The 2014 World Cup will have a new leader Ricardo Teixeira, the man responsible for running Brazilian soccer for 22 years, stepped down today, citing health reasons. But Teixeira, who would have organized the 2014 World Cup, has also been facing intense pressure to resign after a new corruption scandal emerged. Which was the real(…)
World’s sixth largest economy, but not so hot
Well, it is official. Yesterday’s numbers reveal Brazil is the world’s sixth-largest economy, having beaten out the United Kingdom, and with a shot at surpassing France to be number five by the end of the year. But in reality, this was a very bad week for economic news in Brazil. We learned that the country’s(…)
FIFA apologizes, sort of, to Brazil
If you were President Dilma or Sports Minister Aldo Rebelo, would you be happy to receive this letter from FIFA boss Joseph Blatter? I just got a curious email from a PR, and the obvious intent was to inform me, the journalist, that everything is getting better between FIFA and Brazil. But: 1) the fact(…)
Brazil lashes out at US, Europe. They quickly apologize
In the past few days the Brazilian government has harshly criticized both the United States and the European Union, for two entirely different reasons. And in both cases, the governments have accepted the attacks quite diplomatically, even suggesting they may not disagree. Dilma’s government is willing to stand up to the big powers, it seems,(…)
Brazil World Cup – please enjoy your staying
This does not look promising. The good news is that Brazil has unveiled a site that allows potential visitors to get to know the host cities for the 2014 World Cup. The bad news is that you must learn another language. No, not Portuguese, but some kind of bizarre English-Portuguese hybrid. There are some real(…)
No Brazilian warplanes for the US Air Force
The US Air Force has abruptly cancelled an order for 20 attack aircraft from Brazilian company Embraer, saying it was not satisfied with the documentation on the contract. What remains to be seen is if this is just a setback for Embraer, or for military relations more broadly between the two countries. Dilma will visit(…)
2012 – the year of the “Global Currency War”?
Guido Mantega, Brazil’s powerful finance minister, said this week that global economic growth will slow in 2012, leading to an intensification of the destructive “currency war”. Does this mean that we may see more government intervention in the Brazilian exchange rate, or simply that Brazil has not tired of dishing out acerbic critiques of the(…)
Modern Brazilian politics, as performed by samba dancers
I’m reporting from the Carnival of Recife, in Pernambuco – but more on that later. Before I left São Paulo, I caught a striking take on the samba parade. Former President Lula is in treatment for cancer, so he could not march this year with Gaviões da Fiel, the samba school associated with Corinthians, his(…)
Godfather of Brazilian football in the hot seat
Ricardo Teixeira, the man who has dominated soccer here for 22 years, is being pressured to resign over a corruption scandal. If he goes down, someone else will be putting on the 2014 World Cup. But this is not the first time Teixeira, the head of the Brazilian Football Confederation (CBF), has been on the(…)
São Paulo to finally get bicycles
São Paulo will install 300 bicycle stations, each with 100 units available for rental. The scheme is similar to those in Paris, London, and Rio de Janeiro. They will likely be free to use for the first hour or so, then incur charges after that. They’re sponsored by Brazilian bank Itaú. It’s a bit of(…)
