Brazil

Brazil’s Lower House Passes Amendment to Austerity Bill in Setback for Government

On Wednesday, Brazil’s Chamber of Deputies passed its second austerity bill in a week, just hours before approving an amendment that changed the bill’s direction and increased federal spending for retirees. If passed by the Senate, the amended bill faces a possible presidential veto and represents a roadblock to the government’s strategy for increasing revenues. … Read more

Unpopular Austerity Measures May Be Brazil’s Best Path to Growth

A proposed government austerity package may keep Brazil from a credit rating downgrade, but could cost President Dilma Rousseff some of her biggest supporters: the country’s labor unions. Lawmakers in Brazil’s lower house passed a proposed bill this week that would limit thousands of workers’ access to social security benefits. The MP 665 bill was … Read more

Sixty Percent of Latin Americans Will Have Internet Access in 2016

The number of Latin Americans with access to the Internet will increase by 20 percent over the next twelve months, according to the Latin American and Caribbean Internet Address Registry (LACNIC). The Uruguay-based NGO is one of five Regional Internet Registries in the world that assigns and administers IP addresses to local Internet service providers—it also advocates for Internet development in … Read more

Festivals: Brazil’s Boi-Bumbá

If Rio de Janeiro’s Carnaval is the greatest party in the world, then Boi Bumbá (beat the bull) is a close second. Every June, thousands of Brazilians flock to the small Amazonian river town of Parintins, Amazonas—halfway between Santarém and Manaus—to celebrate Brazil’s second-largest annual festival. Boi Bumbá pits the city’s two samba schools—the Garantido … Read more

The Washington Dissensus

Brazil is little understood or appreciated in the United States. The lack of knowledge about the world’s seventh largest economy—and the second largest democracy in the Western Hemisphere—is particularly evident in Washington beyond a small circle of “Brazil hands.” When the subject of Brazil comes up at all in Beltway policy circles, it is usually … Read more

Brazil’s Internet Bill of Rights

In April 2014, Web luminaries Sir Tim Berners-Lee and Vint Cerf joined over 850 academics, government officials and activists in São Paulo to attend NETmundial, Brazil’s unique Internet forum. At the opening ceremony, Brazilian President Dilma Rousseff signed into law the Marco Civil da Internet (Civil Rights Framework for the Internet), which established a groundbreaking … Read more

Brazil’s Truth Commission: Many Recommendations, Little Action

Last December, Brazil’s National Truth Commission handed President Dilma Rousseff a 1,000-page report detailing human rights violations and acts of torture carried out during the country’s 1964–1985 dictatorship. A somber Rousseff recalled her own incarceration and torture as a young guerrilla leader and asked the audience to remember those lost during that dark period in … Read more

Monday Memo: Brazilian Corruption—Bolivian Opposition—Bolivia-Chile Dispute—Marijuana in Puerto Rico—Chemical Leak in Costa Rica

This week’s likely top stories: Former Brazilian president investigated; Opposition gains influence in Bolivia; ICJ hearing on Bolivia-Chile border dispute begins; Puerto Rico legalizes medical marijuana; Costa Rican coast suffers chemical spill. Report of an Inquiry into Lula Shocks Brazil: On Friday, Brazilians were shaken by news of a probe regarding possible influence-peddling by former … Read more

Sole Survivor of Brazilian Torture Site Dies

Inês Etienne Romeu, a former political prisoner and the only person to survive the infamous Casa da Morte (House of Death), a clandestine torture site in Petrópolis used by Brazil’s military dictatorship, died in her sleep yesterday morning. She was 72. Romeu, who had been a member of the Vanguarda Popular Revolucionária (Popular Revolutionary Vanguard) … Read more

Policy Updates

A snapshot of policy trends and successes in the region.

Brazilian Protesters Demand Rousseff’s Impeachment—But What Next?

Anti-government protesters once again took to the streets across Brazil on Sunday, this time in smaller numbers, but with the same demands for President Dilma Rousseff to leave office. This is the second march in less than a month in which Brazilians have spoken out against Rousseff and the ruling Partido dos Trabalhadores (Workers’ Party—PT). … Read more

Monday Memo: Brazil Protests—Colombian Generals Investigation—Obama-Castro Meeting—Puerto Rico Debt—Chilean Mining

This week’s likely top stories: Brazilians demonstrate against corruption; Colombian generals investigated; Obama and Castro hold meeting; Puerto Rico seeks debt help; Chilean communities fight mining companies over water. Hundreds of Thousands Protest Corruption in Brazil: Hundreds of thousands of Brazilians took to the streets on Sunday to protest government corruption. Estimates of participants vary, but police say … Read more

Fresh Look Reviews

Fresh, unique perspectives on recent books from across the hemisphere originally published in English, Spanish and Portuguese.

Dozens of Companies Investigated in Brazil’s Latest Corruption Scandal

In an article published on Saturday, the Brazilian daily O Estado de S. Paulo released the names of 29 of the 70 companies under investigation for bribery in Brazil’s latest corruption scandal. The companies being investigated by Brazil’s Federal Public Ministry include large banks such as Santander, as well some of Brazil’s largest public and … Read more

Brazilian Economy Projected to Suffer Worst Contraction in 25 Years

Brazil’s economy is expected to contract by 0.83 percent this year and inflation to climb to 8.12 percent, according to the Brazilian Central Bank’s weekly survey of financial experts, which was released yesterday. The growth forecast for 2016 was also lowered from 1.3 percent last week to 1.2 percent this week. According to Bruno Rovai, … Read more