A correction on my last post must be made. The Committee to Protect Journalists apparently did not reveal all the facts when they disseminated news on Brazilian officials censoring news on Google. They mis-communicated Brazilian requests to remove material as requests to remove news— which is not the case. As a result of the CPJ’s Read more about Correction[…]
Following up on several other related posts, two recent news items give us reason to wonder about freedom of information in Brazil. First, Brazil’s telecommunications regulator, ANATEL, confiscated the computer equipment of three young people and fined them $3000R (about $2000US) for sharing an internet signal among their three dwellings in an effort to save Read more about The Right to Information in Brazil– Censorship, Fines for Sharing Wi-Fi[…]
Just a quick note to express my utter amazement at traffic here in São Paulo. I’ve been here for a week and a half now, attending a workshop at the University of São Paulo (USP) and I have had enormous difficulties getting to and from the USP. For the eight kilometers I need to traverse, Read more about São Paulo Traffic: Collective Pathology or Poor Policy?[…]
Credit is a difficult issue in Latin America. Credit card APR interest regularly runs at 30-50 percent, upwards of five times what it is in North America. Bank loans are not a lot cheaper. Yet more than ever Brazilian consumers are borrowing and financial institutions are encouraging them to do so. When I recently opened up Read more about The Price of Consumer Debt[…]
PROMISES 1. The PAC2 stands for the Program for Growth Acceleration 2, and it’s not a midnight TV infomercial. It’s government’s gimmicky excuse to spend lots of money, $955 billion Reales over the next four years, or close to $600 billion U.S. The Program is for national development—highways, hydro-electricity projects, school and hospital building—the stuff you Read more about Dilma to the Legislature– A Few Promises[…]
President Dilma Rousseff addressed Brazil’s National Legislature on its opening yesterday. The next few posts will address a few concrete policies to expect in the coming years, as well as a few aspects of the speech that are worth further consideration: MINIMUM WAGE The minimum wage was $510 Reales per month in 2010 and the proposal—an executive decree issued by Lula Read more about Dilma to the Legislature- Wages will go up[…]
The latest of several worrying trends relating to informational freedom in Brazil, earlier this week the Brazilian Ministry of Education and Culture revoked the Creative Commons license that it has used since 2004. The move is yet one more indication that the Brazilian government continues to resist openness and strive for informational control. Brazil denies Read more about Brazil Government Bucking Trend Toward Informational Openness[…]
Yesterday’s post on philanthropy and economic optimism in Brazil appeared to be timely: Globo announced today that a group of businesses, including MRV, RJZ/Cyrela, Gafisa, PDG, Rodobens & Rossi, will be donating 2000 houses for those left without homes in the wake of recent mudslides. Stay tuned.
Booming Brazil and Buoyant Brazilians An Ipsos Public Affairs poll measuring national economic optimism in 24 countries placed Brazil far ahead of the pack, with 78 percent of people optimistic about the country’s economy, according to today’s Globo newspaper. India came a distant second at 61 percent and France a gloomy last, with just 3 Read more about Does the Rise of Economic Optimism Lead to More Charity?[…]
Globo reported today that the number of public officials ousted from the public service over the course of President Lula da Silva’s administrations (2002-2010) doubled. In 2003 the number of public officials punished tallied 264 and in 2010 this total had doubled to 521. Globo has produced a list of President Dilma Rousseff campaign pledges. Read more about Public Officials Ousted from Public Service Doubled Over Course of Lula’s Eight Years[…]