By Dom Phillips Last night, in a tense, high-profile ruling, Brazil’s electoral court decided that a new party set up by Marina Silva, a popular opposition politician, could not fight in next year’s presidential elections. Silva’s party, the Rede Sustentabilidade, or Sustainability Network, had not registered enough members at election notary offices throughout Brazil by(…)
The Fed and Brazil – a real problem
What’s going on with the Brazilian currency? Like many ’emerging market’ countries around the world, Brazil has recently been unpleasantly reminded just how linked its fortune is to the decisions of the United States, and the Federal Reserve. The real has been all over the place since 2008, making things quite difficult here, and that has(…)
The art of Mercosul, in Porto Alegre
Artists from Latin America and the world come together in Porto Alegre for a Bienal still named after Mercosul, the stalled regional integration project. Claire Rigby reports on the transformations on offer there. By Claire Rigby Moving, evocative, mysterious, provocative: not all great art supplies these sensations, but when it does, it has the power(…)
Obama loses. Does Dilma win?
It’s easy to see why the Brazilian government likely sees this as a “Obama 0 – 1 Dilma” situation It’s clear that Obama had nothing to gain from being stood up by Brazil’s President Dilma. He has been given another little kick for being caught spying. At best, he continues to be embarrassed that one(…)
Inside Brazil’s ‘Black Bloc’ protests
Dom Phillips reports from inside Brazil’s most recent protests in Rio and talks to a ‘Black Bloc’ style protester, whose clashes with police have increasingly dominated coverage of the demonstrations and may even be scaring other protesters away. All photos Dom Phillips By Dom Phillips There were seven protests planned in Rio de Janeiro on Saturday – Brazilian(…)
What does Brazil look like?
Claire Rigby discusses, with Folha arts writer Silas Martí, the difficulty of cutting through visual stereotypes in Brazil, a country which is often too photogenic for its own good. Above, ‘Descansando na Canoa’ (1984) by Luiz Braga, courtesy Galeria da Gávea. Throughout the post and below, other selections from the SP-Arte/Foto fair. By Claire Rigby What do you(…)
Why is Brazil important?
– After a decade of economic growth and explosive protests, how does one explain what Brazil is to the outside world? Mauricio Savarese, a journalist from São Paulo, recounts his experiences over the last year in London, and dealing with a reputation often defined by old stereotypes or a tiny circle of traveling(…)
MIMO and Paraty – the Brazilian cultural weekender
Paraty, the colonial coast town near Rio, is becoming known for its festivals which are attracting more and more culturally curious Brazilians. Dom Phillips reports from MIMO, featuring the complex music appreciated here. Above: the Rum Group with Tareq Al Nasser, from Jordan. Photos Gustavo Otero Dom Phillips As the 20 or so white-clad musicians in(…)
Brazil’s Mídia NINJA: Outside the axis
Handheld, improvised ‘NINJA’ journalism has changed the way Brazil watches the protests unfold. But recently, the group itself has become the story, as the little-understood collective they sprung from has come under digital scrutiny from all sides. Photo: Mídia NINJA By Claire Rigby Last week, Folha de S.Paulo’s Los Angeles correspondent Fernanda Ezabella breezed into(…)
Brazil’s ‘middle class,’ and the protests
Back in March, in the alternate universe of pre-protest Brazil, I posted this – “What is ‘middle class’” – on this blog, on the 40 million people who have entered the ‘new middle class’ recently and how very different they are from the ‘old’ middle class and international definitions of the term. Partially as a result,(…)
