Adventures of a Gringa

Rio+20: A Litmus Test

 

Photo: Rodrigo Soldon

Rio+20, the United Nations Conference on Sustainable Development, begins in Rio de Janeiro on June 20, a little over a month away. While the topics up for discussion are undoubtedly important, all signs point to the possibility that no binding resolution will result and it will be a lot of talking and little action. (For perspective, at one of the New York Rio+20 negotiations that lasted two weeks, the big decision to come out of it was to have more negotiations at the end of the month.) The likely more critical outcome will be a test of how Rio will handle a non-Carnival mega-event before the World Cup and Olympics, and as one of its first big events to turn the spotlight on Rio during the city's so-called renaissance.

On the one hand, Rio+20 comes at a time when more and more events are being held in Rio. According to International Congress and Convention Association, Rio surpassed São Paulo for the number of events held in the city last year. Rio now has a massive "smart city" operations center to monitor the city in real-time, which has aided in the day-to-day but will be especially helpful during large events. The Brazilian army is setting up a cybercrimes defense center in Rio in June right before the conference as a test before the World Cup and Olympics. The police are building their own operations center set to launch next month, also before the conference, and as RioReal Blog notes, people are losing sleep as the city faces deadlines and new goals set by city residents.

At the same time, Rio+20 will be an important test for two of Rio's biggest challenges for upcoming mega-events: accommodations and transportation. An estimated 50,000 people are expected to pour into the city for the conference, though the city only has around 26,000 hotel rooms. Everyone knew that hotels were charging obscenely exorbitant prices for the Rio+20 week, and the government reserved most rooms ahead of time. Several people have asked me about finding apartments, though those are also hard to come by.

However, when the European Parliament canceled its Rio+20 delegation this week--citing high costs at around 600 euros a night per room--suddenly more people started to pay attention. Reuters found that hotels are charging around 5 times the normal price. Now, President Dilma Rousseff along with federal congressmen are asking the Rio government to intervene and find a solution to the price gouging. It's an important lesson before 2014 and 2016, because inevitably the same thing will happen, even if Rio expands its hotel capacity by then. UPDATE: Apparently Rio's mayor has appealed to Cariocas to leave town and rent out their apartments to Rio+20 guests, while the Rio tourism bureau had planned to launch a website for apartment rentals that never materialized, says the AP.

As for transportation, Rio is working on extending the metro system, improving and expanding highways, and building the TransCarioca, a bus rapid transit system to connect Rio's international airport to Barra da Tijuca in the city's West Zone. But the metro hasn't reached Barra yet and the TransCarioca isn't finished, but the conference will take place at Riocentro, the city's convention center--located in Barra. That means that the large majority of attendees will likely be staying in Zona Sul or downtown and will have to get to Barra by bus or cab, which will undoubtedly lead to some major traffic jams. But Barra is already a nightmare to get to on a normal day: Cariocas complain that commuting to or from Barra to other parts of the city can take up two hours or more during rush hour. Since traffic is pretty much inevitable, it may help to put more pressure on the city to work faster on crticial infrastructure projects.

Meanwhile, the Cachoeira corruption scandal brewing in Brasília is threatening to get closer to Rio every day. Rio's governor was caught in photos of European jaunts with the former head of Delta, the construction company at the heart of the scandal. Delta is one of the largest construction companies in Brazil, but 99 percent--yes, 99 percent--of its contracts are with the government. It was the company responsible for reforming Maracanã and for helping build the TransCarioca, but since the scandal broke, the company removed itself from both projects. Now, the company is being taken over J&F, the controlling shareholder of JBS, Brazil and the world's largest meatpacking company. Interestingly, BNDES, Brazil's government-run development bank that funds infrastructure projects across Brazil, has a 31.4 percent stake in JBS.

Crime is unlikely to be an issue, though it may be the top worry for many visitors. The city tends to go on lockdown during large events and is actually a time when crime overall seems to drop. In the end, Rio+20 should help identify remaining challenges for the upcoming mega-events, even if the thousands of delegates at the conference fail to agree on anything.

Brazil's Soft Power

With President Dilma Rousseff's Washington visit coming on Monday, everyone's talking about Brazil as a rising power with growing political and economic clout. Brazil has traditionally been a soft power country, given its history of diplomacy, a focus on non-intervention, and its role as a mediator. Now that it's a rising global power, some think it is neglecting cultural promotion, one of its greatest assets. But since Brazil is a champion of soft power, there's an important question: should Brazil work to expand its soft power, or focus on hard power?

BBC published a series of articles on the subject today, arguing that while Brazil already has a great deal of soft power, it could adopt a more coherent, streamlined approach to promoting culture abroad. It also posits that promoting Brazilian culture can help Brazil's economy. Tovar Nunes da Silva, the spokesperson for Itamaraty, said, "We consciously opted against militarization. We're one of few countries in the world where our national hero is a diplomat and not a general. We don't have a choice--our history is soft power." But singer Gilberto Gil, the former minister of culture, believes Brazil is neglecting culture as its international profile has grown. "Since Brazil is becoming more powerful and vocal, its soft power has to grow at the same proportion as hard power," he said.

With an eye on expanding the economy, trying to get a seat on the UN Security Council, and pushing for a greater say at international institutions, is it worth investing in music, literature, movies, fashion, and tourism? From my perspective, it is. First of all, Brazil's boom may not last; it wouldn't be the first time. Brazil's political power may hinge on its economic power, and though there's a lot of confidence that the country has finally reached a level of stability, it's also risky to depend on the commodity portion of its economic success. One of Brazil's greatest assets is its culture and people, and they'll be there no matter what happens to the economy or in international politics.

Controlling the promotion of culture is easier than the complex and gradual consolidation of hard power, and can be less dependent on government. Hard power is also dependent on external factors, whereas Brazil has much more control over promoting its culture abroad. Soft power can have an immediate impact, whereas hard power is built over time. The appetite for Brazilian culture, particularly music, is large and growing in the United States and Europe, but there's plenty of room for more promotion, tours, and exposure. Another plus to promoting Brazilian culture abroad is that it can have reverberations back in Brazil, since when something or someone from Brazil becomes popular outside of the country, they'll then get more love at home. (see: cachaça, Havaianas, etc.) Brazil still imports a lot of popular culture, particularly movies and music, and putting more value on homegrown artists would be a good thing.

Tourism is another factor in soft power, something that the government has put a lot of investment into in terms of PR, especially leading up to the World Cup and the Olympics. While it's important to bring foreigners to Brazil, it's just as important to bring Brazil to the world. One of the best ways to get people interested in traveling to Brazil is by having them fall in love with it before they even get there.

Finally, it's not just culture that can figure into soft power. Science without Borders, the Brazilian government's scholarship program to send 75,000 students abroad to study science, math, and engineering, is a fascinating mix of hard and soft power. On the one hand, it's an investment in Brazil's economic future, but on the other, a diplomatic program that sees people-to-people interactions as vital to Brazil's international role.

This Week's Reads

There are a bunch of interesting Brazil stories and interviews from the past few days that are worth reading. Have a read:

• The blonde gang: a gang of young, middle-class, educated blonde women are being hunted by police after a series of express kidnappings to make luxury purchases at malls in São Paulo. English version, from the BBC, and Portuguese, from Último Segundo.

• Gun sales on the rise: Around 4.3 million Brazilian-produced weapons were sold in Brazil in the last five years, says a recent investigation. A Pública has a lengthy report on arms production and sales in Brazil. It's part of a series on weapons in Brazil, which also shows that Brazil exported 4.48 million light weapons from 2005 to 2010.

• President Dilma talks to VEJA: Since taking office, the president has given few lengthy exclusive interviews to the press, so it was especially interesting to see her give a ten-page interview to the popular right-leaning publication that is notoriously critical of the Worker's Party, as well as Lula and Dilma. In the highlights published so far, it seems it's a lot of reassurance about how things are going, defending her economic policies, and denying problems with her congressional coalition. She also said she agreed with business leaders that the country needs to lower taxes in order to help businesses grow. To read highlights, see VEJA and EXAME. The full interview should go up online soon.

• Romário talks to Valor: Former soccer star "bad boy" and Rio federal congressman Romário gave a very interesting interview to Valor, where he talks about his dedication to his new job. He discusses how "around 80 percent" of his fellow deputies don't bother to show up, about his dedication to promoting rights for the disabled, his role as a critic of Brazil's World Cup preparations and its relationship to FIFA (with some interesting observations on overspending on World Cup projects), and his upbringing in favelas in Rio's Zona Norte. He also mentioned a disturbing anecdote about the state of public health in Rio, since his brother had recently discovered his uncle at a public hospital, where he had been lying dead in a hallway for three days. Read the full interview on Romário's website.

• Brazil's pension system: The Economist explains in precise detail about how Brazil's pension system works and why it could be a major budget problem for the country. I also think it's interesting from a productivity perspective, but in general it's the best overview on the topic I've seen recently.

Ten Things to Know About Brazil's World Cup

I'm a little hesitant to write about the World Cup--it seems to be one of the international media's favorite topics when it comes to Brazil, usually a report on Brazil's delayed preparations every month or so. But the latest development seems to be a tipping point in the relationship between FIFA and Brazilian organizers, and one that reveals many of the issues surrounding the event.

After ongoing tensions, FIFA's General Secretary Jerome Valcke finally lost his cool on Friday and vented his frustrations about Brazil's progress. It wasn't exactly a surprise, although he'd made very positive about Brazil's preparations during his January visit. Now, he had this to say:

On overall preprations: "I don't understand why things are not moving. The stadiums are not on schedule any longer - and why are a lot of things late? The concern is nothing is made or prepared to receive so many people. I am sorry to say but things are not working in Brazil. Our concern is nothing is made or prepared to receive so many people because the world wants to go to Brazil."

On comparing it with the last World Cup: "That's the big difference between South Africa in 2010 and Brazil. The people don't care about security, they don't care about the weather - it's amazing. In South Africa it was winter, it was dark. In Brazil the weather will be perfect. But I can tell you from the other side of the organization it is not exactly that."

On Brazil's possible motives: ''What is the World Cup for Brazil: To organise the World Cup or to win the World Cup? I think it's to win the World Cup. South Africa's priorities were to organize the World Cup not win it. It seems all Brazil wants to do is win it, and that must change."

On the World Cup law, the legal framework FIFA requires for Brazil to hold the event: "We should have received these documents signed by 2007 and we are in 2012."

His advice? "You have to push yourself, get a kick up the backside and just deliver this World Cup."

Naturally, that did not go over well in Brazil.

Sports Minister Aldo Rebelo said the Brazilian government would no longer recognize Valcke as a representative of FIFA, and demanded a new interlocutor. He said Valcke's comments were "unacceptable" and that the World Cup law, due to be voted on this week after innumerous delays, was coming along at a "responable pace." On Twitter, he said: "I still claim that FIFA are not above the sovereignty of Brazil and I will continue to fighting for the sovereignty of our country."

In response, Valcke dismissed the minister's anger. “I made one comment saying things are not working well and I for once say exactly what is happening in Brazil. If the result is they don’t want to talk to me anymore, I’m not the guy they want to work with, then that’s a bit puerile.”

It's unclear what will happen this week but evidently, the gloves have come off. FIFA has admitted that it has no Plan B, and that the games will be held in Brazil. But given that the Confederations Cup will be held next year and preparations are still behind, it seems possible that this sparring is not over.

With this in mind, I thought it might be helpful to keep some things in mind about what is really going on with the World Cup, and what's at stake.

10. Brazil was the only country to vie for the 2014 World Cup. FIFA had decided that it would be held in South America under its rotation system, but Brazil was chosen by default after being the only country to offer to host the games. Though Brazil had to meet FIFA's requirements in order to be chosen--ranging from stadiums to transportation to security--it also faced no opposition. So initially, it was easier to focus on celebrating the country's selection as host (especially after it was also chosen to host the Olympics), rather than be immediately held accountable for what it had actually agreed to do.

9. Brazil's selection as World Cup host came during the high-flying years of President Lula's second administration, just at the very beginning of Brazil's "emergence" on the world scene. It was a somewhat easier political choice to make because Lula was extremely popular and it was not something his administration would have to deal too much with; much of the responsibility would fall to the next president. (That's even more valid given the delays in preparations, since FIFA claims more could have been done as soon as Brazil was chosen). My sense is that the current government has felt that the Cup is an inherited responsibility that it will have to make the best of given the circumstances.

8. The Brazilian government is using billions of dollars in public funds to build stadiums and infrastructure for the World Cup. This essentially means that in theory, Brazilian taxpayers are paying for the event, though they never had a say in whether they wanted the event or not. Through 2013, the government estimates spending of around $100 billion on World Cup and Olympics construction, $258 billion on construction, and $477 billion on infrastructure. Depending on the aftermath of the Cup, this could become a tricky political issue during the 2014 presidential elections--or a potential boon, too.

7. One of the great potential legacies of the World Cup could be improvements to infrastructure. President Dilma Rousseff is heavily invested in focusing on infrastructure, though her bigger concern is infrastructure that aids long-term development, not the games (which for Brazilians is a good thing). But it's unclear what will happen in the next two years, with many projects already delayed. It seems possible that intracity transport could be finished in a number of cities. Airports across the country are undergoing renovations, and airport privatization has begun on three airports. But it's unclear if major airport reforms will be done before 2014, and a much-heralded bullet train between Rio and São Paulo has quietly been delayed until 2022.

6. The World Cup offers ripe opportunities for corruption. It happened during the Pan American Games in 2007, and it's already happening again with the World Cup. Overspending is the key issue, and it's been happening across the board. While Dilma's efforts to control corruption within her cabinet have offered hope, it's entirely possible that abuses are still happening from the local level all the way up to the federal level. The World Cup also has been an opportunity for abuses against favela communities located in areas slated for construction.

5. Brazil may have overextended itself by picking 12 host cities. It's not without good reason; since much of the country's big events are often concentrated in a few cities, it seemed more fair to spread the event throughout the country, giving less developed cities a chance at more investment and time in the spotlight. It's also a political opportunity for the chosen states and municipalities. But some of the smaller cities may really not be ready in time, and from a logistical point of view, it will be difficult for fans--even Brazilians--to attend games in multiple cities, especially cities like Manaus and Cuiabá. FIFA is aware of this and it seems possible it could cut one or two cities if they aren't ready in time, though it would be a big PR hazard.

4. FIFA and Brazil clearly have different expectations, at least in what's evident to the public. FIFA is a corporation that wants to make money and have a succesful event, and expects Brazil to live up to its legal obligations. Brazil also wants to use it as an opportunity to make money through investments and tourism, but also expects FIFA to play by its rules. In other words, both sides have unrealistic expectations about who gets to call the shots. Clearly, more compromise will be necessary, though neither side is happy about it.

3. Brazil must pass FIFA-approved legislation about the World Cup as a condition of hosting the Games. The so-called World Cup law has suffered delays for years, and problems with the bill have seen it stuck in the House of Representatives until now (another vote is expected next week). FIFA has made certain demands, including legalizing alcohol at soccer stadiums, only allowing FIFA-authorized sales of merchandise in and around stadiums, and making efforts to control piracy. Brazil, on the other hand, wants to ensure that discounted tickets are set aside for students, seniors, and other groups, something that FIFA has had to make compromises on. Overall, the most sensitive issue is if the bill violates Brazil's sovereignty, something that several politicians have complained about and an issue many Brazilians are sensitive to.

2. Brazilians are very sensitive to foreigner's perceptions of their country, and even more sensitive to outside criticism. One would assume that FIFA officials have realized this by now, and perhaps took advantage of this fact by hoping to embarrass and pressure the government with Valcke's comments last week. Still, it's not a very good tactic, and is only going to make the tense relationship even more acrimonious as the games draw closer. The international press has added fuel to the flames by constantly criticizing Brazil's preparations, and will continue to until the World Cup begins. FIFA officials should take note of Brazil's diplomatic techniques if they plan on better cooperation, and are going to have to accept the fact that whatever timelines were agreed upon will probably not happen, but that enough will be done in time to ensure the games can take place.

1. The World Cup is an incredibly important source of pride for Brazil. It represents Brazil's rise to power and its ascendance on the world stage, as well as celebrating its economic growth, reduction of poverty, and the resulting sense of optimism. It's an important part of the Brazil brand abroad, a stamp of approval from the international community. It's also a way to try to banish its demons; the last time the country hosted in 1950, it was also celebrating a new, post-war era, but lost to Uruguay in the last game, a devastating defeat still considered a national trauma. Pulling off a successful event with minimal conflict and scrutiny is just important to Brazil's sense of self-worth as trying to win the Cup. It's still unclear what the legacy of the games will be, but for both FIFA and Brazil, there's no turning back now.

São Paulo Airport Mayhem

Last week, the Brazilian government finally took the step of starting the privatization process for the country's airports, starting with São Paulo's Guarulhos, Campinas, and Brasília. Rio will likely come next, as well as Belo Horizonte and Manaus. Because of the growing economy and burgeoning middle class, airports across Brazil are bursting at the seams: demand for air travel grew 194 percent in the last decade and 16 percent last year, with over 107 million passengers in Brazilian airports in 2011. Guarulhos and Galeão, two of the largest airports in the country, are among the worst, and the government hopes to improve airports across Brazil before the World Cup and Olympics. But the reality is that the airports need to be upgraded right away to handle the skyrocketing number of Brazilian travelers, as well as an influx of foreign business travelers and tourists.

São Paulo is a case in point. Brazil's biggest city has an international airport that was rated the worst airport in Latin America for business travelers, given "long lines and inefficiencies." A Brazilian grad student at the University of Manchester dedicated his dissertation to a case study on Guarulhos, examining its problems and possible solutions. In it, he identifies seven big issues: "existing safety and security procedures; lack of political will from the airport administrator to implement the solutions; inefficiencies in different elements of the process; existing physical infrastructure and lack of flexibility; necessity of stakeholders cultural change; conflicting stakeholders interest; and existing procurement legislation." I would soon experience most of these.

                                                                          Photo: David Gacs

The first thing I noticed when I flew in to São Paulo last week was that we had to disembark right onto the tarmac and take a bus to the terminal. I've flown in to Guarulhos before from abroad and from within Brazil to make connections and don't remember this happening. But this time, it happened for every flight, both domestic and international flights. I wasn't sure why they couldn't just get a jetway, especially for the larger international flights. The buses were ok, but they slowed things down, especially when we were running late for a connection on the way back to New York. I figured it would be okay though, since we didn't have to check in. I was wrong.

When we got to the international departures entrance, my heart nearly stopped. There were hundreds of people in line, which snaked around four times before stretching back down the hallway.

                                                                                Photo: David Gacs

After waiting in line for twenty minutes or so, slightly feverish with anxiety, the clock ticked to the exact time our flight was supposed to start boarding. Finally, at the advice of a guy at the information desk, we got out of line and went to speak to the lady checking tickets in front of the immigration area. "No, no, you can't come in here. Sorry," she said, after we explained our flight was boarding. "Talk to that guy." She pointed to a TAM employee, who was studiously switching back and forth between a walkie-talkie and a cell phone. We hurried over. He acknowledged our presence, but refused to put down his two devices, and continued switching between them while occasionally holding up a finger in our direction to recognize that he realized we very much wanted to speak to him. This went on for a few minutes, at which point I was literally squirming with impatience. He shot me a half-annoyed, half-bemused look before putting down his phones.

"Do you speak Portuguese?" was his first question. English was a nonstarter, apparently - gringos be damned. He then proceeded to explain that a guy would take us and other passengers from our flight over to another terminal, which would theoretically be faster, and then we would go back to the other terminal to board our flight. He did not seem concerned that our flight was supposed to leave in less than an hour. Soon, other passengers began gathering, and a group of maybe twenty people began following the guy appointed to march us to the other terminal. On the way, I overheard him telling another employee that there were only five federal police working at the original terminal, which was part of the reason for the horrendous line. I didn't find out why this was, or what the real number of agents that should have been working. One time when I was leaving Rio, a strike caused some pretty bad lines going through immigration, but it was nothing in comparison to this one.

The pack leader walked pretty fast, with mostly Brazilians in tow. We snaked through a strange back corridor with only airline employees idling in the narrow doorways, some of whom I nearly crashed into as we swept through. It was a decent walk, and I couldn't tell if we lost people along the way. When we got to the terminal entrance, the guy checking tickets said, "Miss? You can't come in this way." I pointed to the leader. "He said we could!" I proclaimed, and off we went. As it turned out, we were in for more lines. The Brazilian line at immigration was long and very slow. The foreigner line was shorter, but also painfully slow; there only seemed to be one agent for the line. When I finally got through, I was a little overheated; there didn't seem to be functioning air conditioning in the room. The female agent also seemed to have noticed, and she had stripped down to a white tank top as she stamped passports. After feverishly rushing through security, we were home free! Or so I thought. The pack leader was idling at the security exit. "Yeah, just go back to the other terminal now," he told us. "Is everything going to be ok?" I asked, stupidly. He was unfazed. "Yup. Just head over there." This strange scheme did not seem to be out of the ordinary. I wondered how often they did this passenger relay game.

We then discovered just how far we were from the other terminal, and the fact that our flight was just about to leave, we started to run. By the time we got to the gate, I was huffing and puffing and covered in sweat. Though the flight should have been taking off, to our dismay, our gate was marked Buenos Aires. Where the hell was our gate? We asked around and determined that yes, that tiny area in the basement was in fact our gate, and mercifully, our flight was delayed. If it hadn't been, we likely would have missed it.

We hurried back downstairs and miraculously, our flight was now on the board and people were lined up to get on the bus. It turns out they had switched the gate at the last minute and made all of the passengers run (literally run, according to an older woman in line) to the new gate. At this point I was shiny with sweat, my hair was in disarray, and I'd discovered a large sunburned patch on my arm from wandering around in the sun earlier in the day. Needless to say, I was picked for the extra security check.

When we finally sat down in our seats, I was never so grateful to be in the uncomfortable sardine can that is the very back of coach for a ten hour flight. I wondered how many other Guarulhos passengers felt the same.

Brazil News Briefs

I apologize for the lack of updates this week, but it's been busy with the Thanksgiving holiday. So while I prepare a few longer posts, I'd thought I'd comment briefly on some of the news from Brazil this week.

Chevron oil spill

While all oil spills are devastating, this incident has something of a small silver lining. The spill has awakened even more nationalist sentiment at a time when Brazil's congress is debating oil royalties, and has been a wake up call about the risks of offshore drilling and a reminder that tapping Brazil's enormous oil wealth won't be easy and can potentially have negative consquences. Much of the national public discourse about the pre-salt oil fields has focused on the potential profits and who they will benefit, but with very little focus on logistics or risks. Chevron has taken the blame for the spill, had to pay millions in fines, and now has been forbidden to drill in Brazil, but the incident also shed light on the fact that the Brazilian government needs better preparation for offshore accidents. Some believe Brazilian government agencies were also ill-prepared and slow to act, which compounded Chevron's delayed response. And though Chevron partnered with Petrobras and Japanese firm Frade Japao in the field in question, so far only Chevron was being held responsible, despite the fact that Brazilian law dictates that "all members of an oil partnership are "jointly and severally" responsible for their field or concession," according to Reuters. In short, the spill, which is terrible but fortunately is not near the scale of the BP disaster, has raised a lot of important issues that will need to be addressed.

Rio policeman absolved of murder

The second policeman accused of murdering a three-year old in Rio's Tijuca neighborhood in 2008 was absolved by a jury yesterday. The policemen allege they confused a car with a mother and her two children with the car of fleeing criminals. The two cops fired seventeen shots on the car, and João Roberto was killed with a rifle shot to the head. The case has become emblematic of Rio's ongoing problem with police brutality, and with the second acquittal, it has become another example of another nationwide challenge of impunity.

Pacification update

Police have arrested several drug traffickers who fled Rocinha before troops moved in to pacify the favela. One trafficker was found in Bangu, in the Zona Oeste, where he was living. Another trafficker, who ran trafficking operations in Vidigal, the favela near Rocinha which was pacified the same weekend, was arrested in Realengo, also in the Zona Oeste. Today, the girlfriend of Rocinha drug kingpin Nem was arrested in Rocinha, where she was found at a beauty salon. In Complexo do Alemão, a large favela pacified last year, drug traffickers exchanged gunfire with soldiers stationed there with the pacification forces, and one soldier was shot. Another man was shot and killed in Alemão the following day. Today, the Institute of Public Security in Rio released a report that says homicides have declined 9 percent in Alemão and nearby Vila Cruzeiro. Pacification forces have brought more stability to favelas where they have been installed, but residents have repeatedly claimed that drug traffickers continue to quietly operate with impunity. It also seems that as some analysts observe, criminals escaping pacified favelas may be heading to the Zona Oeste.

Congressman accuses Dilma of being gay

This week, notoriously homophobic Rio Congressman Jair Bolsonaro accused President Dilma of being gay during an angry speech on the floor of the Chamber of Deputies. While criticizing a controversial video created by the Ministry of Education to combat homophobia, he shouted, "Dilma Rousseff, stop lying. If you like homosexuals, say it. If your thing is love for homosexuals, admit it. But don't let your cowardice into our schools." Other members of congress criticized Bolsonaro's outburst and demanded action be taken against him.

Corruption scandals update

While the latest minister accused of corruption, the Minister of Labor, has yet to fall, another minister has come under fire. The Minister of Cities has been accused of fraud involving an infrastructure project for the World Cup in Cuiabá. (Also, this week, The Economist has an interesting story on Dilma's crackdown on corrupt ministers.) But it's not just Dilma's cabinet in the spotlight for corruption. On Friday, the public prosecutor's office in São Paulo succeeded in freezing the assets of Gilberto Kassab, the mayor of São Paulo, who is accused of fraud involving contracts with the city's vehicle inspection company.

The Crying Forest

For those who study Brazil or follow the news closely, a seemingly constant stream of stories about destruction in the Amazon is the norm. As much as the Amazon is nearly a separate world from Brazil, the news that comes from the region is almost a world apart as well, and sometimes with greater coverage by the international media than the Brazilian national press. To some extent, I sometimes feel inundated by the same stories over and over, and also a bit disheartened by how backward the region is compared to other booming parts of Brazil. 

But one reporter, one of the most talented foreign correspondents in Brazil, has made it his mission to ensure that the Amazon's most important stories are heard around the world. Gabriel Elizondo, an American correspondent for Al Jazeera English based in São Paulo, has written about the Amazon extensively, and recently created a documentary to chronicle the lives and deaths of Zé Claudio and Maria, environmental activists who were murdered in Pará in May. He's written a number of articles about the couple and the murder case, and then recently put together this fantastic documentary.

It was really after seeing They Killed Sister Dorothy that I became interested in her case and of the plight of activists in the Amazon, and watching Elizondo's documentary "The Crying Forest" I feel the same renewed sadness and frustration. Reading about the activists is one thing, but seeing certain things with your own eyes that makes all the difference, be it the terrible anguish of Zé's sister, hard to watch video of the crime scene, or Zé's adorable niece who actually bears Dorothy's name. I highly recommend the documentary (you can watch it in its entirety here), and also watching the Sister Dorothy documentary as well, if you haven't seen it yet (watch the PBS special about the Sister Dorothy documentary below).