B R A S I L O B S E R V E R LONDON EDITION
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brasilobserver.co.uk | September 2015
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IN FOCUS Brazilian presence at the biggest oil fair in Europe
LONDON EDITION
GUEST COLUMNIST San Branford writes on the difficulties of the left in Brazil and the UK Is a montlhy publication of ANAGU UK UM LIMITED funded by
GUEST COLUMNIST Mohammad Amir Anwar writes on the south-south co-operation PROFILE Gabriela Lobianco interviews Brazilian writer Fernanda Torres
ANA TOLEDO Operational Director ana@brasilobserver.co.uk
GLOBAL BRAZIL What’s the origin of the migrant crises? And what about Brazil?
GUILHERME REIS Editorial Director guilherme@brasilobserver.co.uk
BR-UK CONNECTION Chevening, Newton Fund, Exchange, Science Without Boarders BRASILIANCE When Brazil glimpsed an escape of the economic turmoil...
ROBERTA SCHWAMBACH Financial Director roberta@brasilobserver.co.uk
CONECTANDO The complex relationship between language and power
ENGLISH EDITOR Shaun Cumming shaun@investwrite.co.uk
NOW Urban young people of popular origin cross borders
LAYOUT AND GRAPHIC DESIGN Jean Peixe peixe@brasilobserver.co.uk
GUIDE Café Cachorro Company presents the play Neverwhere Beckett CULTURAL TIPS Music, Cinema, Theatre, Literature
CONTRIBUTORS Ana Beatriz Freccia Rosa, Aquiles Rique Reis, Franko Figueiredo, Gabriela Lobianco, Nadia Kerecuk, Ricardo Somera, Wagner de Alcântara Aragão
COLUMNISTS Franko Figueiredo on ‘When true humanity takes shape’ Ricardo Somera on ‘Plata o plomo?’
PRINTER St Clements press (1988 ) Ltd, Stratford, London mohammed.faqir@stclementspress.com 10.000 copies
TRAVEL Guide to Rio 2016 Olympic Games
COVER ART
Onio
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Onio’s (Adriano Cinelli) interest for graffiti came up as he was only 13. Skateboarding on the streets of Brasilia street art hit him. It didn’t take long until he started marking the city with his name, becoming one of the first graffiti artists in the Brazilian capital. He mixes spray techniques with water base paint, and his creative process is free and his colourful abstract drawings represent the urban chaos. His work gained amplitude and started being shown in galleries and he is currently touring in Europe for residencies and shows in over six cities. He participated in London at the LATA Street Culture Festival, supported by Pigment and Braziliarty.
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brasilobserver.co.uk | September 2015
IN FOCUS
BRAZIL PRESENT AT OFFSHORE EUROPE
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From 8 to 11 September, nearly 30 Brazilian companies participated at the Offshore Europe, the largest fair of oil in Europe, which was held in Aberdeen, Scotland. The event also hosted the fifth edition of the Brazil-UK Oil and Gas Meeting, held annually by the Embassy of Brazil in London – this year in partnership with Apex-Brazil (Brazilian Trade and Investment Promotion Agency) and UKTI (UK Trade & Investment). Despite the global crisis in the oil sector, many English, Irish and Scottish companies have an interest in strengthening ties with Brazilian companies. The negotiations were captained by UKTI, which organized meetings “one to one” between representatives of Brazil and UK companies. Brazil’s National Confederation of Industry (CNI) and the Federation of Minas Gerais Industries (FIEMG) also participated in the organization of the mission.
Entrance of the fair in Aberdeen, Scotland. In detail, movement in front of the Brazilian delegation stand
The search was for new business that can result in the development and exchange of technologies and joint ventures, for which British companies can reach Brazil and serve the market, following the local content requirements, without having to learn the entanglement of rates, taxes and bureaucracies. The list of companies that were part of the Brazilian delegation, in alphabetical order: Analítica Química, Ápice Projetos de Gestão, Araxá Ambiental, Assess, Azanonatec, Casa do Torneiro, Emalto Indústria, Estel Serviços industriais, Estevão Odone Leuck & Cia, Gaia, Gigante Locadora de Guindaste, HP Parafusos e Abrasivos, JG Martins, Lifting, Mac Log Solutions, Megatherm, MPI Eletrônica, Navium, OAZ Administração e Participações, Ogramac, Ponte Consultoria, Progel – Projetos Geológicos, RP Technologies, Tecnofink, Tecnofil, Valtec.
BIDDING ROUND positive sign and may represent the realization of long-term investments in the Brazilian oil and gas sector. Most of the companies approved to participate in the round come from outside the country: there are 22 foreign and 15 registered Brazilian companies. Other countries are Angola, Argentina, Bermuda, Brazil, Canada, China, Colombia, United States, France, Holland, Japan, Norway, Panama, Portugal, United Kingdom, Russia and Thailand. After Offshore Europe in Aberdeen, the British Diplomatic Mission would accomplish other three events for Brazilian and British executives willing to approaching institutions, governments, universities and companies: Oil & Gas Mission from 14 to 18 September; Low Carbon Mission from September 28 to October 3; and Seminar on Brazil at IMPA on 9 and 10 September.
ALAN PEEBLES
The fifth edition of the Brazil -UK Oil and Gas Meeting aimed at presenting potential investors with business opportunities in the oil sector in Brazil, and served as the first official event of the new Brazilian Ambassador to the UK, Eduardo dos Santos. Among the topics discussed were the opportunities created by future bidding rounds and investment challenges. The next auction organized by the National Petroleum Agency (ANP) will offer companies a total of 266 blocks, located in 22 sectors of 10 sedimentary basins of Brazil. The sum of the areas is approximately 125,000 square kilometres, passing through 12 states. Scheduled for October 7, the 13th Bidding Round will bring together a total of 37 companies from 17 different nationalities. The attraction of foreign looks for the event is a
brasilobserver.co.uk | September 2015
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brasilobserver.co.uk | September 2015
GUEST COLUMNIST
THE UPS AND DOWNS By Sue Branford
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Unless you are Scottish, it is not a good time to be left-wing in either the United Kingdom or Brazil. In both countries the right is in the ascendancy. After his surprising (though narrow) victory in the elections last May, British Prime Minister David Cameron, from the Conservative Party, is pushing ahead with extreme right-wing social policies that were unattainable during his first term as prime minister of a coalition government (2010-2015) in which the Liberal Democrats under Nick Clegg exercised some moderation. Even under the Coalition, income was redistributed from the poorest to middle and high earners but since the 2015 election this process has significantly intensified, with the imposition of further swingeing welfare cuts. In Brazil, President Dilma Rousseff, from the left-of-centre Workers’ Party (PT), managed – just – to hold on to power in the elections in October 2014 but Congress swung further to the right. Backed into a corner by evidence, drip-fed by the press, of the PT’s involvement in the huge Petrobras corruption scandal, Dilma has seen her approval levels fall to the lowest levels ever recorded for a president and is fighting for her political survival. All hope of further meaningful social reform has been abandoned.
PAST ACHIEVEMENTS
Branford, Sue and Rocha, Jan, “Brazil and the Workers Party – from Euphoria to Despair”, Latin America Bureau and Practical Action Publishing, 2015, available at http://goo.gl/0ou4YO, £7.16p paperback and £6.90 ebook g
With the left so demoralised today, it is easy to forget that both in the UK and Brazil the left of centre governments that were elected to power since 1995 actually achieved quite a lot. I well remember the feeling of optimism that rippled through the streets of London on 2 May 1997 when people realised that the Labour Party, headed by Tony Blair, had won the election and the long years of Tory rule had ended. Laughing and j oking, people spoke to strangers on the bus, something that rarely happens in Britain. For a while it seemed possible that the harsh neo-liberal reforms imposed over the previous 18 years might be reversed and a more egalitarian society created. Even more delighted were my Brazilian friends, when former trade unionist, Lula, from the PT, was elected president on his fourth attempt. My friends spoke of people pouring out on the streets in São Paulo, waving red flags. Some people, men and women, they said, were weeping with joy – and disbelief – that the left had finally taken power. All this optimism was not entirely misplaced – social advances were achieved in both countries. Let’s look first at the experience in the UK. The Labour Party grew out of the trade union movement of the late 19th century and overtook the Liberal Party as the main opposition to the Conservatives in the early 1920s. Its heyday came in 1945 after a landslide victory under Clement Atlee. The Atlee government radically expanded the welfare state, created a free National Health Service, and nationalised a fifth of the economy. The basis for the UK’s sustained period of social democratic growth, with
increasing prosperity and falling levels of inequality, was created. But the close relationship between the Labour Party and the trade union movement eventually soured, when it became clear that, with the decline in the UK economy, particularly in mining and industry, the alliance would not by itself continue to provide a basis for government. After the victory of the Conservative Party under Margaret Thatcher, in the 1979 elections, the Labour Party went through a long and painful process of reform to broaden its appeal and neutralize the influence of the left. It renounced its commitment to socialism and endorsed neo-liberal market economics. So, after 18 years out of office, it was a very different party that returned to government in1997 under Tony Blair, again in a landslide victory. Even so, the unions expected to benefit from Labour’s more generally progressive policies and, to some extent, they did - with the introduction of the minimum wage, employment rights and statutory recognition of trade unions. According to one study, the Blair government “turned out to be the most redistributive in decades”. Along with other socially liberal reforms, the age of consent for homosexuals was also reduced to 16, the same as for heterosexuals. What Lula achieved in his two terms of office was in many ways more spectacular, in a country where the kinds of reform introduced by Labour in the UK after 1945 had yet to happen. The PT, however, was similarly affected by a decline in trade union membership, brought about by over a decade of neoliberalism which had weakened Brazilian industry. One of Lula’s first measures was to strengthen Bolsa Família, a welfare programme under which the poorest families received monthly cash payments, provided they enrolled their children at school. By 2012, the programme had 15 million beneficiaries – about one in every four families. The government also increased the real value of the minimum wage, the benchmark for the wages paid to poorer workers. Brazil became a more egalitarian society, bucking the global trend towards increasing social inequality. This won plaudits for the PT and contributed to Lula’s re -election in 2006.
PROGRESSIVE GOVERNMENTS FALTER However, in later years the left of centre governments faltered in both countries. For the Labour Party, a turning point was the big demonstration against the war in Iraq in February 2003. With up to two million people taking part, it was probably the biggest protest in the country’s history, but it failed to stop Britain joining the US in the war. This angered many people on the left, particularly young activists. Another factor in the Labour Party’s declining credibility was the public perception that it had become too close to big banks and big corporations. Gordon Brown, who had succeeded as Prime Minister in 2007, was also unlucky: the global economic crash occurred only a year after he came to office. Although he responded
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OF POLITICAL LIFE FOR THE LEFT IN BRAZIL AND THE UK rapidly and effectively to it, probably helping to limit the global ramifications, the Conservatives have repeatedly blamed his alleged mismanagement of the economy for the UK recession, an unfair accusation but one which the Labour Party has been remarkably ineffectual in rebutting. As a result, the Conservatives were elected to office in May 2010, though they were forced to form a coalition with the much smaller Liberal Democrats to achieve a working majority. In Brazil the story is more complex. As I have described in a recent report, the success in diminishing social inequality, admirable in itself, was not accompanied by other more daring measures geared to creating an alternative to neoliberalism. This meant that the PT could fund social reforms while it benefitted from the world commodity boom but faced serious problems when the economy weakened. At the same time, Lula appointed trade union officials, his most trusted allies, into key administrative positions. They became responsible for huge budgets, particularly in their key role within the BNDES, the world’s largest development bank, and in doing so they became de facto allies of Brazil’s economic elite. Many of the trade unionists weakened their links with the country’s poorest workers, often refusing to support strike action because of the economic harm they feared it would do to their new partners. This amounted to a shocking betrayal of Brazil’s long history of trade union struggle. Perhaps the most serious disappointment of all was the PT’s failure to develop a strategy for political reform, the only way of breaking the right’s stranglehold over the country’s political institutions, particularly Congress, and of curbing the insidious impact of massive electoral campaign financing by the country’s economic elite. It was all but impossible for the PT, a minority party, to achieve such reform through negotiations in Congress alone; to have a fighting chance of success, it needed to organise outside Congress, through its contacts with social movements, which was something the PT refused to do. No doubt, this would have been a risky strategy but it was an option, given the groundswell of support that the PT enjoyed, particularly in the early days. Instead, the PT decided to play by the existing rules of the game. But this was an equally hazardous tactic: eventually the media, most of which is controlled by the right, seized on evidence of PT involvement in corruption and now portrays the PT as even more venal than the other parties, which is blatantly untrue.
SO WHERE DO WE GO NOW? In Brazil PT activists have been profoundly demoralized by the growing evidence that their party has bought votes in Congress and accepted electoral funding from big companies in exchange for lucrative contracts. The PT has probably been destroyed as a radical, left-wing party and most analysts believe that it will take the left decades to recover.
In the UK, the future of the Labour Party is more uncertain. Since Cameron’s first victory in 2010, the Labour Party has been obsessed by becoming more “electable”. After endless consultations with focus groups, it has modified its policies so they have become virtually indistinguishable from those defended by moderate Conservatives. Even though the Labour Party leader in May’s election, Ed Milliband, tried to inject a few radical ideas into the party manifesto, most voters (including myself) found it hard to name any policies in which a Labour government would be different from a moderate Conservative one. What has injected a new – and exciting – element has been the unexpected rise of Jeremy Corbyn, a truly radical Labour Party politician, who managed with some difficulty to muster the necessary nominations from the Parliamentary Labour Party to stand for the election for leader after the resignation of Ed Milliband. To everyone’s amazement (including that of Corbyn himself ), he has been talking to packed audiences and has injected a new dynamism and enthusiasm into the debate. He has made it possible for activists to believe that a new left-wing force may emerge in British politics, gaining support, not from Labour supporters who have defected to the Conservatives or UKIP, the right-wing nationalist party, but from others who have simply not bothered to vote in the past. Favoured by the new rules, which allow many more people to take part in the election process, Corbyn seems set to win the leadership contest but few are hazarding a guess as to what the impact of his victory will be on the Labour Party. Many Brazilian activists would welcome the emergence of a Corbyn-style leader within the PT but this seems very unlikely. Now that the right is back in the ascendancy, it is dominating public debate. With hindsight one of the main weaknesses of the Lula governments was its failure to democratise the media and to create a new space for informed and impartial debate. This was frequently discussed but never implemented and today it is hard to see how the right’s monolithic control over the media will ever be broken. Control of the media is also an important feature of the political landscape in Britain. By far the most powerful media empire is that of Rupert Murdoch’s News Corporation which owns the dominant satellite TV network, Sky, and the Times, Sunday Times and Sun newspapers (among others). Murdoch was seriously damaged by a scandal about the use of illegal phone-hacking by his news reporters, and his power is to some extent limited by the existence of the publicly-owned, non-profit BBC. Unsurprisingly, Murdoch and the Conservative Party are engaged in mortal combat with the BBC, whose public funding they seek to limit. The Labour Party has had an ambivalent position on this, with Tony Blair, in particular, happy to cosy up to Murdoch and become god-father to his youngest child.
KEY POINTS
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Unless you are Scottish, it is not a good time to be left-wing in either the United Kingdom or Brazil. In both countries the right is in the ascendancy. It is easy to forget that both in the UK and Brazil the left of centre governments that were elected to power since 1995 actually achieved quite a lot. All this optimism was not entirely misplaced – social advances were achieved in both countries. What Lula achieved in his two terms of office was in many ways more spectacular, in a country where the kinds of reform introduced by Labour in the UK after 1945 had yet to happen. However, in later years the left of centre governments faltered in both countries. For the Labour Party, a turning point was the big demonstration against the war in Iraq in February 2003. In Brazil, the success in diminishing social inequality was not accompanied by other more daring measures. The PT has probably been destroyed as a radical, left-wing party and most analysts believe that it will take the left decades to recover. In the UK, the future of the Labour Party is more uncertain. Corbyn seems set to win the leadership contest but few are hazarding a guess as to what the impact of his victory will be on the Labour Party.
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brasilobserver.co.uk | September 2015
WHY SOUTH-SOUTH CO-OPERATION IS A MYTH WHEN IT COMES TO BRICS AND AFRICA By Mohammad Amir Anwar
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Mohammad Amir Anwar is Post-doctoral fellow at University of Johannesburg. This article was originally published by The Conversation (www.theconversation.com)
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Brazil, Russia, India and China have shown tremendous determination and co-operation on global issues in recent years. Their alliance epitomises south-south co-operation in the contemporary era. This is the notion of solidarity among developing countries through the exchange of goods, resources, technology and knowledge to meet their development goals. But what does this all mean for Africa? Is this bloc of countries committed to Africa or simply driven by self-interest? For the purposes of this article I refer to the bloc known as BRICS but I am excluding South Africa. The reason for this is that South Africa was a late addition to the group and was brought in to complete the regional representativity of the group. Recent developments in south-south co -operation include increased trade volumes and foreign direct investments among BRICS countries. They also include movements towards regional integration, technology transfers, the sharing of expertise, and other forms of exchanges between developing and less developed economies. This is particularly true for the economies of Brazil, Russia, India and China, which have increased their co-operation on global economic issues, global governance, geopolitics, development, aid, climate change, terrorism and a host of other issues. Some observers remain cautious about the grouping and point to the limits of its role in global affairs. Nevertheless, its member countries have become a force to reckon with. For example, the bloc has formalised the New Development Bank and signed a Contingency Reserve Arrangement at this year’s BRICS summit in Russia. Discussions are also underway to establish their own credit ratings agency, bilateral swaps and settling trade in local currencies. At the summit, the bloc also discussed discarding the US dollar and the euro for their roughly US$500 billion trade with one another. The bloc constantly raises its voice on the issues of global governance, particularly reforms of the IMF and the UN Security Council. BRICS’s declaration at this year’s summit emphasised principles of openness, solidarity, equality, mutually beneficial co-operation and inclusiveness. These are thought to address emerging global economic, political and social challenges. While this all sounds very good, what is surprising is how little the summit and the declaration had to offer African development. This is despite Africa, with a combined economy of US$2 trillion, having become central to the growth and development of Brazil, Russia, India and China in the 21st century. This is particularly so after the 2008 global financial crisis. The strategy of these countries towards African development seems to be muddled with selfish national interests. The focus of all of them is on areas critical to the growth of their economies. These include fuel, minerals, biofuels, food and information and communication technology. It is true that their engagement in Africa is reshaping the nature of globalisation on the continent. It is also affecting the prospects for African development. Trade between China and Africa, for example, has grown dramatically. China is Africa’s biggest trading partner at about US$200 billion in 2013. It is followed by India. Its trade with Africa stood at US$70 billion in 2012 and is projected to rise to US$90 billion by the end of 2015.
Africa’s rapid economic growth in the past decade has led observers to chant “Africa Rising”. But Africa’s over-hyped growth is driven by investments in the extraction of natural resources such as fossil fuels, minerals, biofuels and lately land acquisition. Brazil, Russia, China and India have become important sources of foreign direct investments in these sectors. There is little evidence that this engagement is helping address issues critical to the continent. Chief among these would be poverty reduction, food security, climate change and medicine. Brazil, Russia, India and China’s engagements in Africa are largely driven by their domestic political economies. These in turn influence the nature of their investments in Africa and development assistance on the continent. Their leaders are wont to claim that much of their trade and investment projects are “developmental”. Several Indian government officials I spoke to emphasised their engagements with Africa are not about imperialism and colonialism but “market-based” and “developmental”. But most of its investment and trade in Africa resemble the relations Britain had with India during colonial times, which is extractive in nature and is true for other BRIC countries trading with Africa. Given this, it is hard to see how the emergence of a rhetorically new development model based on south-south co-operation between Brazil, Russia and India and China is going to contribute to Africa’s development. There are some aspects of the various engagements, such as India’s lines of credit to some African countries that have developmental characteristics. These are considered less exploitative in comparison to aid from Western donors. As “emerging donors”, the countries bring virtues of solidarity, shared experience of colonial exploitation and empathy with developing countries. These are all key components of south-south co-operation. The most important outcome of the emergence of Brazil, Russia, India and China is the shift they have brought to the balance of power in global affairs. The establishment of the new bank and the contingency reserve arrangement show that the old established US-dominated order is being challenged, and that formidable rivals have emerged. Yet, the bloc wants to work within the framework of same Western institutions that are largely responsible for under-development in many parts of the world. In this context, the potential of south-south co-operation for African development remains less clear. There is no coherent strategy from the group for helping develop Africa. A new way has to be found to ground the engagement on mutual benefit. As it stands, the bloc is pushing for a fair deal in global geopolitics for itself to the exclusion of Africa and other developing nations. The bloc can become a launchpad for a longer-term development strategy that breaks away from the old styled US-led hegemonic system. As emerging powers leading the call for greater democratisation of the global order, Brazil, Russia, India and China need to show greater responsibility on global development issues. But this needs to be more than mere rhetoric that uses the same cliches as UN’s declarations. And it must want to work on the principles of equality.
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brasilobserver.co.uk | September 2015
PROFILE
FERNANDA TORRES “LITERATURE IS ALMOST EVERYTHING THAT AN ACTOR THINKS BETWEEN THE LINES” By Gabriela Lobianco
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The English version of the International Literary Festival of Paraty (Flip), the FlipSide, really seems to have paid off. For the third consecutive year, the festival derived from the Brazilian event will be hold at Snape Maltings, a small town in southwest England, between 2 and 4 October. As in previous years, it includes Brazilian authors. The Brazilian duo that makes up the star chart of this edition is well known in various literature fairs and symposiums around the world: Cristovão Tezza and Fernanda Torres. Author of award-winning books, with his acclaimed novel “The Eternal Son” released in at least eight countries, Tezza is one of the most important contemporary Brazilian writers. Yet renowned actress and writer Fernanda Torres, who spoke exclusively with Brasil Observer, has shown that she can be, in the world of letters, such a complete artist on stage and TV. Humble and super friendly, Fernanda said that the invitation to attend FlipSide was because of Flip, but she does not know who had the idea. “I spent years living theatre. I get confused on the literary world”, she said, justifying why she does not know all the authors who will be at FlipSide. The mystery about the invitation, however, was not so difficult to unravel. Liz Calder, creator of the festival both in Brazil and in England, said he was delighted when she heard Fernanda Torres at Flip, and did not hesitate to call her to repeat it on the other side of the ocean. “She was so articulate, so funny, so intelligent, so entertaining yet also serious and provocative, that I felt sure she would be a big success at FlipSide”. Modesty aside, last year Fernanda Torres was quoted by The Gardian columnist, Ángel Gurría-Quintana, as one of the Brazilian authors whose debut novel, “Fim” (which means “End”), needed to be translated into English. “I never expected to write a novel, but it happened by itself,” said Fernanda about the book. “Fim” revolves around the story of five friends from Rio de Janeiro. They are very different figures, but they share not just the fact of being on the edge of life, but limited horizons. Career success, personal fulfilment and serenity are out of the question – no one seems able to harvest more than an inventory of frustrations. There is grace, sex, sun and sand in the pages of “Fim”. But they are also full of resignation and covered by a melancholy ink. Fernanda Torres also has a chronic book, “Sete Anos”. It has texts published
in magazines and newspapers, in cinema, theatre, politics or everyday matters, but always with its hallmarks: the humour, the confessional tone, the ironic look.
TRANSLATE OR NOT TO TRANSLATE “I read in English and Portuguese,” said Fernanda Torres when I asked. And then she gave an excellent book suggestion she is currently reading, “Please Kill Me” by Legs McNeil and Gillian McCain. “It is the story of the punk movement in a special edition that has testimonials from people like Iggy Pop, the Ramones, the Debi Harry, all of which speak in the first person.” Getting back to FlipSide, the debate which she will participate alongside Daniel Hahn, author, translator and president of the Society of Authors, will be around the theme of translation. “I think it’s very difficult to translate because each word has fifty possibilities.” She continued propping up on something she knows very well: acting. “In fact, the literature is almost everything that an actor thinks between the lines.” Fernanda Torres also commented on the numerous William Shakespeare’s texts translated from English to Portuguese. “We have a lot of Shakespeare translated in Brazil that is incomprehensible.” For her, much of the culture of a nation is lost in translation. “The royal sense, for example, for the Brazilians is very difficult to translate. On the other hand, certain issues of power in a slum would be inadequate,” she reflects. About when her book “Fim” will have an English version, the actress confirms that the rights have been purchased by an American publisher. “I’m the only author going [to FlipSide] with a book without a translation into English, I am going for the pleasure of being there and to participate,” she said. And being reminded that there are many Brazilians abroad, she was categorical: “I hope they have read the book.” In this matter, moreover, comes the fact that Brazil is not well known abroad for its arts, such as literature, for example. For Fernanda Torres, Brazil is a cultural island, a giant who speaks almost a dialect, Portuguese, on a continent dominated by the Spanish language. “This closure ends up being both its greatest asset and its greatest isolation. Brazil’s literature abroad surely will grow because it exists and it is interesting.”
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DIVULGATION
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brasilobserver.co.uk | September 2015
GLOBAL BRAZIL
THE TRAGEDY OF THOSE WHO REFUSE TO GIVE UP HOPE For international relations professor Jorge Mortean there is only one solution to migration crisis: foreign countries must stop funding conflicts in countries where refugees originate
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By Andreia Verdélio – from Agência Brasil
The image of the Syrian boy Aylan Kurdi, 3, killed on a beach in Turkey, shocked the world and caused the migration crisis in Europe to gain more international recognition. He, his 5-years old brother, his mother and countless other refugees have drowned while trying to reach the Greek island of Kos. The focus is now on European leaders and discussions about solutions to control the flow of refugees. But the history of the Kurdi family and many others who died in the Mediterranean Sea and land routes leaving the Middle East and Africa, begins with the wars and conflicts in these regions. Syria is the main country of origin of refugees, according to the UN High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR), with 3.88 million, only until the end of 2014. In the world there are almost 60 million people who were forced to leave their countries, half of them young children. A spokesperson for the International Committee of the Red Cross, Dibeh Fakhr said that the conflict in Syria has lasted five years and that the humanitarian situation in the country remains “catastrophic”. “There are huge needs in the country. The war continues and affects more strongly civilians,” she said, explaining that more than 7 million people are being affected and more than 4 million left the country. The conflict in Syria between rebels and the government also has the direct involvement of the Islamic State, trying to overthrow President Bashar Al Assad. Human Rights Advisor at Amnesty International Brazil, Fatima Mello said that the population is used by these forces, being exposed to chemical attacks, arrests, torture, and disappearances. “Civilians are exposed to very serious human rights violations”.
ORIGIN AND SOLUTIONS According to geographer and professor of international relations at Fundação Armando Alvares Penteado, Jorge Mortean, this movement of people from regions in conflict to
developed countries is cyclical. “Conflicts in the Middle East are caused by their own interference and interests of the world powers, especially the energy demand for the extraction and purchase of crude oil and natural gas. The Westerner countries are directly or indirectly fuelling these conflicts and end up generating this flow of people trying to enter Europe,” he said. The teacher explained that, shaking domestic policy makes the price of oil rise, influencing the world market. With the weakened local governments, he said, the economic forces also penetrate better in the local oil industry. “It is a dubious game. Local government wins [the sale] and economic powers also profit [with the hot market].” The cost that these countries have spent to encourage the various factions and governments involved in the conflict with arms, money and training is low compared to profits. But, according to Mortean, in certain situations this equation is reversed. “The problem is that it came to a curve and now the process is reversed and it is not so advantageous because the social cost is greater than the economic.”
“Diplomacy has one side that you cannot see and that often cannot be resolved. The major donors to conflicts in the Middle East, Africa, Asia, and even in Latin America are the ones who are sitting in the five permanent seats of the UN Security Council,” he said. To Mortean, welcoming refugees is a stopgap measure, there is only one solution to this migration crisis: that foreign countries stop funding the conflicts in the refugees’ countries of origin. Fatima Mello understands that a multilateral effort to economically develop these countries is necessary, and “most striking signs” of participation from the United Nations Security Council.
REFUGEES IN EUROPE The Human Rights Advisor of Amnesty International Brazil also said that the number of refugees arriving in Europe seems high, but is low compared to Syria’s neighbouring countries, which have received nearly 4 million Syrian refugees. It made countries like Lebanon and Jordan close their borders, with more control on who enters. Fatima Mello explains that the European Union is a signatory of all types of
humanitarian international agreement of asylum, and to be able to reduce the number of people who die on its borders, has an obligation to increase settlement visas. However, she said, the entry countries in Europe have closed their routes by land, which aggravates the situation of crossing the Mediterranean Sea to Spain, Italy and Greece especially. “The number of seaborne refugees and immigrants has increased a lot. Syrian totalled 46% of the 176,000 people who arrived in Italian island of Lampedusa. It is the country that by far receives more refugees by sea. We recommend Europe carries out humanitarian operations involving several countries, but operations that provides Italy with logistical and financial support,” she said. By land, Hungary is the gateway for migrants and refugees, as the country is a signatory of the Schengen Agreement, European countries can move freely without a passport. To try to block the entry of these people, the Hungarian government built a fence of barbed wire, guarded by police, along the border with Serbia. And for those who manage to enter Hungary, the output to the richer countries of Western Europe is being
brasilobserver.co.uk | September 2015
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BRAZIL HAS GOOD REFUGEE RECEPTION POLICY, EXPERTS SAY STEPHEN RYAN/IFRC
Thousands crossed the Hungarian border with Austria on 5 September; Hungarian volunteers of the Red Cross distributed hot drinks, blankets and waterproof clothing
limited to railway stations in Budapest. According to Jorge Mortean, the Schengen Agreement has gone through some changes, becoming more rigid depending on the nationality of the citizen, and is likely to be changed. Pio Penna, professor of international relations at the University of Brasilia, said that there is a halt to handle this freedom in the input countries (Spain, Italy, Hungary, Greece), because the countries to which refugees wish to go, such as France, Italy, UK, Austria, are hindering the entrance. Association with this difficulty still exists, according to Penna, the problem of human trafficking. “Most of the refugees following routes opened or managed by people linked to human trafficking, and these people have no principles, and other accidents happen there.” In late August, 50 people were found dead in a refrigerator truck in Austria. The port city of Calais, over which the Eurotunnel pass towards the UK, is also a route.
COUNTRIES OF ORIGIN Apart from Syria, experts cite Iraq and Libya as countries of origin of many refugees. According to Morte-
an, Libya has always been an illegal migration channel, but with the overthrow of the government and death of Muammar Gaddafi, in 2011, the country began to experience an internal crisis, divided into more than 13 tribes who seek power. “With various social groups arming themselves, it gives an opening for the emergence of external terrorist forces like the Islamic State.” The teacher explains that Iraq also suffers from the attacks of the Islamic State. “The Iraqi government was somewhat weakened by the withdrawal of US troops last year. It is a fragmented government because of the Kurds, who have autonomy in the north,” Mortean said. Many Iraqi refugees have been migrating to Kuwait. Fatima Mello also lists the long economic crisis of African countries and religious extremism as factors that lead people to leave their countries. “From the colonization period people are exposed to violations and undergo situations of hunger and insecurity of all types. Now, summing up by the radicalization of religious extremism like Boko Haram, and all the people expelled from their homes and their countries of origin.”
The migration crisis in Europe calls the world’s attention, but migration from areas where wars happen are not uncommon and Brazil is a country with a good reception policy, experts say. “Amnesty International and even the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights praises Brazil and Uruguay for having resolutions of hosting Syrian refugees,” said Human Rights Advisor at Amnesty International Brazil, Fatima Mello. According to the National Committee for Refugees (CONARE), under Brazil’s Ministry of Justice, the number of refugees in Brazil nearly doubled in the last four years, from 4,218 in 2011 to 8,400 in 2015. The main causes of asylum requests are violations of human rights (51.13%) political persecution (22.5%), family reunion (22,29%) and religious persecution (3.18%). The Syrians are the largest contingent of refugees in the country, with 2,077 people, followed by Angola (1,480), Colombia (1,093), Congo (844) and Lebanon (389). The survey does not include information about Haitians, since these asylum claims have been analysed by the National Immigration Council. According to a report by BBC Brazilian Service, “the number [of Syrians welcomed in Brazil] is higher than the US (1243) and countries in southern Europe that receive large numbers of illegal immigrants - not only Syrians, but also of the Middle East and Africa - who crossed the Mediterranean in search of refuge, like Greece (1,275), Spain (1,335), Italy (1,005) and Portugal (15). Data from Eurostat refer to the total number of Syrians who have received asylum, and not to those who applied for asylum.” Of all refugees accepted in Brazil, 70.7% are men and 29.3% women. According to the survey, 65.62% are between 18 and 39 years, 19% are under 17 years, 13.5% are between 40 and 59 years, while 1.86% of the refugees are 60 years or older. More than 12,600 requests remain pending at the CONARE. The geographer and professor of international relations at Fundação Armando Alvares Penteado, Jorge Mortean said that Brazil, as a country made up of immigrants, could not refuse to welcome these people. “Our local indigenous population died. Then began an immigration project through the misery of slavery and Portuguese colonization. After abolition, the re-colonization occurred with Asians and Europeans. For this historical process we have one of the best reception policies. And it would be absurd for a country like that turn its back on refugees, although we have no liability to any party.” According to Mortean, it is certain this conduct to “embrace” immigrants, but society is still not as receptive. “The Brazilians still think with the colonized country mentality, but deep down we are all migrants. The Brazilian society has a reticence because it believes that the migrant will overwhelm a state that is bankrupt. Good thing the government does not adopt this and leaves the doors open.” For the professor of international relations at the University of Brasilia, Pio Penna, Brazil does well at receiving refugees, still a small number, but it is necessary to improve the host structure. “From the size and the international projection of Brazil, we can have a greater flow in the future, including environmental refugees, people leaving their place of origin for lack of conditions there.”
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brasilobserver.co.uk | September 2015
BR-UK CONNECTION DIVULGATION/BRITISH CONSULATE-GENERAL
Students’ farewell ceremony in Brasilia IRIS SCHARDT/BRITISH CONSULATE-GENERAL
Sergio Gargioni, president of CONFAP, and Alex Ellis, the UK’s ambassador to Brazil, at the signing of Newton Fund
Those who plan to do a masters degree in the UK can now enrol in Chevening, the UK government’s scholarship program. Students around the world have until 3 November to sign up. The program is aimed at students from any area who want to enter universities in England, Scotland, Northern Ireland or Wales. People with a leadership profile are ideal candidates. The scholarship covers the investment to the chosen course and also includes monthly help for tickets, accom-
modation and other expenses for one year. In Brazil, for over 30 years Chevening has benefited 1400 Brazilians from different regions, areas and social classes. In 2014, the program received three times more Brazilians than in 2013. “Chevening believes in the Brazilian professional potential. We are very happy with the possibility of bringing more talent to the UK. Undoubtedly, Brazil is a major focus of the program,” says Caroline MacDonald, head of Chevening in Brazil.
Among the novelties this year is the partnership with the University of Loughborough, which will receive Brazilians for studies related to the legacy of sport. “The staging of the Olympic and Paralympic Games in 2016 opens doors in different areas, such as infrastructure, marketing, technology and management of large events. Definitely, the partnership with Loughborough is historic,” says MacDonald. Entries must be made in www.chevening.org/brazil
PUBLIC CALL TARGETS BRITISH RESEARCHERS Brazilian State Funding Agencies, articulated by its National Council (CONFAP), are launching a call for proposal offering support to researchers based in UK Universities and Research Institutions who are willing to spend from two weeks to four years working in research in Brazil, in collaboration with local colleagues. The call offers support for researchers in the UK through Fellowships, Research Mobility Grants and Young Investigator Grants (in the case of researchers aiming at working in uni-
versities and research institutes in the State of São Paulo). These awards offer an opportunity for the UK researcher to develop the strengths and capabilities of their research groups through training, collaboration and reciprocal visits with a partner in some of the best research groups in the Brazil. This round will close on 23 October. The applicants must hold a PhD degree: Young researchers (hold from 2 years to 7 years) or Senior researchers (hold for over 7 years). The applicants must have a Brazilian-
based collaborator as their co-applicant and they also must hold a permanent academic post or postdoctoral fellowship/position in the UK, which extends beyond the period of the requested grant. UK researchers from the natural sciences, engineering, medical sciences (including clinical or patient-oriented research), social sciences and humanities fields, are eligible to apply for support. Information about this call can be obtained at http://goo.gl/7pPsFZ
REPRODUCTION
NEW EXCHANGE PROGRAM IS LAUNCHED The Skills Wihthout Borders program was launched at the British Embassy in Brasilia in August. The project will offer technical education students from Brazilian State of Minas Gerais the opportunity to study in the UK. Brazilian students will attend British institutions between January and March 2016. In total there will be 10-12 students in the state who will have the opportunity to improve their proficiency in the English lan-
Inspiration came from the Science Without Borders MARIANA CAMINHA/EMBASSY OF UNITED KINGDOM
In 2015, the winner was Lucas Leung, 22
CHEVENING REGISTRATIONS ARE OPEN
guage and deepen their knowledge in aerospace, gardening, landscaping and electrical engineering, among others. The inspiration for the project came from the Science Without Borders program, which offers opportunities for Brazilian undergraduate and post-graduate to study abroad. The UK is creator of Skills Wihthout Borders program and want, in the coming years to extend the same partnership to other states and regions of Brazil.
The program is a joint initiative between the British Mission in Brazil, the Association of Colleges (AoC), responsible for coordinating the technical education in the United Kingdom, the Federal Center of Technological Education of Minas Gerais, the Federal Institute of Education, Science and Technology of Minas Gerais and the National Council of the Institutions of the Federal Vocational Education Network, Science and Technology (CONIF).
SCIENCE WITHOUT BORDERS WANTS NEW AMBASSADOR Registration for the second edition of SwB UK Ambassador contest is open. The initiative is organized by the British Embassy in Brazil, with support from CsF Network. The contest is aimed at alumni of the Science Without Borders - UK who have already returned to Brazil and have interesting stories to tell, either about their experience in the UK, or the period back to Brazil. The objective is to pro-
mote projects and partnerships of the students that even after completion of their programs, continue to establish ties with Britain. In 2015, the winner was Lucas Leung, 22, Manufacturing Engineering student at Unicamp Limeira. During his trip to the UK, Lucas visited several British universities, meeting other program fellows, and revisited Sheffield, which received him during the exchange.
He also made a cultural tour around the country, visited the Parliament on company Baroness Hooper, besides knowing Mr. Roberto Jaguaribe, Brazil’s ambassador in London. Currently, Lucas is involved in several projects of the network of alumni CsF - UK (SwB UK Alumni Network), sharing their experiences, for example in the blog Embaixadores da Rainha and representing in an engaged way, the alumni community.
brasilobserver.co.uk | September 2015
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brasilobserver.co.uk | September 2015
BRASILIANCE
T CLOUD THAT
LULA MARQUES/AGÊNCIA PT
DOESN’T PASS When Brazil glimpsed an escape of the turmoil, problems with China’s economy and the troubled domestic political environment put the country behind more obstacles By Wagner de Alcântara Aragão
The cloudiness on the Brazilian economic scenario looks like it will not dissipate anytime soon. The results of the Gross Domestic Product (GDP) in the first half of this year and projections made by the federal government in its budget bill for 2016 indicate uncomfortable indicators for the near future. The international situation does not help. The slowdown in China and turbulence recently faced by this market tend to make the horizon even cloudier for Brazil. Analysts polled by Brasil Observer coincide in affirming – even from different points of view – that the Brazilian economy will continue to experience hard times for a long period. For Geography PHd Zeno Crocetti, professor at the Federal University of Latin American Integration (Unila), the domestic economic environment is also negatively affected by increased pressure in the political field and alarmism – also motivated by political reasons, says the teacher – created by media outlets. Crocetti points out that the major media conglomerates experienced a revenue decline more drastic than the fall of GDP, which would be contaminating the economic news produced by these vehicles. “The revenue from ads fell 8.5% in the first half of 2015 compared to the same period of 2014, according to Ibope Media. The crisis in traditional media is much higher than the crisis in the Brazilian economy as a whole. The continuity of the alarmist and unbalanced news – as if it were a radicalized opposition party – turns out, in practice, an advertising campaign to sell more and more crisis. Result: frighten consumers, investors and advertisers,” he explains.
GDP According to the Brazilian Institute of Geography and Statistics (IBGE), the GDP recorded in the first half of this year was a decrease of 2.1% compared to the same period of 2014. In 12 months (July 2014 to June 2015) the reduction was 1.2%. The market forecasts have pointed to a GDP at the end of 2015 from 1.5% to 2% lower than in 2014. The most recent estimate by the International Monetary Fund (IMF) points to a GDP 1.5% lower in 2015, in comparison with the past year. Betting on significant improvement for next year seems risky. The IMF estimates for 2016 Brazilian GDP growth of 0.7%. This is a more optimistic projection that the federal government itself – in the budget bill that the Presidential Palace sent on 31 August to Congress, the forecast is for growth of only 0.2% in the year next. This year, the federal government estimates a decrease of 1.8%.
INFLATION GDP is not the only way of measuring the economic development of a country. Economics PHd Nildo Ouriques, professor at the Federal University of Santa Catarina (UFSC), cites poor results in other indicators to demonstrate that the Brazilian economy tends to face longer difficult times.
brasilobserver.co.uk | September 2015
“Unemployment will be double-digit at the end of the year,” he says. “And inflation does not reduce.” The basic interest rate will be “the largest on the world.” The federal government plans inflation of 9.25% this year – almost three percentage points above the target ceiling fixed by the Central Bank (6.5%). For 2016, the government works with an inflation rate within this limit – the budget bill cites 5.4%. The budget, by the way, has generated quite repercussions for taking the prospect of a primary deficit (negative balance between revenues and government expenditures) of 30.5 billion reais for the next year.
CHINA As much as external factors inevitably impact national economies, both Crocetti and Ouriques consider that the effects of Chinese turbulence should be less strong than alarmed in the country. It was also noted by the economic advisor to the Federation of Industries of the State of São Paulo (FIESP), André Rebelo. “In view of the internal problems we face, the impact of China’s slowdown will be minimal,” says the analyst. Zeno Crocetti warns, however, to the risk of lower Chinese demand on Brazilian products – iron ore and soybeans are the main items of exports from Brazil to China. According to the Ministry of Development, Industry and Foreign Trade, from January to July this year the Brazil-China exports fell 15% (revenue), compared to the same period last year, totalling 112 billion dollars. Since 2012 these values fall each year (from 2013 to 2014, down 7%). For Ouriques, overestimating China’s impact comes to be convenient for the government, because it legitimizes the fiscal policy of austerity. The professor includes the right opposition as an accomplice of such a policy. “The government, with the support of the PSDB and PT, is taking workers’ rights, privatizing companies [there is the question, for example, sales of parts of the BR Distribuidora], allowing a huge flow of wealth out of the country in multiple ways and heavily subsidizing multinationals while tightening the workers and the poor,” he criticizes.
AGENDA BRAZIL The “Agenda Brazil”, a set of proposals submitted under the leadership of Senate President Renan Calheiros, as a counterpart to the federal government in exchange for the support of Congress to approve the government’s measures, is far from being considered the best option to get out of the economic crisis. The package includes neoliberal measures – such as administrative reform that reduces the state, deepening of fiscal adjustment and up to the billing service for the Unified Health System (SUS) based on the user’s income bracket. The “Agenda” has been rejected by trade unions, social movements and leftist leaders while the opposition seems to wait comfortably from the courts for the necessary proof to bid for the impeachment of President Dilma Rousseff.
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THREE POINTS OF VIEW ON THE CRISIS What follows are the opinions of André Rebelo, from FIESP, and professors Nildo Ouriques and Zeno Crocetti about the Brazilian economy BRASIL OBSERVER | What is China’s effect on Brazil?
BRAZIL OBSERVER | How to reverse de-industrialization?
ANDRÉ REBELO | China is the main destination of our primary products and the prices of these goods is determined by Chinese demand. The slowdown in China has brought down the price of ore and soybeans and this is impacting on the exchange rates, with the devaluation of the real. Given the current scenario, the impact will be small compared to the internal problems we face. NILDO OURIQUES | A slowdown in China could remain or not, but will not affect the “emerging” countries for the simple reason that these countries, keeping their policies in favour of the rich, will never leave the status of being underdeveloped countries. The property is more concentrated; high finance manages to gain more power and wealth with the public debt and the debt of households and businesses. ZENO CROCETTI | Very small due to the size of Brazilian exports. And because it is a predictable crisis and forced by market speculation. Since the beginning of the year, shares of companies listed on the Shanghai Stock Exchange rose by over 140%, despite the economic slowdown; therefore, a clear speculative movement of professional vultures to expropriate the savings of unwary investors and Chinese amateurs.
ANDRÉ REBELO | Brazilian industry should be internationally competitive, but the Brazilian economy then reduces this competitiveness by imposing costs that the companies located in other countries do not have. Thinking about a short-term agenda, I would highlight the full exemption of exports, exemption of investment, reduced energy costs, reduced interest rate and an appropriate exchange rate policy to the development of industry. Within a long-term agenda would be tax reform, containment of public spending, zero nominal deficit, rationalization of the government budget, domestic interest rates compatible with international institutional framework for investment in infrastructure, reform of the monetary system, changes in reserve requirements, pension and labour reform. NILDO OURIQUES | The current government is committed to the route of deindustrialization and denationalization. Therefore, the current government will not change the line of action. Business, on the other hand, are not pushing towards the protection of domestic industry either, a fact that reveals the DNA of Brazilian industrial bourgeoisie is not in the defence of their own interests. It’s amazing to watch as they are more interested in devaluation the real for the growth of mining and agriculture export, even at the cost of greater industrial dependency. Obviously there are many measures that are taken in many parts of the world (England, USA, China, South Korea, etc.) that could be adopted here. There are many other suggested by the Brazilians and even the left party’s economists. But we should have no doubts about it: Joaquim Levy, the finance minister, was a Bradesco employee and studied in Chicago. There is no chance for another direction. ZENO CROCETTI | For many of the researchers, the main cause of the destruction of Brazilian industry is the global crisis, reducing exports and catalyst of foreign competition for domestic market. Another issue is the cumulative effects of the loss of the third industrial revolution and the debt crisis, between the 1970s and the 1980s; trade liberalization with overvalued exchange rate and high interest rates in the 1990s; and maintenance of high interest rates and the real value from 2003. To leverage the idle capacity in the industry and put it to his feet, only with the State playing a crucial role in making the industry to recover its strength. But the dismantling of the State promoted over the last 30 years by neoliberal measures took part of the capacity.
BRAZIL OBSERVER | What measures should Brazil adopt? ANDRÉ REBELO | To grow once again, but in a sustainable and internationally competitive way, Brazil needs to implement structural reforms – tax, labour and Social Security – vital to stimulate productive investment and lead the country to a new level of development. NILDO OURIQUES | So far no action has been taken to mitigate the destructive effects on workers. The Safra plan allocated 189 billion reais to export agriculture, which reinforces the inequalities, and only 30 billion reais for family agriculture, which accounts for over 70% of the food that Brazilians consume. Do you want the greatest example for whom the government gives priority? ZENO CROCETTI | The higher interest rate this year managed to reduce inflation expectations in the future and this is very important both for consumers returning to buying and for entrepreneurs deciding to invest. The higher dollar helped improve the trade balance, but any scenario is just a probability. Much remains to be done, fiscal adjustment measures.
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brasilobserver.co.uk | September 2015
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brasilobserver.co.uk | September 2015
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brasilobserver.co.uk | September 2015
CONECTANDO Kara Walker’s sketch for the play Norma
OPPRESSIONS WITHIN THE WORD When we think about language we are forced to consider something that we do not completely dominate, which, although defining and identifying us, is a space in which out power is limited
L
By Hugo Monteiro
Let us begin with a simple premise, which we will expand upon later: no word is neutral, no language (as a systematized, codified and ordered structure) is either ethically impartial, free from values or purely instrumental. All human relations are linguistically mediated, with language the most conventional element within which this relationship is structured and determined. Therefore, because no word or language is free from values, it is also through language that prejudice exists or, alternatively, is overcome. The affirmation is correct, therefore, that when we think about language we are forced to consider something that we do not completely dominate, which, although defining and identifying us, is a space in which out power is limited. Language is an abode, something that cannot be dominated completely, especially when we accept that language is an inheritance. We are born into a language that both precedes us and, in a way, forces us to grow up within it – that is, as a part of its ideological, historical and identity configurations – and not simply with it. Language is not born out of spontaneous creation. It is constituted by a complex and dynamic network of rules and conventions that not only transcend the individual and their era but also define them. Language is, in most cases, the first boundary which, as with all boundaries, either marks the point at which we co-exist in our differences or, on the other hand, serves to separate universes in a hostile and decisive way. Therefore, language and racism acquire an obvious connection when depreciating conceptions of the Other, in addition to one’s own erroneous concept of race, are established as means of defining differences. Differences can also be valorized, either making one’s notion of these relationships possible, or being confined and regulated within the most restrictive power logic. Everything is in play in the complex relationship between language and power, which we will briefly examine here.
brasilobserver.co.uk | September 2015
REPRODUCTION
THE ILLUSION OF NEUTRALITY Language is one of the means through which power is maintained. Understanding this premise is fundamental, especially when we consider that language is one of the elements that make racism and other forms of discrimination possible. The asymmetry between people manifests itself and is sustained through language, given that it is specifically through language that symbolic, social and cultural differences are established and normalized, which then nurture various forms of discrimination. Old and new forms of racism are born out of or recreated through language, with the appearance of language’s instrumental impartiality being one of the ways of concealing and perpetuating a wide range of discriminatory discourses. A frequently denounced example (although still to be overcome) is the masculine universal where the classification “Man” is used to refer to everyone, whether they are a man, woman or child. In reality, what is really at stake here is a power structure in which the only agent is male. This is due to the hegemony of his place in history, in the language of history and the implicit forms of this hegemony, given that this “universal man” is, essentially, white, European, autochthon and Judeo-Christian. The criteria of the universal becomes that which designates the universal, thus the masculinising structure of the majority of Western languages is revealed, along with the groups that this universal automatically excludes i.e. women, non-whites, non-Westerners. As a result, language shows how racism, sexism and xenophobia go hand in hand as forms of exclusion while also acting as a dominating and normalizing universal. Language (supposedly crystalline and impartial) while attempting to rid itself of particularisms in the name of a sort of ambition towards universality, tends to classify, establish hierarchies and pre-define. Racism and general discriminatory discourses such as ethnocentrism, sexism, homophobia or xenophobia, depend upon a global and distorted vision of the Other, despite being disguised behind the veil of neutral classification. Such a vision anticipates specific individuals and situations in a kind of labelling process designed to nullify and silence the Other within their own language.
THE POWER OF THE SPOKEN WORD One thing that cannot be disputed is that for whoever controls the word, language is a power. If the power to define something or somebody is a linguistic attribute, then it is evident that this very power to determine is not equally distributed. Not everyone has the same right to define and be defined, the result of social and symbolic inequalities that punctuate living in society. And the power to define somebody – without allowing that “somebody” any choice whatsoever in the process – clearly translates as an asymmetry: the teacher defines the “good” or “bad” student; the powerful classifies the subordinate; the legislator determines the acceptable. In each of these cases there is unequal power. It is always the dominant element – the hegemonic subject – that which controls the word and is able to define and objectify the Other. The result is that within the sphere of racism, this asymmetry is not only excessive but also particularly oppressive when a power discourse produces pre-established notions of a person based upon a belittling of that person’s differences. In the context of Western societies and within the framework of uniform globalization, this linguistic power is held by white, inactive, educated, heterosexual males who retain numerous privileges in keeping g
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with their social class, country of origin and geographic location. Discrimination is born out of a will to power and the desire to live within such a formation. It is also through languages that identities are created. As a result, it is important to be aware of the danger of such identities being excluding, oppressive or potentially racist due to illusions of “linguistic superiority” and “idiomatic purity”. A prime example of this is accent. Once a particular origin has been identified, it can be used to devalue the speaker and is rarely considered a sign of idiomatic richness or diversity. Once again, a power has been imposed, which determines a phonetic standard and centralized, monolithic criteria regarding linguistic correctness. Even within the same language we see this kind of incursion of power into the daily exercise of a language, stratifying its speakers according to their pronunciations.
LANGUAGE AS AN IMPOSITION One of the most frequently recurring tools of racist oppression arises from a negation of the cultural and symbolic legitimacy of the Other. Centuries after the colonialising activities associated with maritime expansion, primarily originating from the Iberian Peninsula (concerning the imposition of language and religion in accordance with a “civilizing” mission, culminating in plunder and slavery), today we find power being imposed in much subtler ways within the framework of mercantile and homo-hegemonic globalization. More precisely, part of the homo-hegemonic strategy involves the Babelian objective of a single, universal language, with the English language - reduced to its most instrumental dimensions - being imposed globally as the lingua franca. In addition to impoverishing the idiomatic complexity of the English language, this process also proceeds in the direction of a mono-lingualism that creates a uniquely shaped culture that excludes everything that cannot be reduced to its pragmatic immediatism. The implications are huge and wide-reaching, however, it is important to emphasis in this text the symbolic annulment of linguistic and cultural diversity in the reinvention of a certain monolithic ethnocentrism which, across a range of contexts (from social media and academia to the ways in which we relate to each other), consistently empowers and makes possible new forms of ethnocentric, xenophobic and/or racist discrimination.
INHERITING A PLURAL LANGUAGE To conclude, let us reassess one of the two points of departure of this text: all language is pre-existing and inherited. In a different sense to the power that it creates (which we have denounced here), this inherited language multiplies and pluralizes itself within the diversity of whoever is involved in the process of speaking and consistently reinventing it. If we accept that racism, sexism and other forms of oppression exist within language, then we must also recognize that it is through language – or languages – that oppression can be unmasked and combated. How? By allowing its structural, inclusive and persistent appeal to flow within the language towards creation and domesticated plurality. Linguistically created identities are not necessarily impenetrable frontiers or oppressive walls raised against the Other, but rather celebrations of every person’s multicoloured singularity. Therefore, even within a single language, the challenge is to promote not one but many languages with multiple pronunciations, capable of reasserting, from this side of the continent, the non-hegemonic register of a plurilingual and diverse Europe.
Hugo Monteiro is Doctor in Philosophy and Professor at Polytechnic’s School of Education in Porto, Portugal. This article was originally published by BUALA (www.buala.org). To learn more about Brasil Observer’s Project CONECTANDO, please visit the webpage www.brasilobserver.co.uk/about-conectando
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brasilobserver.co.uk | September 2015
THE WORLD IS OURS Urban young people of popular origin cross borders to tell their stories in different languages
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DREAM TEAM OF PASSINHO The Dream Team of Passinho will make two presentations in New York in September. The first is as a special performance at the Gala Dinner 2015 organized by the Brazil Foundation (Cipriani). And the second is at Joe’s Pub, where names like Leonard Cohen, Amy Winehouse and Norah Jones performed. DIVULGATION
“It’s like those American college movies.” Ana Paula is 27 years old and methodology coordinator at the Agência de Redes para Juventude (the Youth Agency Networks) in Rio de Janeiro. She had a dream to visit New York and took the trip to California for a short exchange experience at Stanford University to learn more about the United States. For her, the reality lived there corresponded to the idea formed by US films watched in her childhood’s afternoons. Veruska is a 27 year old who was born in Brazil’s Northern State of Maranhão and has been living in Rio de Janeiro since she was seven. This year, she left Brazil for the first time after had been indicated by the US Consulate General in Rio de Janeiro to attend the IVLP (International Visitor Leadership Program), which in the past had already led President Dilma Roussef and former minister Gilberto Gil to share experiences with US organizations. “It was not in my plans to go to America now. It was madness, I crossed the country in a week,” said the girl, who coordinates the Agency’s production. The movement of young people around the world is not new, at least since the last century. On the nature of these trips, however, there are many new things to talk about. If the Black and Latino Diaspora, which is still a reality, reminds us of the lack of opportunities in their home countries and global inequality, a movement of urban youth, of popular origin, to exchange experiences across borders is a new reality. They do not leave the country only to look in other territories for what Brazil did not offer. On the contrary, they leave to offer foreigners a little of their experiences at home. In September, the young members of the Dream Team of Passinho (DTP) travel to New York to perform two shows. Only one within the five members of the group has travelled abroad before. Others are eager and have already made a list of places they want to know in the US. The gospel choir of Harley; the Lincoln Center football stadium; Brooklyn. “I also want to buy some things, show our work and leave a Brazilian taste. They will freak out with passinho!” comments Lellêzinha, 17 years old. Diogo Breguete, 24, group dancer, says he always wanted to be in another country.
In addition to the DTP, other groups of “Passinho” (a dance of Rio’s slum youth) made international tours in 2015. For the professor of the School of Communication at the Federal University of Rio de Janeiro, Ilana Strozemberg, for Brazilian popular culture to be appreciated outside the country is not new. After all, samba was born in the favelas and has always been the trademark of national culture. The differential of the moment we live in is that popular culture is now deeply appearing among youth and contemporary, away from the idea of a “traditional” popular culture. In addition, hierarchies in the artistic field have been broken. “Today they are placed side by side as legitimate expressions of art with things that were very far. It is the first generation where this happens,” explains the anthropologist. What’s more, these young people put together art with social transformation, making a political art. It is also worth noting at this point that these young people are aware of their place. They come out to dialogue in another level. “They’re not seeing themselves as Brazilians finally managed to leave the country, and who, hopefully, will get a job out there. They are going and saying ‘I will rock!’, and coming back,” Strozemberg says. This movement has taken place in several areas, professions, as we have seen here, but also in others, such as photography and literature. Recently, photographers who live in the slums and members of the Imagens do Povo (People’s Images) group were in London giving photography workshops to young Britons. People from the slums are going to the old world in photography teaching positions: this is new! To Ilana Strozemberg, new technologies help a lot to explain this new movement. “The passinho is greatly enhanced by Youtube, and with new technologies people can produce and create in an unprecedented manner and form their networks.” Despite being a global event, the emergence of poor youth is in great evidence in Brazil, especially in Rio de Janeiro and Sao Paulo, and is a very new phenomenon – only four or five years. Therefore, encouraging and mediating these possibilities is the way so there is no going back and youth of popular origin still can circulate around the world exposing their identities.
MARGARET DAY
By Marília Gonçalves – from the Youth Agency Networks, in editorial partnership with the Brasil Observer
PRODUCED BY
INSTITUTIONAL SUPPORT
brasilobserver.co.uk | September 2015
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B R A S I L O B S E R V E R DIVULGATION
. e r e h w e m o s m Fro . s e c n a t s m u c r i c y Man . s e m o c g n i h t e Th . t n e s e r p s e m o c e b Its form
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brasilobserver.co.uk | September 2015
GUIDE
OUR PURPOSE IS TO CAUSE STRANGENESS Neverwhere Beckett, created by the Café Cachorro Company from Rio de Janeiro, represents Brazil in London’s CASA Latin American Theatre Festival By Guilherme Reis
Three actors. Two modules. One chair. Some objects. On the white square serving as a floor, figures and forms are in movement. The light becomes shadow and the sound, silence. In this space/time the unspeakable can happen: the bodies create. Neverwhere Beckett is an experimental play freely inspired by the life and work of the Irish writer Samuel Beckett. “It’s like the three of us had entered in the mind of Beckett looking for this space, seeing fragments, memories and things that would be possible within that world of his creative mind. It’s like we had launched light in the darkness of Beckett’s thoughts,” explained Leandro Fernandes, actor and director, in an interview with Brasil Observer. Bruno Paiva and Leonardo Bastos complete the troupe. “The company is three of us: actors, directors, everything,” said Leandro, not forgetting to mention some contributors who have made the play come alive, such as illuminators João Marcelo Pallottino and Ricardo Grings, costume designers Daniela Sant’Mor and Stephany Simões, who will be with the three actors/directors during the trip to London. On the invitation to be at CASA Festival, Leandro said: “In 2012 I was in London and received a flyer from CASA on the street. So I kept it, I had even forgotten about it. Two years later we were already doing the show and started to apply in all the festivals we could, in Europe as well. We were eyeing CASA news, signed the play up and soon Daniel Goldman [artistic director] contacted us”. ‘WORK IN REGRESS’
ONDENUNCA BECKETT Where Rich Mix (35-47 Bethnal Green Rd, E1 6LA) When 8-9 October Entrance £12 adv.; £15 door Info www.casafestival.org.uk
Driven by an immense passion by Samuel Beckett, the three did extensive research through the study of his novels, plays, short plays, poems, and his biography by James Knowlson, letters, theory books, essays and other significant references. “We got some things we identified as his creation features – forms, ways to explore the objects, figures, space, and time – and of course we linked all of this to our forms, our theatrical baggage,” said Leonardo Bastos. The result: a 45-minute play that
flirts with dance and visual arts. There is no talking in the show, no verbal text but a Samuel Beckett recorded speech. Everything revolves around the movement of the actors, the presence and experience of time and space, in a process that goes to the void, the idea of scarcity. “We call our process ‘work in regress’, due to the removal of elements,” explained Leonardo. The lack of speech, by the way, is a positive factor if we think the public of CASA Festival does not necessarily understand the Portuguese language. Neverwhere Beckett’s language is universal. It is a play of shapes, the poetry of the body in space, form as content and vice versa, aesthetics as a political act in itself. On what they expect of the presentations in London, Bruno Paiva commented: “We have a very high expectation to see how the public reaction will be, because it is a different audience. But here in Brazil we also presented the play for different audiences. In São Paulo, for example, we heard many things. A girl said she was very angry with us, saying, ‘when I was beginning to understand something you deconstructed everything”. Someone else said, ‘for me you are not the protagonists of the play, for me the protagonists are the modules that you use.’” For Leonardo Bastos, “it’s hard to explain because it is not something that is to be understood, but something that you just feel”. “Our purpose is to cause this strangeness, a feeling that comes from contemplating the dynamic that is placed,” said Leandro Fernandes. THE REAL ABSURD Taking advantage of the political tone that always permeates CASA Festival editions, I questioned the three members of the Café Cachorro Company on how they see the current moment experienced by Brazil. I told them I had just read an article by Fernando Gabeira, on the website of O Globo newspaper entitled “Dilma on the theatre of the absurd” and would like to know their personal opinion about it. Leonardo Bastos began: “I find it
interesting because when the term Theatre of the Absurd arises, it gives that feeling removed from reality, it reads things that are happening on stage as absurd things just because they are not part of the theatre that was in vogue at the time. We like Beckett because we identify in his work our feelings, our desires, much more real than absurd. So doing this parallel with Dilma I think we’re a bit in this place that looks like it’s absurd, but that’s because now it is closer to reality. Corruption has always existed in that dark place, far away from us, but now it is no longer an absurd, it is closer. Then we see the strangeness, the revolt...” “There are several layers in this discussion. Protests on the beach of Copacabana, for example, brought some strange situations in which the people themselves have been more absurd than the nonsense that is going on, because they do not know exactly what’s going on or for what reasons they are there,” opined Bruno Paiva. Leandro Fernandes summed up: “We are in a cleaning process that will go a lot further, because it is the only way to reorganize society, but we are still in the phase of confusion.” Nonsense aside, there is hope. “It’s very interesting to think, despite everything, how people are creating a network of mobilization for a resistance that always exists. In the middle of all this chaos lots of light emerged, people coming together. You see a crisis of conscience in every corner,” said Leandro. Back to the play, Nerverwhere Beckett is justified, in the words of the creators, as follows: “That’s what we have. Immeasurable happiness in front of the chaos of possibilities. It is necessary to delight that. Never find the place of things. Not knowing what to do and still do it. Create. Give form to ideas. Try! How much beauty in these failed attempts. Finding the source inside the other. Back to the lonely trail. Share this loneliness. Go. Keep going. Out of the shallow water. Enter the mystery. One way to WHERE and NEVER. Never know. Yet ask. Ask with the body. Love. Rigor. Freedom. Theatre.”
brasilobserver.co.uk | September 2015
DIVULGATION
Scenes of the play Neverwhere Beckett
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brasilobserver.co.uk | September 2015
CULTURAL TIPS
MUSIC BEBEL GILBERTO
BRIXTON2BRAZIL
When: 28 – 30 September Where: Ronnie Scott’s (47 Frith Street, W1D 4HT) Entrance: £45 – £65 Info: www.ronniescotts.co.uk
When: 18 September Where: Pop Brixton (49 Brixton Station Road, SW9 8PQ) Entrance: Free Info: www.popbrixton.org
JULIANA AREIAS
AMAIA AZCONA & MORGAN SZYMANSKI
When: 8 October Where: Ronnie Scott’s (47 Frith Street, W1D 4HT) Entrance: £8 adv., £10 door Info: www.ronniescotts.co.uk
When: 18 September Where: St James’s Church (197 Piccadilly, W1J 9LL) Entrance: Free Info: www.sjp.org.uk
DOM LA NENA
DIEGO CARNEIRO & ERALYS FERNANDEZ
When: 28 October Where: St. Pancras Old Church Entrance: £9.50 Info: www.stpancrasoldchurch.wix.com
When: 20 September Where: Omnibus Arts Centre (1 Clapham Common, SW4 0QW) Entrance: £10 Info: http://goo.gl/7H0cGy
OS MUTANTES
BRIXTON COME TOGETHER
When: 25 – 27 September Where: Various locations Entrance: Free Info: www.facebook.com/brixtoncometogether
When: 17 – 18 November Where: Village Underground Entrance: £19.25 Info: www.villageunderground.co.uk DIVULGATION
£10 Standard £8 Students
ZÉ BOIADÉ 26th SEPTEMBER 7pm The Forge
3-7 Delancey Street,
Camden NW1 7NL
TICKETS FROM £12
brasilobserver.co.uk | September 2015
CINEMA
LITERATURE
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PLUS FREE EVENTS
2 11 BOOK CLUB: ÓPERA DOS MORTOS, BY AUTRAN DOURADO OCTOBER 2015
By Nadia Kerecuk
RIO + FILM FESTIVAL 2015
The Barbican Centre presents a selection of Brazilian films that have as their common setting the city of Rio de Janeiro. From the legendary silent classic Limite (1931) to the celebrated City of God (2002), to recent productions such as the thriller The Wolf at the Door (2014), the audience will be able to have a taste of the best Brazilian cinema from its origins to the present day. When: 24 – 27 September Where: Barbican Centre Entrance: £9.50 Info: www.barbican.org.uk
The next Brazilian Bilingual Book Club of the Embassy of Brazil will be discussing Ópera dos Mortos (1967) translated into English as The Voices of the Dead (1980, London; 1981,USA). Waldomiro Freitas Autran Dourado, born in a small town, Patos de Minas, spent most of his childhood in other Minas Gerais towns, Monte Santo de Minas and São Sebastião do Paraíso and, at the age of 17, he moved to the capital of the State of Minas Gerais, Belo Horizonte. He read law at the university and worked as a shorthand writer and journalist while at university graduating in 1949. Minas Gerais is the birthplace of several notable Brazilian authors and artists. Autran Dourado greatly benefitted from the local literary and artistic currents. He was equally lucky as he was discovered in Belo Horizonte by Juscelino Kubitschek (1902-76), deputy and governor of that state and later the President of Brazil, becoming his private secretary in Minas Gerais and, subsequently, from 1958 to 1961, the former president’s press officer and adviser. Autran Dourado moved to the Federal capital, Rio de Janeiro, in 1954. He was married to Lúcia Campos for over 60 years and they had four children, and by the time the author died in 2012, he had ten grandchildren and two great-grandchildren. His works have gained early recognition. His A Bar-
www.casafestival.org.uk
AT THE
THEATRE AND
HOME THEATRE (UK) 2015
This is a bold and exciting international project which will see thirty new, one person shows performed simultaneously in thirty homes across London. Home Theatre (UK) has been developed with Brazilian partner Festival Internacional de Cenas em Casa. All 30 performances will also be recorded and will then be broadcast on the Stratford East website on Saturday 31 October and Sunday 1 November. When: 17 October Where: Various locations Entrance: By application Info: www.stratfordeast.com
LOVE WAR SEX POLITICS MEXICO PERU BRAZIL UK
ca dos Homens (1961), a kind of human comedy set on a fictional island in the south of Brazil, depicts the fall of the 18th century Brazilian well-off classes from grace. Ópera dos mortos is regarded as Autran Dourado’s masterpiece and has been included in the UNESCO collection of representative literary works. He is one of the leading writers of second half of the 20th century in Brazil and his works exhibit a rare talent. Ópera dos mortos, set in the mystical baroque state of Minas Gerais, is a beautiful narrative of a master wordsmith. Readers will be enthused by this classic. In 2000, he published his memoir, Gaiola aberta e os Tempos de Schmidt (The open cage and Schmidt times), an account of the time that he served as a press officer of President Juscelino Kubitschek. It is an invaluable source of the political and intellectual history of Brazil with delightful anecdotes. When: 17 September Where: Embassy of Brazil in London Entrance: Free Info: www.culturalbrazil.org Nadia Kerecuk is Convenor of the Brazilian Bilingual Book Club of the Embassy of Brazil in London
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brasilobserver.co.uk | September 2015
COLUMNISTS
FRANKO FIGUEIREDO
WHEN TRUE HUMANITY TAKES SHAPE REPRODUCTION
The Raft of The Medusa
g
Franko Figueiredo is artistic director and associate producer of StoneCrabs Theatre Company (stonecrabs.co.uk)
I spent last August exploring Shakespeare’s Tempest through theatre workshops with Japanese actors in Tokyo and our paramount question during the process was: are we losing our humanity? To scholars, the importance of Shakespeare’s writing lies in his influence on subsequent literature and art; to linguists, his importance lies in his contributions to the English language, he invented new words, developed metaphors, syntax, etc. To historians, he brought English history to life. To sociologists his contributions were explorations of human nature. To artists, it is his complex portrayal of humanity and the freedom he gives us. Shakespeare’s stories are universal. Whilst I was preparing for the work, the Calais immigration issues gained front page on most papers and was widely talked about on the social media. I came across an article on Gericault’s painting: The Raft of The Medusa – and that very painting became the inspiration and the premise for our work. Forgiveness and freedom are strong themes of the Tempest. Prospero, the Duke of Milan, has been grievously wronged by his brother Antonio who was entrusted with the administration of his dukedom. Antonio conspired with Alonso, the King of Naples to rob Prospero of his title. Prospero is banished from Milan along with his infant daughter Miranda; they are put on little more than a raft in the middle of the night and left to the dangers of the sea. It is only through the compassion and kindness of the old courtier Gonzalo that they survive. In the island, Prospero and his daughter are both refugees and colonizers. With Prospero, Shakespeare creates the most eloquent version of the human character. A flawed intellectual searching for a spiritual life, Prospero also demonstrates many human contradictions: at first, he seems more like a colonial European enslaving other cultures, a cold intelligent wizard, but as his journey progresses, you see more of his emotions and his ability for compassion. Prospero’s anger at his brother stems from his own love for him, similarly his irritation and enslavement of Caliban is a product of his own failing. Caliban is also disappointed with Prospero, for showing him love and abandoning him as soon as Caliban makes his first mistake. In every character, true humanity takes shape: be it Prospero, Miranda, Antonio, Alonso, Ariel or Caliban, they all have their own inner tempest to overcome; they’re looking for a better life. In fact, there are many tempests in the play. In addition to class conflict and explorations into colonialism, there is a desire to create a utopian society. The storm scene that opens the play establishes nature as an important element and emphasizes the role of nature in society. There are emotional tempests that family conflict creates, tempests of discord, of forbidden love, and tempests caused by the inherent conflict between generations. For Prospero and the other characters to resolve their conflicts, they need forgiveness. Accept one’s own mistakes and failings and learn from them; develop empathy, the ability to imagine oneself in the place of others; and the ability to see and believe in people’s potential to do good. The Tempest reminds us that we must build a society with more than short-term profit as a goal; in an era where mercantilism seems to be taking over, we need to go back to basics, re-learn the forgotten values of compassion and generosity. Human rights, democracy and peace are all part of the same package. We might be in different islands, with different cultures, but we are all members of the same human family, and we are all searching for the same kind of happiness.
brasilobserver.co.uk | September 2015
RICARDO SOMERA
PLATA O PLOMO?
“Have you seen Narcos?” is the question of the moment in (almost) all the circle of my friends. Since 28 August, the release date of the Netflix series, we do not talk about anything else (that matters). Here in Brazil the “big” question is the accent of Wagner Moura. Does he speak good castellano or not? What would you think if a Brazilian was played by another Latin American? (Who remembers the fiasco of Javier Barden in Eat, Pray, Love?) Much discussion, various opinions and one thing we are assured: Wagner Moura is amazing playing the most famous drug trafficker the planet has ever seen: Pablo Escobar. Besides Wagner Moura, other Brazilians are part of the series. José Padilha (Elite Squad and Bus 174) is executive producer and director of the first episodes and André Mattos plays Jorge Ochoa, one of Pablo’s cartel members. Another Brazilian director, Fernando Coimbra (A Wolf at the Door), directs two of the best episodes of the season (You Will Cry Tears of Blood and La Gran Mentira). And we cannot forget Rodrigo Amarante, interpreter of the opening song of the series, “Tuyo”. There is much excitement about the Brazilians, but the series is American, the narrator is American and was created by Americans (Chris Brancato, screenwriter of Hannibal, and Adam Fierro, of The Walking Dead).
Some things you only learn in Colombian history books or Narcos: - Escobar’s Medellin Cartel smuggled 15 tons of cocaine a day to the United States. - In 1989 Escobar was considered by Forbes magazine the 7th richest man in the world with a fortune valued at more than 25 billion dollars. - Before his arrest Escobar built his own prison (sorry for the spoiler!). - During a time when the drug lord had to stay hidden in a hut on the outskirts of a mountainous area of Medellin, he burned about two million dollars in cash in order to keep his family warm. - In addition to the 800 houses he also had 15 planes and six helicopters. - Ninety-five percent of all the cocaine consumed in the United States is still produced in Colombia. Part of it is distributed by Brazil, the world’s second largest coca negotiator. - In a statement released in September, FARC said that “drug trafficking is a socioeconomic problem generated by a capitalist model that currently produces more than 600 billion dollars a year.” Official estimates, however, say that the total amount of coca can be more than one trillion dollars. Now, we expect the second season already confirmed - and hope that all my excitement does not end up in dust.
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brasilobserver.co.uk | September 2015
TRAVEL
GUIDE FOR THE RIO 2016
OLYMPIC GAMES
RICARDO STUCKERT/FOTOS PÚBLICAS
brasilobserver.co.uk | September 2015
From Maracana to the Olympic Park, passing through Copacabana: Rio 2016 will reach the entire city
Paraty, Ilha Grande and Buzios: options apart from Rio de Janeiro to enjoy the natural beauty of the region RAFAEL NEDDERMEYER
TOMAZ SILVA/AGÊNCIA BRASIL
There is less than a year to the first Olympic Games on South America soil. From 5 to 21 August 2016, Rio de Janeiro, Brazil will host more than 10,000 athletes from 205 nations. It is expected that approximately 750,000 tourists will visit the city during the period – the Paralympic Games occurs between 7 and 18 September. The party will start at the legendary Maracana stadium, which will host the opening and closing ceremonies, and will follow on to Copacabana – where competitions like Beach Volleyball, Road Cycling and Rowing will happen – to Barra da Tijuca, where the Olympic Park is being built – 87% of the work is completed, according to City Hall. Unlike the World Cup, with 12 host cities, the Olympic Games are concentrated only in Rio, which has received improvements in its urban infrastructure. Thus, the “Marvelous City”, used to getting a crowd of tourists every year for Carnival, will be even more prepared.
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FLIGHTS
DIVULGATION
FERNANDO FRAZÃO/AGÊNCIA BRASIL
From Heathrow, TAM and British Airways operate direct flights to Galeao, Rio’s International Airport. Out of season, the journey of 11 hours and 30 minutes cost from 429 pounds by TAM, return ticket. During the Games the value could at least double. But there are alternatives: Air France, Iberia, KLM and Lufthansa also operate direct flights to Rio from other European capitals, while TAP flies from Lisbon to Brazilian cities such as Fortaleza, Recife and Brasilia. Finding a flight to Rio de Janeiro will not be difficult. It’s worth, of course, comparing values in specialized sites, as well as considering arriving in Rio from another Brazilian city like São Paulo, for example.
BOOKING
BEYOND RIO Those who will be in Rio de Janeiro during the Olympic Games also have the option of visiting other stunning areas near the city. South of the “Marvellous City” is the Green Coast, which stretches from Itajaí to Santos, through colonial Paraty. In the script, Ilhabela and Ilha Grande certainly will not disappoint. North of Rio, the two best options are Buzios and Cabo Frio, with stunning beaches and leisure.
DIVULGATION
REPRODUCTION
Tickets for the Games, with values starting at eight pounds, can be purchased at the official website: rio2016.com. The availability of the hotel rooms, according to the International Olympic Committee, will be published in October, as the national delegations, Games organizers and official media have defined their accommodation. In any case, travel agencies in the UK and Brazil can assist in the process – visit the Latin American Travel Association: lata.org. There is also the option of buying a package combining accommodation and tickets. The official reseller of the Rio 2016 in the UK is Cosport (cosport.com), which has a number of agents. A four-night package – from 11 to 15 August – in four star hotel, with tickets for Athletics, Swimming, Basketball and Golf, transfers and excursions costs 5,847 pounds per person based on double sharing. In addition, Airbnb was chosen the “official provider of alternative accommodation” for the Games. You can find a small flat in downtown Rio for up to five people for 166 pounds a week.
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brasilobserver.co.uk | September 2015
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