be a global city, and having to compete with cities like Chicago, Tokyo, and Madrid. The Olympic Games will enable the city to be the capital of the world for several months (not just the period of the actual games). And we can take advantage of that to show all that is beautiful [in the city] and our own capabilities. As for the World Cup, I have some misgivings, especially about the use of Maracanã Stadium, a project with a budget around US$1 billion, that shouldn't be done. Instead of renovating the stadium, as iconic as it may be, they could have demolished it and built a new one, like they did with Wimbledon or expanding the capacity of Engenhão Stadium.

What do you think is the best place in Rio? What's the best thing about Rio?

It's hard to pick just one place. I love Lagoa (the lagoon), but I also love driving down Joá and Niemeyer. There are few cities in the world where you have such a beautiful view when you're stopped in a traffic jam. There's Santa Teresa, that has a bohemian air, or suburbs like Oswaldo Cruz and Madureira that have that 60s feel when you could sit in a chair outside your house and chat with your neighbors. Without a doubt, the best thing about Cariocas are their idiosyncracies, their accents, and their optimism.

Entrevista com Quintino Gomes 

Como surgiu a ideia para o Diário do Rio? Quando começou o blog?
Um dia comentei com um amigo que não havia blogs que comentassem sobre o Rio, sem ser só de eventos, no que ele falou, por que você não faz? Aí juntou ao fato que na época estava próximo aos Jogos Panamericanos e só se criticava a Cidade, dizendo que ela seria incapaz de receber os Jogos, que ia ser um desastre. E na aproximação do Pan começaram a chamar de Pan do Brasil, como se não fosse a Cidade que estava se cotizando para receber o Pan. Então fui lá, no dia 1o  de Janeiro de 2007, logo após o Reveillon, e comecei o Diário do Rio.
 
Você trabalha além do blog, ou consegue viver do blog?
Ainda trabalho, por enquanto com mídias sociais, gostaria muito de viver apenas do Diário do Rio mas infelizmente não dá.
 
Quantas pessoas leêm o blog?
São cerca de 300 mil Pageviews por mês, as vezes um pouco menos, as vezes um pouco mais. No Facebook já são quase 22 mil fãs, com uma boa taxa de engajamento. Já no Twitter são apenas 2435 seguidores.

O enfoque do blog são as coisas boas do Rio, como a cultura, a história, esportes, etc. Por que é importante isso?
Auto-estima, o carioca vive em uma das mais belas cidade do mundo mas a mídia há 4 anos atrás não ajudava. Quem lia apenas o noticiário sobre o Rio só via violência, violência e mais violência. E as notícias positivas sobre a cidade? Hoje está na moda dizer da "Hora da Virada do Rio de Janeiro", mentira, o Rio sempre esteve lotado de coisa boa para fazer, faltava era boa vontade para enxergar.
 
Alguém contou para meu marido ontem sobre os atravessadores da Lei Seca, que dirige para as pessoas durante blitz. Já ouviu falar?
Nunca, é provável que exista. Só tem um problema, certamente os integrantes da "Lei Seca" vão estranhar a mesma pessoa passando pela 3a ou 4a vez pela Blitz em carro diferente. Um risco...
 
O que você acha sobre tudo que aconteceu com os bombeiros?
O governador do PMDB, Sergio Cabral, vive em um mundo aparte, trata mal os funcionários públicos, ao considerar eles como gasto e não investimento. Receber R$ 950,00 já é uma miséria, quando imagina que é para arriscar a própria vida então...  a invasão do Quartel General foi uma medida de desespero após meses de tentativa de chegar a um acordo. Usar o BOPE, uma corporação bem vista pelos cariocas, para atacar os bombeiros foi uma tentativa de marketing que deu incrivelmente errado. Acordou a sociedade para a situação dos bombeiros e começa a se repetir aqui no Rio um movimento como os "Indignados" da Espanha, vários cariocas já colocaram uma faixa vermelha em seu carro, o Diário do Rio fez questão de mudar a logo durante esse período. Agora são os professores estaduais que entraram em greve, recebem cerca de R$ 750,00 de salário. E será uma bola de neve, e espero que seja.

O que você opina sobre as Olimpíadas e a Copa do Mundo no Rio?
A Olimpíadas foi importantíssima para o carioca, é como fosse um aval que o mundo deu para a capacidade da Cidade de receber eventos, de ser uma cidade global, tendo como concorrentes cidades como Chicago, Tóquio, Madrid. Os Jogos Olímpicos deixa a cidade por vários meses (não só período dos Jogos) como a capital do mundo. E aí cabe tirarmos proveito disso e mostrar nossas belezas e capacidades. Quanto a Copa tenho algumas ressalvas, especialmente sobre o uso do Maracanã, a obra que já está orçada próximo a US$ 1 Bilhão não deveria ser feita. No lugar da reforma do Estádio, por mais icônico que seja, poderia ser demolido para a construção de um novo, como foi com Windeblom ou aumentar a capacidade do Engenhão.
 
Para você, qual é o melhor do lugar do Rio? A melhor coisa sobre o Rio?
É difícil escolher um lugar só, adoro a Lagoa, mas também adoro passar pelo Joá ou a Niemeyer, poucas cidades no mundo você consegue parar no engarrafamento e ter uma vista tão linda. Tem Santa Teresa que se respira um Rio de Janeiro mais boêmio, ou o subúrbio como Oswaldo Cruz, Madureira que tem aquele ar anos 60 quando se podia deixar  a cadeira em frente de casa e conversar com os vizinhos. A melhor coisa é sem dúvida o carioca, com suas manias, seu sotaque e otimismo.

Dilma's Reality Check

It's been a rough week for President Dilma. First, her embattled chief of staff quit in the midst of a corruption scandal, after she'd failed to take action and called in Lula to try to contain the political crisis. Palocci was one of Dilma's most trusted advisors, although it wasn't the first time he was accused of illicit activities; in 2006, he resigned as Lula's finance minister after being involved in the massive Mensalão corruption scandal, and he was also accused of corruption while he was mayor of Riberão Preto. Dilma's response was seen by some as slow and ineffective, and Lula's involvement was seen as a last-ditch attempt due to her own inability to handle the problem. Upon Palocci's departure, Dilma praised her outgoing chief of staff and confessed she was sad he was leaving.

Dilma chose a relatively unknown newcomer, Gleisi Hoffman, a senator from Paraná, to replace Palocci. Palocci was critical to Dilma's success since he was her power broker in the Lula style, while she could attend to the nitty gritty details of her government, as her style is much more bureaucratic and detail-oriented than Lula's. Now, it's up to Hoffman to prove she can take on the same role and effectively manage the complex array of relationships from the Palácio do Planalto. The media was quick to jump on the new advisor; she supports the Forest Code as it was passed by the House of Representatives, whereas Dilma wants to veto amnesty for illegal loggers. Political analysts say Dilma has to get it right quickly to reestablish order and legitimacy, and she will have to prove that she can step outside her comfort zone to deal with future conflicts more aggressively.

Meanwhile, the Supreme Court finally granted amnesty to accused Italian murder suspect and fugitive Cesare Battisti, and freed him after he spent nearly five years in Brazilian jail. The decision came after the STF had initally voted to extradite him, and then Lula granted him amnesty right before leaving office. This week's decision was to determine if Lula's decision was legitimate and if Battisti's extradition was legal. The 6-3 decision, filled with highly-charged nationalistic sentiment, the court changed its previous decision and even let him go. The trial itself seemed to be a bit surreal; one of the attorney general's arguments against extradition was that to judge extradition or amnesty is "judgement of supposition or hypothetical judgement, which does not need to be based on concrete facts." (I swear, really) The Italian government is up in arms, and judging by previous tensions with the case, it's likely to cause problems if Dilma or her government fail to find a way to smooth things over.

Plus, the decision was highly controversial amongst Brazilians, and some are angry that while a alleged murder was set free, hundreds of Rio firefighters remain in prison. The crisis has the potential to go national, and the Minister of Justice will meet with Rio officials to try to bring an end to the situation.

And finally, there's the economy. The real is still considered by some as the world's most overvalued currency, and inflation is still rising. (In this recent Bloomberg article, the owner of the Fogo de Chão churrascaria chain explained it's now cheaper to eat Brazilian barbecue in the US than in Brazil) The Central Bank raised interest rates again this week, the fourth time in an effort to reign in inflation, and more increases are expected. Dilma's government is under pressure to keep inflation in check in the midst of nationwide demands for higher salaries and an increased minimum wage.

Now is Dilma's chance to tackle these issues and get her administration back on track, and to prove that she can be both an effective administrator and power broker.