Today, several million people are taking to the streets to protest a corrupt political system and a rent-seeking, bloated state. Let’s make this clear; Dilma is a poor political leader and her governments have precipitated nothing short of an economic fallout. But she is not the problem incarnate. My wife (and son) is at the Read more about Media Against Dilma – Brazilians For Change[…]
Brazil is currently experiencing three crises and is in danger of igniting a fourth, a crisis of civic polarization. Much astute writing about these crises has already been penned or spoken by the likes of my friends Matt Taylor, Octavio Amorim Neto, Carlos Pereira, and Globe and Mail correspondent Stephanie Nollen, among others. The first crisis is the Read more about Four Crises[…]
In 2013-14 the pressure to publish academically at the FGV became significant, as I was facing a ‘third year review’ – of which I still await (respectable) results. As a result of my publishing obligations and a still-in-progress national/international research project, I left off Observing Brazil. The tradeoff between doing academic scholarship and writing about current events is not easily negotiated. But Read more about Back, observing.[…]
My article with Chris Gaffney, posted below, was selected as the 5th best piece of English writing about Brazil in 2013. Viva the Vinegar Revolt! Click on the pic to read the other stories. I highly recommend #2 on Brazil’s deadly cars.
Opinion piece for Al Jazeera on Brazil’s Vinegar Revolt, written with Chris Gaffney. Click the pic.
Last post I briefly questioned why the Vinegar Revolt came to be. Protests still continue, and at one point last week over 80 major Brazilian urban centers coordinated massive marches – in Rio, close to half a million people turned out. These are the largest protests in Brazilian history and they signal a tectonic shift Read more about Beginning to Explain the Ferment of Brazil’s Vinegar Revolt[…]
This is what people are calling the protests that are causing general upheaval in Brazil. The question is, why would a country at near full employment, whose average per capita income has nearly double over the last ten years, take to the streets in protest? The answers are curiously unsatisfying. From bus fares, to egregious Read more about Vinegar Revolt[…]
Recent editorial penned for Al Jazeera. Pic is linked.
Just a very brief update on Brazil‘s new Freedom of Information law (12.527), which took effect on May 16, 2012. During its first six and a half months of operation (2012-13), the federal government registered some 51,400 requests. The government claims to have answered approximately 95% of these requests. 4 of Brazil’s 27 states accounted Read more about Update on the Performance of Brazil’s New Freedom of Information Law[…]