Rio de Janeiro created a new
perspective and set new milestones for the
Pan American Games. Considered to be an
Olympic-level organized competition, these
2007 Games were the most expensive in the history of
the event, with a budget of 2 billion dollars. Media
outlets reported unprecedented audience interest in the
Games, with the highest public attendance and largest
television audience in the Pan American history.
Brazil's
president 2004-2010,
Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva. a founding member of the
Workers' Party (Partido dos Trabalhadores). Lula was
first elected with 61% of the votes and took office on
January 1, 2003. The eight years of the Lula government
profoundly changed Brazilian foreign policy as well
as its own self-image
Amazon
The Amazon represents over half of the planet's
remaining rainforests. Deforestation has declined
significantly in the Brazilian Amazon since 2004 but
demand to convert it to more profitable uses remains
high.
Recognition of same-sex unions in Brazil
Brazilian same-sex couples have achieved a considerable
degree of legal protection in the last twenty years, a
consequence of several judicial decisions extending to
same-sex couples the same status and rights afforded
opposite-sex couples.
Brazil's Largest Cities by citymayors.com
22 towns and cities with more than half a million
people. Some of them have many more. Some 15.2 million
people live in the urban area around and including the
city of São Paulo. For Rio de Janeiro, the figure is 9.6
million. Salvador, Bahia is 3rd largest.
On January 1st 2011
Dilma Rousseff was sworn in as Brazil's new
president
"The best homage that I can give
to him is to continue the progress made by his
government, and invest in the strength of the
people," she added. "This has been the best lesson
that President Lula has given all of us."
The newly inaugurated President Rousseff singled out
President Lula's work over the last eight years to
reduce poverty and promote economic prosperity.
Dilma
Rousseff, won her first election
ever to become the first women
President of Brazil on January
1, 2011
"The most determined struggle will
be to eradicate extreme poverty," she said. "We can
be a more developed and fairer country. I will not
rest while there are Brazilians without food on
their table, homeless in the streets, and poor
children abandoned to their luck."
She also outlined her plans for tax reforms,
environmental protection, improved health services,
regional development, and measures to protect the
economy from foreign "speculation".
The rain at the inaugural parade in Brasilia
prevented the roof of Ms Rousseff's Rolls Royce from
being opened
Ms Rousseff later travelled to the presidential
palace, where Lula removed the green-and-gold sash
of the Brazilian head of state and placed it over
her head as thousands of onlookers cheered.
"The happiness I feel for my inauguration is mixed
with emotion at seeing him leave," the new president
said, wiping tears from her eyes. "But Lula will be
with us. I know that the distance of this position
won't mean anything to a man of such greatness and
generosity."
Lula himself shed a tear while hugging several
ministers and aides, before leaving by car to his
home near Sao Paulo.
Ms Rousseff, a former Marxist rebel who was
imprisoned for three years in the early 1970s for
resisting military rule, has promised to protect
freedom of expression and worship, and to honor the
constitution. As chief of staff and leading
economist in the Lula government she has shown a
concern with keeping inflation low and been credited
as the architect of the government’s plan to
“induce” economic activity when Lula reorganized his
government in 2005
Born to a Bulgarian immigrant
father and a teacher in Belo Horizonte, the capital
of Minas Gerais her upbringing was middle class. Her
success as state energy secretary in Rio Grande do
Sul at a time of electricity shortages brought her
to Lula’s attention. She describes herself now as a
“Brazilian democratic socialist”. She wants to
reform the state to make it more effective but not
smaller.
The continuation of a center-left
government in Brazil may have even greater foreign
implications where Lula's constructive presence has
been both a force for change and moderation at the
same time. Lula's cautious and pragmatic
foreign policy was not progressive or reformist and
while not challenging the center of world power, or
the United States it created a more favorable and
balanced context for more positive transformations
in South America.
Read
More
newamercanmedia.org/2010/11
Michael Fox interviews Igor Fuser on
After Lula: Brazil's Foreign Policy at a
Crossroads
One million New Year partiers in Rio de Janeiro,
Brazil at the Copacabana Beach were given an extra
treat just before they rung in the New Year at
midnight of 1/1/11 – the unveiling of the 2016 Olympic game
logo.
A national and international panel organizing the
2016 games made the final decision. Nearly 140
organizations had vied for the honor and only eight
made it to the final judging phase.
The symbol is both a tricolor and reference to the
trinity as a unifying force showing the circular
embrace of three fluid flowing spirits colored in orange,
green and blue. The logo is said to reflect the
city’s culture , the country’s natural wonders and
the joyful disposition of all Brazilians.
Some pundits said it referenced a similar 4 figure
graphic of an obscure non-profit in Colorado USA but
this
is an altogether different energy force than the
unifying three or trinity. A ring of three joined
archetypes is best known worldwide by
countless artistic interpretation through the ages
of the three graces.
Brazil will be only the third country in history to host both
events within two years of each other - following in the
footsteps of West Germany in the early 70s and the USA in the
mid-90s.
High speed rail between Sao Paulo &
Rio is to be completed for 2016 Olympics but the winning
consortium has not yet signed on to this date
In terms of economic growth Brazil's is among the
most rapidly progressing in the world with a 2010
GDP expected to be up 7.5 per cent.
To a degree, social development has followed but as
yet Brazil does not have the required infrastructure
to host the two largest sporting competitions in the
world - and FIFA have been swift to remind them of
their venue deadlines.
Much media attention has been focused on the
government's campaign to normalize infrastructure
and governance in the falvelas or slums of Rio.
The other great capital of
Carnaval is Bahia in Brazil's Northeast Region
The musical styles are different in each
carnival; in Bahia there are many rhythms,
including samba, samba-reggae, axé, and others,
which are performed on a truck equipped with
giant speakers and a platform where musicians
play called a Trio Elétrico. In Salvador, the
early capital of the country as well as the most
visited City after Rio massive numbers of people
follow the trucks singing and dancing.
BBC Best
Link:Music -
Brasil, Brasil
BBC Four's exploration offers a detailed account
of the years in which Brazilian music has evolved and constantly
changed, while capturing the global imagination.
This is the music and modern history of Brazil includes an
archive of rare performances and specially shot interviews with
musical legends. From current hot success Seu Jorge to touring
legend Caetano Veloso
This is a BBC documentary can now be viewed on
youtube
The origins of carnival date back to
the ancient Greek spring festival in honor of Dionysus,
the god of wine and ecstasy. The Romans later
adopted the celebration to a Bacchanalia, with a greater
emphasis on drunken revelry in honor of Bacchus, and
mid-winter Saturnalia, where slaves and their masters
would exchange clothes in a day of drunken revelry.
World Carnaval Capital of 2011 is
Vrnjacka Banja, SERBIA
hosting the
31st FECC
Carnival City Congress -
More info @
CarnivalCities.com
2010 Update: New
Brazilian President Dilma Rousseff has
raised expectations that she will revisit strict
abortion laws in Brazil that her mentor Lula
carefully avoided. A March 2007 Datafolha/Folha
de S. Paulo poll found that 65% of Brazilians
believe that their country's current law "should
not be modified." While Dilma the candidate
often declared her opposition to abortion and
said she is not trying to promote a plebiscite
on the subject she also pointed out to religious
leaders. “It is a question that only divides the
country. And in the end everybody loses,” she
stressed.
Perhaps in
response, Pope Benedict XVI has been
rallying the Brazilian bishops expressing to a
meeting in October-2010 with bishops from
Northeaster Brazil; ' While some may claim
they support abortion or euthanasia to defend
the weak and the poor, “who is
more helpless than an unborn child or a patient
in a vegetative or terminal state?” he said.
A rare maybe for
CONDOMs The Vatican has
clarified controversial statements by Pope
Benedict XVI on condom use to prevent AIDS in an
effort to end speculation that he has relaxed
the church ban on artificial birth control. But
the Catholic Church also spoke out to head off a
dispute among conservatives over what the
pontiff really meant.
A 2010 book "Light of the World." compiled from
a series of interviews conducted last July 2010
by a German journalist sympathetic to Benedict,
the pope said that in some cases involving a
likely transmission of AIDS, such as by a male
prostitute, using a condom "can be a first step
in the direction of a moralization, a first
assumption of responsibility."
The comments were taken to
mean that the pope was agreeing with the
longstanding argument by Catholic ethicists and
health care practitioners that condoms in some
cases could be justified, perhaps as a "lesser
evil," in cases where not using one would lead
to the death of another person.
Brazil’s abortion
laws are among the strictest in Latin
America. Only Chile, El Salvador and
Nicaragua, which have banned abortion
outright for any reason, are stricter.
In a Dec-2010 statement the
Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith, the
office of orthodoxy once headed by Cardinal
Joseph Ratzinger before his election as Benedict
XVI, the Vatican explicitly said that the pope
did not mean to invoke the "lesser evil"
argument because that concept could lead to
"misinterpretation." Still the small step
away from extreme absolute prohibition can do
wonders in the field for Catholic health care
workers around the world as the Catholic Church
is the largest private provider of care to AIDS
patients.
The Pope in March 2009
had reignited the
controversy over the Catholic church's stance on
condom use as he made his first trip to Africa.
Pope Benedict XVI has criticised some harm
reduction policies with regards to HIV/AIDS,
saying that "if the soul is lacking, if Africans
do not help one another, the scourge [of HIV]
cannot be resolved by distributing condoms;
quite the contrary, we risk worsening the
problem"
It was not the only incident
during the Pope's journey through Africa that
received a lot of criticism. Earlier that week,
on the plane to
Cameroon, the Pope judged sexual abuse of
women, but at the same time stated that abortion
in the case of incest or rape, which is legal in
45 African countries, should not be an option.
The level of criticism which
followed from foreign ministers to international
figures was particularly scathing.
Abortion in Brazil
A recent development was a
decree by the Health Ministry, stating that a
police report of rape is enough to allow the
public health system to perform abortion. This
measure has faced strong opposition from
religious groups, particularly the Roman
Catholic Church.
Otherwise, in Brazil the punishment for a woman
which performs an abortion on herself or
consents to an abortion is one to three years.
Brazil
is the country with the largest number
of Roman Catholics at 73% of the
populace, or about 140 million
data360.org
Only about 36% of
Brazilians attend church regularly
nationmaster.com
The Dalai Lama has
said that abortion is "negative," but
there are exceptions. He said, "I think
abortion should be approved or
disapproved according to each
circumstance
1 in 5
Brazilian women of child-bearing age has
terminated a pregnancy, and statistics
by the Health Ministry show that 200,000
women each year suffer medical
complications
JUN-2010-time.com
1 in
7 Brazilian women between the ages of 15
and 19 is a mother, and the average age
at which women have their first child
has fallen to 21, from 22.4 in 1996
Brazilian devotion to the
Catholic Church has declined over the past
several years. Whereas Brazil was once an almost
entirely Catholic nation, only 73% of Brazilians
today admit allegiance to Rome, with large
numbers, especially the urban poor, having
defected to Protestant Evangelical sects. Many
more water down their Catholicism with dashes of
African religions such as Candomble or spiritist
beliefs such as Kardecism
Although abortion is illegal,
an estimated 1 million women each year have
one resulting in more than 200,000
women each year being treated in public hospitals
for complications arising from illegal
abortions, according to Health Ministry figures.
Those who don't have the courage or the money to
be treated take the pregnancy to term. Although
the fertility rate has fallen considerably in
Brazil (from 6.1 children in 1960 to about 2
today), 1 in 3 pregnancies is unwanted,
according to Dr. Jefferson Drezett, head of the
Hospital Perola Byington, Latin America's
largest women's health clinic. Meanwhile, 1 in 7
Brazilian women between the ages of 15 and 19 is
a mother, and the average age at which women
have their first child has fallen to 21, from
22.4 in 1996, according to a government-funded
study.
"Brazil wants to be a
world leader, but the government can't guarantee
equality for women," says Beatriz Galli, of Ipas
Brasil, an NGO that fights to give women more
say over their health and reproductive
rights."This is not a topic that anyone wants to
debate."
The Brazilian government in late 2009 announced
plans for the national oil company, Petrobras, to control
all future development of the deep-sea fields discovered in
2007.
The oil lies
beneath about 20,000 feet of water, shifting sand, and a thick
layer of salt. This so-called pre-salt region, stretching
hundreds of miles, is the biggest oil reserve being developed in
the world today. Full-scale production is not till 2020 and
foreign companies are very much involved in projects, including
the giant field, called Tupi,which with between
five billion and eight billion barrels, is the biggest single
Western Hemisphere find in at least three decades. However, the
President is leading a strong sentiment that the oil belongs to
Brazil and the lion's share revenues should be reinvested in
education and health care.
There is no shortage of pride and enthusiasm
in Brazil over the potential of the pre-salt reservoir, and
apparently no intention of slowing down deepwater exploration -
as other countries like the United States and Norway have done -
because of the oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico.
National oil company Petrobras - which
producers more than 95% of Brazil's oil - plans to increase its
production from the current 2.3m barrels day to 4.1m in 2015.
Petrobras is the largest producer of oil in
deepwater provinces in the world and is highly respected in the
industry. But drilling in the pre-salt fields will pose
challenges greater than Petrobras - or indeed any other oil
company - has ever faced before.
The Amazon represents 58.5%
of the Brazilian territory. The Amazon rainforest holds the
largest reserve of living organisms in the world. The precise
number of species in it is not known, but scientists estimate a
figure between 800 thousand and 5 million species – 15 to 30% of
all known species in the world. Accounting for
roughly half of tropical deforestation between 2000 and 2005,
Brazil is the most important supply-side player when it comes to
developing a climate framework that includes reducing emissions
from deforestation and forest degradation (REDD).
In 2009 Brazil passed a law committing the
country to reducing greenhouse gas emissions 36-39 percent from
a projected 2020 baseline. The bulk of the emissions reductions
would come from cutting the the country's deforestation rate,
which until very recently, were the world's highest. Indonesia
now loses more rainforest on an annual basis than Brazil.
In October 2010 President Lula announced that Brazil's 80
percent deforestation reduction target for the Amazon would be
met by 2016, four years ahead of schedule.
Cancun
2010, rules of the road for REDD:
Despite low expectations, the Cancun climate summit represented
a major step forward for forests. Most importantly, the nations
of the world came to consensus on the rules of the road [PDF]
for forest protection: In particular, they endorsed the idea
that forests should be part of national plans to solve climate
change.
This move is exactly what many countries have been looking for.
Europe, in particular, has refused to credit tropical forest
protection in its trading system -- saying it was waiting for
the United Nations process to give its imprimatur. Now that that
endorsement is there, it's time for Europe to stop waiting and
recognize the huge opportunity they have sitting in their laps:
The great climate debate in Europe right now is about whether to
reduce pollution 20 or 30 percent by 2020. Because protecting
forests is so cost-effective, including them will allow Europe
to achieve the more ambitious target at the same cost as the 20
percent target, guaranteeing economic affordability and
political viability.
There were a few important details in the REDD+ agreement: in
particular, the United States showed admirable flexibility and
said forest protection should adhere to the United Nations
Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous People. That represents
a huge breakthrough: The Bush administration had not only
refused to sign the declaration, but had refused to sign any
international agreement that even alluded to it. The Obama
administration had stuck to that position -- until the Cancun
REDD+ negotiations, when they signaled a new flexibility, and
then announced that they would actually sign the broader
declaration. For forests, it's an important recognition.
Generally speaking, indigenous peoples' forests are the best
protected in the world -- and it's critical for the forests and
just to ensure that indigenous people are included in and
benefit from forest protection efforts on their lands.
Brazil's preparations to host the 2014 football World
Cup are coming along so slowly that the doubters are having their
day. There have been many delays effecting practically all the work
that was to have been carried out starting on the 12 venues across
Brazil for the World Cup.
Where they will play
A. Belo Horizonte, Mineirao (upgraded to 70,000 capacity)
B. Brasilia, Estadio Nacional (upgraded to 71,500)
C. Cuiaba, Verdao (new stadium, 42,500)
D. Curitiba, Arena de Baixada (upgraded to 41,375)
E. Fortaleza, Castelao (upgraded to 66,700)
F. Manaus, Arena Manaus (new stadium, 50,000)
G. Natal, Arena de Dunas (new stadium, 42,500)
H. Porto Alegre, Estadio Beira-Rio (upgraded, 62,000)
I. Recife, Cidade de Copa (new stadium, 46,160)
J. Rio de Janeiro, Mara-cana (upgraded, 90,000)
K. Salvador, Fonte Nova (new stadium, 55,000)
L. Sao Paulo, Morumbi (upgraded, 62,000)
The December 2012 deadline for completion is
looking iffy. The stadiums need to be completed by then so that
Brazil can stage the 2013 Confederations Cup. This far ahead of
time, however, neither the Brazilian Football Confederation nor FIFA
seem overly concerned, publicly expressing confidence that all will
be right on the day. "Up to now, I'm very happy with progress. I
have no doubt that the Cup in Brazil will be grand," FIFA president
Sepp Blatter said. "We still have 3½ years to go, and I am sure that
all the solutions will be found." Much of the
international focus is on Rio's legendary Maracana stadium, which is
being renovated to the tune of US$400-million.
Taking back the falvelas: The police began 2010 by announcing plans to invade 40 of the most
violent slums before the 2014 soccer World Cup being held in
Brazil, with the goal of establishing a permanent policing presence
in communities now controlled by well-armed drug gangs. This
will probably not include Rocinha, the largest and most fortified of slums
which has it's own prominent samba school and police keep a careful
eye on from key points but generally seed control to well entrenched
interests and a growing tourist economy. Rocinha is high on a hill that
overlooks critical areas like the South Zone, São Conrado and Barra
da Tijuca.
Rio officials are adding 3,300 police officers
this year, and at least 4,000 more in 2011 to Rio’s force of 45,000.
Nearly all of the new officers will be employed as peacekeepers in
the slums, Mr. Silviana said.Rio
Once control of a falvela by a drug gang is broken
a shadow paramilitary governments takes over. ."The current mayor of Rio, Eduardo Paes, campaigned on a
platform which defended the power of the paramilitaries."
More worrying still is that lessons appear not to
have been learned. Almost two years after Brazil was awarded the
right to host the 2014 soccer World Cup, work has yet to start on
its 12 stadiums. A proposed bullet train linking São Paulo and Rio
is supposed to be operational in time for the tournament, but the
official tender has not been issued yet, and even politicians are
now admitting it could be late.
Brazil, which has
won a record five World Cups, was awarded the right to host 2014
World Cup tournament following the 2007 XV Pan American Games in Rio
de Janeiro. As many as 12 Brazil Cities may participate while
Macarena stadium in Rio will host the final. The South American country hosted the
competition once before, losing to Uruguay in the mythical 1950
final.
Hosting the 2014 World Cup is a key element
in successfully hosting the Rio de Janeiro 2016 Olympics.
More:
telegraph.co.uk World Cup 2014: Fifa sound alarm as
Brazilian venues fall behind schedule May-2010
Rio is getting the Summer Olympics 2016.
These will be the first Olympics to be held in South America and
only the 3rd Olympics to be held in the Southern Hemisphere.
Brazil is the largest
country in South America; shares common boundaries with every
South American country except Chile and Ecuador
Rio
de Janeiro became the capital of Brazil after the discovery of
gold inland in 1763. In 1960 it lost its capital city status to
Brasilia.
Brazil visitors looking for
value like leather goods, shoes, gems, music, traditional
handcrafts, lace, embroidery, and artifacts from Brazil’s
indigenous tribes.
The Atlantic Ocean
stretches along Brazil’s Eastern side, up to a total of 7,367 km
(approx. 4,604 mi) of coastline.
Its population is
concentrated along the Atlantic coastline of the Northeastern
and Southeastern regions. 50% of the industrial output is
located in the Southeastern state of São Paulo. Most of Brazil's
population (81.2%) now lives in cities
Brazil has the biggest black population of any country outside
Nigeria.
Over
10 million African slaves were shipped to Brazil, six times more
than to the United States.
About 54 percent (95
million) are mainly of European origin, descendants of
immigrants from Portugal, Italy, Spain, Germany and Eastern
Europe. More than 45 percent (80 million) are black or of
mixed-race, a legacy of the African slave trade. Less than 1
percent (700,000) are from indigenous groups, mostly Indians in
the Amazon region; smaller numbers of Japanese, other Asians,
and Arabs live in the larger Brazilian cities.
The rhythm Brazil is best
known for, is samba.
Nowadays, most Brazilians from the south are descendants of the
European immigrants who settled in the late 19th century.
Mail from Brazil is quick
and efficient. Post offices (correios) are found
everywhere, readily identifiable by the blue-and-yellow sign
When writing addresses in
Brazil, the street number follows the name of the street (so the
address "Av. Atlântica 2000" would roughly translate as "2000
Atlantic Ave."). Often in smaller towns or beachfront
communities, a street name will be followed by the abbreviation
"s/n." This stands for sem numero (without number)
Tipping -- A 10% service charge is
automatically included on most restaurant and hotel bills and
you are not expected to tip on top of this amount. If service
has been particularly bad you can request to have the 10%
removed from your bill. Taxi drivers do not get tipped; just
round up the amount to facilitate change. Hairdressers and
beauticians usually receive a 10% tip. Bellboys get tipped R$1
to R$2 (US50¢-US$1/£.25-£.50) per bag. Room service usually
includes the 10% service charge on the bill.
São
Paulo is the third biggest city in the world, after Tokyo and
Mexico City.
In Brazilian-Portuguese,
"abobrinhas" is the art of talking shit. Or, as one blogger
refers to it,"small talk; useless information, foolish
chit-chat; non-sense; fluff." Little Pumpkins (the literal
translation of "abobrinhas"
Brazil-U.S.
Business Council
1615 H Street, NW Washington, DC 20062
brazilcouncil.org
Phone: (202) 463-5485 Fax: (202)
463-3126
Read an
updated story of the birth of the Americasas Carnaval.com salutes the capital of global Carnaval as they
come into their own as a top ten country and a rival to the USA
in influencing the new global culture of the 3rd millennium.
The Story of
Lent
is the story of the merging of the two official
religions of Rome,
Mithraism and the cult of the Great Mother
Goddess
Cybele with the early Christian church to
give us the Roman Catholic church. There are
many who believe that the strongest ancient root
of Carnaval is traced not to the Roman Winter
solstice celebration of
Saturnalia or even those of the wine god
Dionysos or his later Occidental name of
Bacchus but rather the
Egyptian goddess
Isis.
Isis is known as the
Goddess of 10,000 names and has a lot in
common with Brazil's Iemanja.
As of Carnaval 2009, the dollar is
on the rise from its seven year low against the real
following an all-time low in July of 2008. The Dollar is
up 30% from Carnaval time last year or
1 United States Dollars
are worth
2.30 Brazilian Reais
With the global economic collapse, tourism is
down across the board in 2009. The 2009 Carnaval has struggled
and while international visitors will be high, it may be down by
as much as 30% from the record 705,000 tourists who visited Rio
for Carnaval 2008.
After many years of decline, the dollar has continued a major
climb timed with the ascendancy of USA President Barack Obama
Brazil on Jan 21, 2009 cut its basic
interest rate by one percentage point to 12.75 percent to start
"a process of flexibility to the country's monetary policy."
Despite the cuts, Brazil's real interest rate (interest rate
minus inflation rate) is still the highest in the world.
The country's inflation rate reached 5.9 percent
in 2008.
At its introduction in June, 1994, the
exchange rate of the real was close to par with
the US dollar. Since then, it has fluctuated widely and at one
point, in mid August, 2000, dropped as low as R$ 4.03 =
USD$ 1.00.
.PNG){kind=logo}
World Carnaval Capital of 2011 is
Vrnjacka Banja, SERBIA
World Cups, was awarded the right to host 2014
World Cup tournament following the 2007 XV Pan American Games in Rio
de Janeiro. As many as 12 Brazil Cities may participate while
Macarena stadium in Rio will host the final. The South American country hosted the
competition once before, losing to Uruguay in the mythical 1950
final.
