Adventures of a Gringa

Marcelo Freixo: The One to Watch in 2012

With municipal elections coming up in 2012, one of the people to watch is Rio de Janeiro state Congressman Marcelo Freixo, who is running for mayor of Rio. Though he faces an uphill battle at the polls--a recent Ibope survey found that incumbent Eduardo Paes leads with 36 percent, and Freixo is behind with only 7 percent--he's become a national player because of his outspoken stance on security issues and his fame as a fictionalized character in the Tropa de Elite movies. He also was in the headlines last month when he fled Brazil after an increase in death threats. He says that unlike the press reported, he hadn't previously planned to give speeches with Amnesty International, and that it was in fact an emergency trip for security.

Freixo, who worked as a teacher and a human rights advocate in Rio prisons, has tirelessly worked to fight the city's militias. He's also in favor of gun control and of changing drug policy. He believes that security problems in Rio involving militias and drug traffickers are a national problem that require more political will to effectively tackle. But he may have trouble getting votes for mayor: in recent interviews, he acknowledged that he's at a disadvantage in terms of campaign financing, and may have a hard time pulling ahead of Paes. Even if he's not elected, he's likely to remain an important political figure in Rio, especially in terms of security and combatting corruption.

Revista Trip recently published an excellent interview with Freixo, which you can read here. In it, he describes his theory of the "auctioned state" in Rio, in which the government selectively decides where it will provide services and security. He also discusses his long battle with the militias and their influence in Rio.

Rede TV also aired an interesting interview with him, which you can watch below.

Watch the rest of the interview here.

Transportation in Rio

In the second part of the Brazil Challenges series, I'm going to discuss the transportation situation in Rio de Janeiro. While São Paulo gets a bad rap for traffic, Rio is becoming just as bad. Over the past few months, it's become a favorite Carioca complaint on social networks. People post photos of gridlock traffic (particularly in Barra and Lagoa) on Facebook and Twitter and complain about how many hours they've been on the road. (I can also attest to the growing traffic - a few months ago, I got stuck in a traffic jam on one of the city's largest highways--at 5am). Several Twitter channels, like radio station Band News, narrate traffic jams in real time.

Fellow blogger Quintino Gomes of Diário do Rio has been writing about the traffic problem on his blog and Facebook. In a recent post, he described a two-hour car ride to go 30 kilometers, and commented: "While before, traffic jams were something that happened once in awhile, now it's an everyday occurence in Rio." On December, a bus caught on fire in a tunnel on the Yellow Line, causing a mega traffic jam in the whole city, the second in the past few months. On the Caos Carioca blog, the writer lamented that when an incident happens like the fire in the tunnel, "the whole city turns into a knot." He pointed out that a single incident has a domino effect, turning into a "catastrophic chain."

Given that work has started on improving the city's infrastructure - namely, expanding the metro, which has been slowly growing over the past few years -  why is the traffic getting worse?

First, there are more cars on the road. With unemployment down, rising salaries, and increased access to credit, more and more people are able to buy and lease cars. In June, there were 67.5 million registered vehicles in Brazil, and as of early November, over 3 million vehicles were sold in Brazil this year.

Second, the roads are an issue. Because of Rio's mountainous landscape, the city's highways are connected by a series of tunnels, and when there's an accident in or near the tunnels, there is in fact a domino effect. Also, one of the biggest problems is how the city connects to Barra and Recreio, in the city's West Zone. There are only two main points access from the South Zone: one, through a tunnel passing Rocinha, and another on a two-lane road on the waterfront (it makes traffic jams easier to bear, given the spectacular views). There's always been bad traffic going to and from Barra (which is why I eventually tried to avoid going to Barra as much as possible), but it's gotten even worse. For those who live or work in Barra, it makes the day to day a nightmare.

Finally, there's the issue of public transportation. The metro, arguably one of the best forms of getting around the city, is relatively limited in its trajectory with only two lines, and is more expensive than some buses, at R$3.10 per ride. (It also doesn't run all night.) While expanding the line to Barra could really help alleviate traffic, it's going to cause more traffic in the meantime as they build the line from Leblon and shut down parts of roads. While there are plenty of buses to choose from, the proliferation of lines and the number of companies operating them has also contributed to more traffic. (The bus companies are also, unsurprisingly, opposed to extending the metro). While buses are one of the cheapest ways to get around, starting at R$2.35 per ride, with a farther reach than the metro, there are also vans and kombis. They originally came about as a cheaper alternative to buses, and functioned outside of the officially sanctioned forms of transportation. Now, the city is trying to legalize vans, by making them apply for the right documentation and also allowing passengers to pay with the bilhete único, which will also work on buses, trains, ferries, and the metro. The ferry is also an efficient way to get from Rio to Niterói, though it's come under criticism after a recent accident and a proposed fare hike.

And then, there are the trains. These commuter trains connect parts of Rio's North and West Zones, as well as suburban outskirts, with the rest of the city. Despite purchasing some gleaming new cars for the Pan American Games in 2007, the trains are possibly the worst way to get around Rio. It's always overcrowded, with far too many people squeezed into each car. The trains are not reliable; they sometimes are delayed by shootouts, or break down on the tracks. In fact, in the past two weeks there were two break downs, one near Belford Roxo and another near Oswaldo Cruz, and passengers got out of the train to "occupy" the tracks in protest. One passenger was spotted posting a sign on the train that read: "We want improvements. We're not clowns."

A Liga, a Brazilian TV show, did an excellent report on public transportation in Rio a few months ago, showing how using buses and trains often take hours for commuters -- one man took four hours to get from Leblon to the suburbs on a Friday evening, for example. It also shows ingenious solutions where transportation is lacking. In one area, people began using horse-drawn carts to get to and from the train station, since there are no buses, and an enterprising businessman bought a tiny boat to get across the bay each day for work.

 

Watch the full episode here.

Amid the hype, particularly in the American media, about Rio's World Cup and Olympics preparations, local transportation often gets lost in the mix. Much more so than crime, violence, hotel capacity, or airport infrastructure, I think this is going to be one of the biggest challenges for the mega events. But more importantly, it's become a serious daily struggle for millions of Rio commuters, and will likely be a key issue in the 2012 municipal elections as residents demand change.

Q&A With Cristiano Casagrande

I lucked out with yet another Q&A this week, this time with Cristiano Casagrande, a gaúcho social media manager who founded and runs the ph14 social media agency. I asked him about social media trends in Brazil, as well as the Twitter feed he runs to divulge important Brazilian news in Portuguese. Read the translation in English, or the original in Portuguese (after the jump).

How did you get the idea for the @brazilians Twitter profile? What's the idea behind it?

The @brazilians profile was created in 2008, when Twitter was just starting to catch on in Brazil. At the time, it was possible to find every Brazilian on Twitter on this site. The idea was to share news about Brazil using a new tool that was impressive because of how quickly you could spread information.

How did you start your career in social media?

I started casually, by writing blogs, and I was always interested in what they call web 2.0. When Twitter came around, I recognized its potential as a new form of communication that would become social media, and I began to look for clients who wanted that type of publicity.

Brazil is one of the countries that uses Twitter the most, with the most "influential" users in the world (Rafinha Bastos, Twiter da Vovó). Why is it that Brazilians like and use Twitter so much?

It's true, Brazil stood out early in social media and I believe that Brazilians have a trait in which they like to communicate all the time with everyone and about everything. Another important aspect is local humor, which is why comedians' profiles are so popular. Brazilians like to laugh and make others' enjoy themselves. 

Which social media site will become (or is becoming) more popular in Brazil?

Here, all of the sites that allow interaction are growing a lot. Foursquare, which is a novelty, was adopted in practically every city and its use is only limited by the fact that it's restricted to smartphones and GPS connections. LinkedIn just passed 6 million local users and opened an office in São Paulo at the end of last month. The same thing is happening with Facebook, Twitter, and Google+, which have some of the largest user bases in the world in Brazil.

Although Orkut is still the most used social network in Brazil (well, depending on your source), many Brazilians are now using Facebook. Do you think they'll keep using both, or that they'll switch to Facebook? And what do you think about the so-called "Orkutization" of Facebook?

Orkut is outdated, both from a technological standpoint and in number of users. It was the pioneer of social networks in Brazil, but now it's being replaced by Twitter, Facebook, and Google+. It's hard to say with certainty if Facebook has more users, because IBOPE only measures residential access without using data from internet cafés, for example, but it's just a matter of time. There's a new model for social media, and Orkut is not included in it.

With respect to "Orkutization," it's a natural process that occurs when anything becomes popular. With Twitter, the same thing happened, and even so, it didn't lose importance. Nowadays, social media allows us to select the information we want to receive and Facebook realized this when it created ways to follow and unfollow users like Twitter has been doing since the beginning. This was also adopted by the newcomer Google+.

Q&A With Anderson Antunes

Anderson Antunes is a Brazilian journalist based in Europe who writes the South American Way blog for Forbes, focusing on current events in Brazil. He's a thoughtful and perceptive observer of Brazilian trends, culture, and news, and he's written about everything from jewelry heists to supermodel Gisele, from movies to lawsuits. He also writes about famous Brazilians, from Eike Batista to Rafinha Bastos. In addition to the blog, he uses Twitter to share information about Brazil. I asked him a few questions about his career and his thoughts on how Brazil is covered in the international press.

Tell me a little bit about your career. What got you interested in journalism, and how'd you end up at Forbes?

I became a journalist in 2005. I’ve always been interested in news and everything related to it. During my high school years, I spend a lot of time studying the period in which Fernando Collor was the president of Brazil, for an essay that I was writing at the time, and, as a result, I had to do a lot of research. I used to spend entire afternoons at my school’s library going through their archives of magazines like Veja and IstoÉ, reading everything about that particular time of Brazil’s history. I guess it was love at first sight and that was when I knew I had to become a journalist. I’ve written, either as a freelance journalist or as a contributing writer, for several publications in the United States, the UK and Brazil. Right now I also work as a contributor for Glamurama, writing for both their website and some of their magazines, such as Poder. Forbes came to me asking if I was interested in writing about Brazil, from a ‘Brazilian living abroad’ point of view. I just had to say yes.

You write a lot about Brazil in English for an international audience. What do you think it's important for foreign readers to know about Brazil?

Well, there’s a lot of interest in Brazil and all things Brazilian right now. That’s why I was asked by Forbes to write on things related to my native country. I’m not exactly covering politics or economics, as a lot of other people are doing exactly that. My goal is to give a glimpse to worldwide readers of what attracts Brazilians' interest, what’s news around there and why that’s relevant in a global scenario.

You've written about women's issues and gay rights. Why are those important topics in terms of news in Brazil?

I guess Brazil is growing at a very fast pace, not only economically but also socially. Those issues are very present in Brazilians' lives today, but they are still seen as some sort of taboo. I have the chance to analyze all that from far, which gives me a different perspective and, sometimes, it even surprises me. I believe Brazil needs to address those issues if it wants to become a truly important player in a globalized world. Right now, I think we still have a long road ahead of us.

You've also written a bit about Globo, from novelas to Fátima Bernardes. Why does Globo interest you from a cultural perspective?

When you talk about Brazil’s entertainment industry, is there anything else to talk but Globo? It is the biggest and the most influential media group in South America, they have a social relevance that deserves attention.

Which Brazil-related topics do you feel are missing from the international press?

I think it’s time for the worldwide press to stop spoiling us and actually writing about what’s happening around there. Foreigners still have a ‘misguided’ idea of what Brazil really is. Some people think it’s the best country in the world, which is not true. Some thing it’s the worst, which is not true either. The press is concentrating too much on things such as our economics and missing important points about our people, our culture and who we really are and why we are so proud of our country.

You live in Paris. What do you miss most about Brazil?

Actually, I’m in London right now but, yes, I’m based in Paris (probably moving to London next year). At this time of the year, I must say I miss THE WEATHER! And that’s coming from someone who doesn’t really appreciate high temperatures that much. But I love being abroad and experiencing new things every day. Besides, I usually feel at home whenever I see a Brazilian, what happens a lot. Brazilians are everywhere these days!

Read Anderson's blog, South American Way

The Tourist Visa Question

While I've written a lot about residency and work visas in both Brazil and the U.S., one of the simplest types of visas is the one causing rumblings in both Brasília and Washington. Tourist visas are causing bureaucratic hurdles for Brazilians and Americans alike, and costing both countries millions of dollars in potential tourism revenues.

Getting a U.S. tourist visa for Brazilians is expensive, time-consuming, and an even bigger pain if you don't live in one of the four Brazilian cities with a U.S. consulate (Rio, São Paulo, Brasília, and Recife). For families, it can cost thousands of dollars, and for those who have to travel to another Brazilian city, even more for flights and hotels. Consulates are facing increased demand as more and more Brazilians can afford to go abroad, and it can take months to even get an appointment.

Despite the hurdles, more Brazilians than ever are coming to the U.S. According to this blog post from The Hill, the numbers are telling:

In 2011, 820,000 visas were issued in Brazil, an increase of more than 42 percent over the previous year.
In October, more than 90,000 visas were cleared in Brazil, 67 percent more than October of last year, State Department officials said.

Brazilians are spending big bucks in the U.S. They're doing loads of shopping, and spending tons of money at outlet malls. In 2010, Brazilians spent $5.9 billion in the U.S., spending an average of $4,236 per person. The majority of money was spent on shopping, restaurants, theme parks, historical sites, and to a lesser extent, city tours and museums. But it's not just in the U.S.: from January to October this year, Brazilians spent $17.7 billion abroad.

There had been some talk about eliminating tourist visas for Brazilians altogether, based on a decreased visa  rejection rate, but it looks highly unlikely to go anywhere anytime soon. But several interest groups have come down hard on the U.S. government to speed visa processes for Brazilians and Chinese tourists. The National Retail Federation, U.S. Chamber of Commerce and U.S. Travel Association are urging Congress to pass several bills that would speed up visa processing times and increase the number of consular employees.

Interest groups started a campaign called Ready for Takeoff to argue for changed visa rules, proposing solutions like video conferencing for tourist visas interviews and reducing visa interview wait times to 10 days or less. Richard Dow, the president of the U.S. Travel Association, wrote an op-ed in the Wall Street Journal called "The Lost Decade of Tourism," warning that the U.S. is losing billions of dollars because of visa delays and bureaucracy. He also says the U.S. is losing business to Europe, where Brazilians can go without a visa.

But there are already plans in place to increase the number of tourist visas given in Brazil, whether or not the bills pass. The U.S. will double the number of consular employees in Brazil by next year, and hopes to increase the number of tourist visas given to Brazilians to nearly 2 million in 2013.

Brazil also may reassess its tourist visa policy. Because of a reciprocity rule, Brazil obliges Americans and Canadians to get tourist visas to enter Brazil, as well as visitors from other countries that require Brazilians to get tourist visas. While other issues like high costs, fears of violence, and insufficient infrastracture play a part in hampering tourism, visa requirements do as well. As a result of all of these factors, the Brazilian government is also exploring ways to increase tourism. As El Pais reporter Juan Arias points out in an op-ed called "Brazil's strengths lies in its deficiences," he says:

"Just consider the fact that Brazil with all its beauty, its 8,000 kilometers of virgin beaches, and its huge cultural wealth only receives 4 million tourists a year, when tourism could be one of its greatest sources of revenue."

According to Embratur, 5.16 million foreign tourists visited Brazil last year, a nearly 8 percent increase from 2009. But in theory, it should be much bigger. For example, the same year, 22 million foreign tourists visited Mexico and 4 million visited the Dominican Republic.

In fact, Brazil's Congress is considering a bill that would eliminate tourist visas from January 2013 to December 2016, in an effort to encourage more tourists to visit for the Confederations Cup, the World Cup, and the Olympics. The bill's author, Federal Deputy Carlos Eduardo Cadoca, defended the initiative, arguing reciprocity doesn't make sense and that tourism revenues will benefit the country.

In an ideal world, neither the U.S. nor Brazil would require tourist visas from one another, which would undoubtedly increase tourism and be less of a headache. But for now, any real attempts to reduce bureaucracy, wait times, and costs for travelers will be welcome.

Brazilian Bureaucracy

In a new series, I'll be profiling issues that affect the day-to-day of many Brazilians, and are an important part of the adaptation process for gringos interested in living in Brazil.  Foreign companies that operate in Brazil often refer to local problems and obstacles as the "Brazil cost," but I'll refer to this series as Brazil Challenges.

Bureaucracy is an issue that affects nearly every area of life in Brazil, and is a constant headache for both Brazilians and foreigners. A legacy of the Portuguese crown during the colonial period, it's something of a self-perpetuating monster that has resulted in constant paperwork, fees, and taxes for citizens and a lucrative system for the government and cartórios, or public notary offices. It's also created something of an interest group for despachantes, people who are hired to deal with bureaucracy and other official unpleasant, time-consuming tasks. In a way, it's akin to the American health insurance system, in that doesn't make much sense and doesn't benefit citizens.

In an attempt to tackle the bureaucracy problem, a lawyer named Helio Beltrão led a government ministry called the Ministry of Debureaucratization from 1979 to 1986. While it seems paradoxical to create a new government agency to cut back on red tape, the agency managed a few small successes, but were later shut down, and similar projects were nixed ever since.

A recurring theme in dealing with bureaucracy in Brazil is proving you are who you say you are. This perceived distrust means people have to spend a lot of time proving their identities through tons of notarizations - notarized signatures, notarized copies, notarized forms...the list goes on. Another theme is that despite the endless rules and regulations that dictate bureaucracy, things can quite often depend on the person you are dealing with. Even if you're prepared, you never quite know how easy or difficult a bureaucratic chore will turn out to be. Essentially, you have to develop a lot of patience, and learn to take things in stride.

Here are a few of the areas involving bureaucracy in Brazil.

Law, Economy & Trade

In a September cover story on Brazilian bureaucracy, VEJA magazine described some of the legal aspects of bureauracy. In the past twenty years, 4.2 million laws were created in Brazil at the federal, state, and municipal level. The article, while in a right-leaning magazine, clearly vents frustrations: entitled "Enough to make you go crazy," it contains a section that says:

"The root of the excessive number of laws--and the abundance of stupid laws--is the distortion of the role of the Brazilian legislator who erroneously views himself as a nanny that needs to prevent the citizen-baby from getting into trouble. This infantilization derives from the denial of free will and the ability for individuals to make their own decisions."

Another article in the issue discusses the business aspects of bureaucracy. A Brazilian lawyer, fed up with the tax system, created a book containing every single tax law in decree from 1988 to 2006. He ended up with 18,000 laws, 43,215 pages, and a book weighing nearly 7 tons. Tax laws are so confusing that big companies employ dozens or even hundreds of specialists to figure out how to pay taxes and fill out the ncessary forms. According to VEJA, 17% of Brazil's GDP per capita is lost to bureaucracy, and bureaucracy consumes R$48 billion a year. Companies must keep paper copies of everything from contracts to receipts on file for at least five years, but some end up keeping them longer in case they need them for legal reasons.

Some areas of trade involve more bureaucratic headaches than others. Ports create lots of paperwork--any time a ship comes to port, 112 documents must be sent to 28 government agencies, including 14 ministries. Each ship must provide nearly 1,000 pieces of information to the authorities. Yet 95% of Brazilian foreign trade is shipped by boat. In a supremely odd rule, when the government confiscates pirated CDs or DVDs, it is the victim company's responsibility to deal with the merchandise. The government doesn't allow for the pirated merchandise to be destroyed right away (it usually takes 3 years), and some state attorneys require each individual CD to be evaluated. It means that some companies have millions of pirated CDs sitting in warehouses, at their own expense.

Voting

For Brazilians, bureaucracy can even be a part of their civic duty. Since voting is mandatory, if you miss an election, you're charged a fee, and if you don't pay, you risk losing basic rights, like to get a passport or take a civil service exam. In order to settle the fine, the voter must either send a letter to the election court with a justification for his absence during the election or go to the regional electoral office to pay the fine. At this office, an official prints out a form for a R$3.50 (US$1.86) fine, which can only be paid at Banco do Brasil--not at the electoral office. So once the voter has gone to the bank, he must return to the electoral office with the receipt--for R$3.50.

Foreigners in Brazil

Visas & Customs

For foreigners in Brazil, doing anything through official means requires superhuman patience levels and the ability to see beyond the absurd. As one foreign correspondent discovered, if you bring furniture and large items with you when moving to Brazil, you'll be taxed on all of those items when you leave--even if you don't want them or already gave them away. Cultural authorities are required to inspect paintings to ensure they're not "misappropriated cultural patrimony." The journalist also described his experience with paying fees:

To pay $70 in consular fees, I had to buy dollars that were not stained or folded and did not belong to the 1998 or 2008 series. When I could only find twenty-dollar bills in those specifications, leaving me with $80, the bank refused to complete the transaction, perhaps giving new meaning to the phrase "exact change."

Read the full story here.

Foreigners often encounter bureaucratic hurdles about their names or their parents names. Another reader, an American living in Rio, had this issue when he was applying for his visa.

The Federal Police made me get a notarized document from the US consulate stating that my father's name was indeed his name, even though it is on my birth certificate. (He has a middle inicial "E" which stands for nothing, but which confused them). The US consulate then said they don't do that. But I begged and pleaded and paid about US$60. It took a few days, but that seemed to please the PF. I think these things just depend on the mood that the person behind the glass is in.

Getting Documents

For those moving to Brazil to work or as permanent residents, there's quite a lot of bureaucracy to get through once you're in Brazil: registering your visa, getting a CPF, and maybe, if you're very lucky, a carteira assinada, which can take years to get.

Journalist Seth Kugel wrote a very funny explanation of how he opened a Brazilian bank account, which he achieved in only 70+ steps. Here's a short excerpt:

– Be called to an agent. Be informed that you cannot have an account with just the protocol. Call over the pleasant man, who is no longer as pleasant. Have him tell you it was “absurd” that the person at the other branch told you that you could open an account with a protocol.
– On way home and in significant despair, note an Itau branch near your apartment. Wait five minutes in line to go in because a woman cannot figure out what in her purse is making the revolving door metal detector block the door every time she goes through.
– Talk to a very, very pleasant agent who says, yes, Itau does accept the protocol. Consider hugging her, but resist.
– Hand over all your documents. Yes, your CPF is fine. Yes, your proof of residence with its colorfully sealed recognized signature is fine. Yes, your passport with its fancy Rectification will do ... oh, no it won’t. It does not list your mother’s and father’s names?
– Consider slugging her, but resist.

Read the full story here.

Getting Married

To get married in Brazil, you need to get several documents from your home consulate, including a certificate of being single and a "name document" if you or your parents names have initials on your birth certificate. You also need your birth certificate translated by an official translator and stamped by a Brazilian consular officer in your home country, and then the original birth certificate and translated birth certificate must be certified by a city licensing office. The actual marriage requires two rounds of paperwork, and the two witnesses at the marriage must submit a certified copy of their identification. You really need to be in love.

It's harder when you get married in a small city, as one reader, an American in a rural town in Bahia discovered, when a local bureaucrat suggested he return to Illinois to have his birth certificate changed.

I got married this year in a small city that isn't used to dealing with foreigners. Since the worker in the civil registry didn't know what she was doing, she just made up rules as she went, like demanding that I provide documentation of a residence in Brazil (though I was a volunteer and not a resident in Brazil).  We ended up giving up on getting married legally and in the church on the same day after failing to convince the worker that from January 22 (the day we were beginning to apply) to April 29th was more than three months (she literally, absolutely not joking couldn't understand the concept... she seemed to think the difference was only one week and kept repeating the phrase "é pouco tempo para vencer"). When we finally got the marriage certificate, it had something like seven errors in it. In the process of getting my wife's documents changed to reflect her name change and registering my change in status with the Federal Police, we had to get the document remade four times. The toughest was my mother's name - my Illinois birth certificate shows my mother's maiden name printed, but she signed with her married name, which is the norm for the certificate there. It took two visits and a lot of arguing to get them to accept the married name (for a while, they insisted that I go back to Illinois and explain to them that the birth certificate is wrong and that they need to correct it).

Getting divorced is a pain, too. One reader, a Brazilian living in the States, found out the hard way. She registered her marriage with a cartório, as well as the Brazilian consulate in the U.S., in case she and her husband ever decided to move to Brazil. But when she later filed for divorce, she discovered it wasn't going to be easy to file in Brazil, too. She explained:

"To register the divorce papers at the same cartório, I had to get a letter from my ex, with a notarized signature, stating that he agreed that the divorce would be registered in Brazil. This letter had to be 're-notarized' by the consulate stating that the American notary's signature was real. I had to have all these papers translated and had to hire a lawyer because these cases have to go to the Superior Court in Brasília where the judge decides that the American papers are indeed valid. When that happens I will get a document by the Brazilian government stating that indeed my divorce is real. The lawyer cost me more than my whole divorce!"