Brasil Observer #35 - EN

LONDON EDITION

www.brasilobserver.co.uk

ISSN 2055-4826

FEBRUARY/2016

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brasilobserver.co.uk | February 2016 E D I T O R I A L

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new narratives

Brazilians say the year only starts after Carnival. Untrue, because the year begins only in the week following Ash Wednesday (the Thursday and Friday don’t count).

What about the crisis? Is there a mood for Carnival joy? And why wouldn’t there be? Have we never celebrated Carnival without having problems to face after the party? The narrative of Brazil in pieces is overwhelming. But there is life beyond the dominant conservative outflow.

Make no mistake, though. The year starts t the continual tune of impeachment. It seems that the momentum of those who want to see President Dilma Rousseff ’s back is declining.

But again, make no mistake. The country’s agenda will soon be dominated by the topic, and not with a favourable tone for the government. They reap what they have sown - it is well known. The population pay the price for limited leadership – and with few divergent narratives.

Explaining the Brazilian political context is difficult, but it is just a matter of being honest: a supposedly democratic Congress is made up of representatives of corporate interests, not the people’s ones – seven out of ten federal deputies elected in 2014 received funds of at least one of the ten companies that made more political donations that year.

Meanwhile, the ruling PT (Workers Party) of Rousseff and former president Lula da Silva are supposedly solely responsible for all national ills.

The party, once a herald of ethics, made a lot of mistakes and remains continues to do so - a fact that it allied shamelessly to the interests of “na-

tional champions”, selected big companies that received many favours from the government.

Believing that it is solely PT’s fault, however, is not only dishonest, it is advocating the deepening of existing problems.

Overcoming the current problems involves the accumulation of forces able to create a new consensus in the country, and by creating new narratives, new political players, and new possibilities. This newspaper is aware of this and wants to be part of that convergence.

We believe that the political crisis can only be solved with a comprehensive reform of electoral rules – and that this will only happen in a satisfactory manner with the election of a sovereign constituent assembly for political reform. We advocate greater participation of people in decision-making and more efficient mechanisms for supervision. We believe in the democratic reform of the media so that new narratives proliferate.

In the economic sphere, it is essential to balance the public accounts and contain the budget deficit (close to 10% of GDP) to create a more favourable outlook for economic growth – which is necessary, after all, for the maintenance of employment and income. But we hope this is done in order to fight inequality, and not deepening the chasm separating the rich from the poor, and that the middle class understands that to achieve a better life is not necessary to prevent the rise of those below.

So we continue ahead. We start 2016 with editorial modifications and new projects being developed. Let the Carnival fantasy enlighten us!

c o n te n t s

Speak, Ambassador!

Pg. 10 - Eduardo dos Santos in an exclusive interview Chan Chan Pg. 22 - Buena Vista Social Club say goodbye from the stages Entranced Brazil Pg. 14 - After the recess, the impeachment returns The runner’s wishes Pg. 20 - Mo Farah speaks about what he expects for Rio 2016 Another forum is possible?

Pg. 18 - Directly from the Thematic Social Forum in Porto Alegre Zika danger Pg. 12 - Why is this virus frightening Brazilians?

And more…

Pg. 8 - Ilan Cuperstain on sustainable development Pg. 26 - Franko Figueiredo on gatted communities Pg. 27 - Marcus Faustini on Marcello Dughettu’s eminence Pg. 27 - Aquiles reis on the new album of Regina Machado Beyond that…

Pg. 6 - Relevant observations on what surround us Pg. 24 - Cultural tips for Brazilians Londoners Pg. 29 - The city of London by Monica O’May Pg. 30 - Brazilian paradises to be discovered

LONDON EDITION É uma publicação mensal da ANAGU UK UN LIMITED fundada por:

Ana Toledo Operational Director ana@brasilobserver.co.uk Guilherme Reis Editorial Director guilherme@brasilobserver.co.uk Roberta Schwambach Financial Director roberta@brasilobserver.co.uk English Editor Shaun Cumming shaun@investwrite.co.uk Layout and Graphic Design Jean Peixe ultrapeixe@gmail.com Contributors Aquiles Reis Franko Figueiredo Gabriela Lobianco Marcus Faustini Wagner de Alcântara Aragão Printer St Clements press (1988 ) Ltd, Stratford, London mohammed.faqir@stclementspress.com 10.000 copies Distribution Emblem Group Ltd. To advertise comercial@brasilobserver.co.uk 020 3015 5043 To subscribe contato@brasiloberver.co.uk To suggest an article and contribute editor@brasilobserver.co.uk Online brasilobserver.co.uk issuu.com/brasilobserver facebook.com/brasilobserver twitter.com/brasilobserver Brasil Observer is a monthly publication of the ANAGU UK MARKETING E JORNAIS UN LIMITED (company number: 08621487) and is not responsible for the concepts expressed in signed articles. People who do not appear in this expedient are not authorized to speak on behalf of this publication. The contents published in this newspaper may be reproduced if properly credited to the author and to the Brasil Observer.

brasilobserver.co.uk | February 2016

Cover Art Ricardo AKN www.flickr.com/photos/ricardo_akn

Ricardo AKN represents, using figurative clippings and abstract layers, meanings and feelings. The artist presents us with an abstract figurative work that transits through universal thematic like mythology, symbology and geometry. His experimentation abuses of various structures and material, having a technical consistency, mature, that may mix painting, collages on wood, tissues and new materials that could fit during the creative process. Concepts like overlays, colour saturation and tridimensionality are applied on canvas, installations and objects that hide each one a new feeling, beauty and meaning. Plastic artist, illustrator and muralist, AKN is part of the Brazilian contemporary and urban context, expressing new concepts with singular technique and experiments.

Around London

Edition #34 - December 2015

The cover art for this edition was produced by Ricardo AKN for the Mostra BO, project developed by the Brasil Observer in partnership with Pigment and with institutional support from the Embassy of Brazil in London. Each of the 11 editions of this newspaper in 2016 is featuring an art on its cover produced

by Brazilian artists selected through open call. In December, all the works with be exhibited at the Embassy’s Sala Brasil.

APOIO:

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brasilobserver.co.uk | February 2016

Observations King’s College celebrates and debates Brazil

Nathan Clarke

London. Organized by the Brazil Institute, the Brazil Week celebrated the country with a series of cultural events and debates. An evidence of the relevance of Brazilian studies in the British academic field, it was also an opportunity to meet people from diverse backgrounds interested in Brazil.

The Brasil Observer was present in two of the week’s events; the opening reception, on Monday January 25th and in the session devoted to discussion of the right to the city in Rio de Janeiro, on Wednesday 27th.

At the first, the highlight was the sociologist José de Souza Martins, professor at the University of São Paulo.

Third Brazilian – after Celso Furtado and Fernando Henrique Cardoso – to occupy, in 1993-1994, the prestigious Simon Bolivar Chair at the University of Cambridge, Martins spoke briefly but emphatically on the current political situation in Brazil.

The current crisis, according to the professor, it is not a crisis of the ruling PT (Workers Party), but of Brazil’s political system, “less and less representative of the Brazilian people.” For him, the current system does not allow any trace of democratic innovation as it is dominated by economic power, and the polarization between PT and the biggest opposition party PSDB does not explain the current political crisis.

The sociologist launches this month another book, Do PT das Lutas Sociais ao PT do Poder (From PT’s Social Struggle to PT’s Power), in which he asks: is the PT that fought on the streets and factory doors, preaching ethics and social justice, the same party in power for over a decade?

In the second event in which the Brasil Observer was present, entitled “Equality & the City: Discrimination, Cultural Identity and Street Art in Rio de Janeiro”, it was screened the documentary Memórias do Cais do Valongo, which is also available on YouTube and subtitled in English.

Directed by Antonio Carlos Muricy and Carlos Alexandre Teixeira, the latter present at the event, the film tells the story of Valongo Pier in the port area of ​​Rio, known in the 19th century as “Little Africa”, an expression used by the painter and samba composer Heitor dos Prazeres.

Besides Teixeira, the post-film discussion included the Transnational Law teacher at King’s College Dr. Octavio Ferraz, the rapper and activist MC Leonardo and musician and writer Delcio Teobaldo. They all talked about the importance of Brazil facing its past, particularly slavery, to understand the inequalities of the present; the need to promote popular culture in Brazil; and the contradictions of Rio’s revitalization ahead the Olympic Games, which have accentuated an existing gentrification process.

Takumã Kuikuro comes back to London’s village

Alicia Bastos

Takumã Kuikuro is a Brazilian filmmaker from the indigenous village of Ipatse in the Upper Xingu region in Mato Grosso. Last year, he was in the British capital to promote his work and the indigenous culture, presenting the film Hyper Women. He also took the opportunity to shoot its newest documentary, London as a Village, with premiere scheduled for February 15th at the Embassy of Brazil, followed by a Q&A with him.

When he was in London to explore, with a camera in hands, the similarities and differences between Kuikuro and Londoner cultures, Takumã gave an interview to the Brasil Observer. He explained: “My role is to film our community’s culture. I am responsible for documenting

and teaching. First I document the ritual and then make a simple sequence to edit. Our films are then used to teach our young people.”

Takumã also spoke about some difficulties he had at the beginning. “People thought I was going to sell everything. Sometimes they even broke my camera and put me out of the village. Some even have the impression that I am getting a lot of money. And I need to explain that it is not to make money but to preserve and promote our culture to the world, representing the Kuikuro people and the indigenous culture.”

The full interview is on www.brasilobserver.co.uk/en

SwB fellow writes in Nature Climate Change The full doctoral fellow of Brazil’s Science without Borders program Rafael Silva had an article published in Nature Climate Change. The study is the result of a research he has developed in Scotland showing the reduction in beef consumption in Brazil may increase greenhouse emissions.

Rafael explains how he came to that result. “I developed a very detailed mathematical model able to link the demand for meat and the change in carbon stocks in the soil. Growing demand serves as an incentive for producers recover degraded pastures and better pastures have more belowground biomass. Even with more animals to meet increased demand, the gain in carbon

appropriation for improved pastures means that, in the end, emissions are lower. Similarly, with decreasing demand, pastures degrade and lose carbon, making emissions increase,” he said.

According to the doctoral student, who is developing his research at Edinburgh University in partnership with the Brazilian agency Embrapa, the study, though unexpected, was well received. “In just 48 hours of publication, we had about 20 international news portals talking about our study, as well as UK and US journalists who are still coming for interviews. The article was second in Nature Climate Change trendings”.

Museum seeks projects with Brazilian inspiration The Horniman Museum and Gardens is looking to commission artists or companies across a range of art forms to create work for a series of large scale events happening in July and August 2016. These performances will be part of the Horniman summer festival, which will celebrate Brazilian culture with a programme of music, dance,

theatre, street arts and more.

All projects must draw inspiration from the Horniman’s Brazilian collections, celebrate the dialogue between Brazil and Europe or have a strong connection with Brazilian culture. The grants go from 300 to 2,000 pounds. The application deadline is February 29th (www.horniman.ac.uk).

brasilobserver.co.uk | February 2016

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Paulo Pinto/ Fotos Públicas Alexandre Macieira/Riotur

Alalaô

Crisis? What crisis? Apparently, despite the economic recession, Brazilians will celebrate Carnival like always. In São Paulo (larger photo) and Rio de Janeiro, pre-Carnival blocks led thousands to the streets on the last weekend of January. As sings Elton Medeiros intelligence: “Não me leve a mal / Mas muito luxo pode atrapalhar / Alegria ninguém pode fabricar / Um bom Carnaval / Se faz com gente feliz a cantar / Pelas ruas um samba bem popular” (or roughly translating: “Do not get me wrong/ But much luxury can be bad/ Nobody can manufacture joy/ A good Carnival/ Is made of happy people singing/ Through the streets a popular samba”).

Young Brazilians win technology award Two students from the University of São Paulo won the TechCrunch Disrupt London software development competition in musical intelligence category. The contest was held in December last year.

Rodrigo L. Fernandez and Henrique F. Lopes are students of electrical engineering and mechatronics engineering, respectively, and with seven other members from several countries (China, Spain, Greece, India, Libya) have developed and programmed in just 24 hours the software Musicracy (portmante-

au of the words “Music” and “Democracy”).

The application created by the students allows guests of a party to vote to choose the songs to be played. Top-rated songs are played in order of popularity. The team was awarded thousand Euros from Humm startup.

These two Brazilians are studying at the University of Surrey in the UK under the Brazilian government program Science without Borders.

Itaipu wins most important tourism’s prize

Divulgation

The tourist experience in the Itaipu hydroelectric plant that Brazil shares with Paraguay won the 12th edition of the World Tourism Organization Awards. Itaipu won in the category Research, Technology and Innovation during the International Fair of Tourism of Madrid, on January 20th.

Tourism in Itaipu is managed by the Itaipu Technological Park Foundation, an institution that invests the funds raised (after covered the costs of the operation) on a technological background promotion of education, science, technology, innovation and entrepreneurship.

Seminar discusses Rio 2016 Olympic Games The 2016 edition of EPS (Event Production Show) hosts a seminar on Rio 2016 Games. Entitled “Rio 2016 – How’s it looking? The challenges and the triumphs”, it takes place March 2nd in Olympia London, 11.45am.

Dennis Mills, chief executive of MEI (Major International Events), partner of EPS, told the Brasil Observer “This panel is a great platform for us to share our views on the upcoming

Olympics in Rio”. MEI has been working with Brazilian clients in the sporting events market for over five years. “We have learned many lessons that we can share,” Mills added.

Besides him, the seminar has among the panellists journalist Fernando Duarte, from BBC World Service, Marcela Caballero, business director of Expomobilia AG, and Eoghan Gill, commercial director of Sword Security.

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brasilobserver.co.uk | February 2016

Guest

Environmental tale of two Brazils

The Paris Agreement was a victory for Brazil, but great doubts remain unsettled in Brasília, writes Ilan Cuperstein

Lula Marques/Fotos Públicas

For Ilan Cuperstein, indigenous groups are responsible for the preservation of much of the national forests, but are still seen as an obstacle to “development”; in the picture, indigenous point arrows to the Presidential Palace during the Indigenous National Mobilization Week in April 2015

Ilan Cupertein is the COPPE/UFRJ representative at the China Brasil Center for Climate Change and Energy Technology Innovation

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In a year dominated by crises, Brazil’s performance at COP21 gave the country the rare opportunity to celebrate a national victory.

In the final acts of a turbulent 2015, the Paris Agreement - the highest result of the United Nations Conference on Climate Change - straightened the global climate regime in an attempt to keep global warming below two degrees Celsius. And the agreement, as US president Barack Obama said “has a Brazilian accent”. Brazil’s proposal has been almost entirely followed, and the country’s role during the negotiations was crucial to build bridges between different ideas. The irony, therefore, becomes even crueller amidst the praises: the two most present Brazilian government departments in Paris, Environment and Foreign Affairs, are among those that have been most weakened during the administration of President Dilma Rousseff.

First, let’s face the facts. After years of negotiations for a post-Kyoto Protocol regime, the need for engagement of a larger number of countries became evident, in an attempt to reduce the mistrust between developed and developing countries. The United States, for example, made it clear they were unwilling to negotiate another agreement in which China, the world’s biggest emitter of greenhouse gases since 2006, had no obligations or goals.

To achieve this universality, the idea was to introduce greater flexibility. And the instrument for this flexibility were called INDCs (Intended Nationally Determined Contributions), which should had been presented by all countries before the negotiations and in various formats – absolute targets, specific projects or implementation of public policies. In practice, INDCs followed the Brazilian proposal of “concentric differentiation”, whereby countries would gradually converge to more ambitious

and precise obligations. This proposal represented continuation of the national position of uncompromising defence of the right to development, placing higher expectations of ambitious targets for rich countries and enabling poor nations to environmental protection without the risk of sacrificing the much needed socio-economic growth.

As a leader, Brazil has set an example by being the first developing country to declare absolute targets to reduce emissions on its INDC. Brazil pledged to cut 37% of its emissions by 2025 and 43% by 2030, compared to 2005 levels, and did so without using emission projections or emissions per unit of GDP, as most developing countries did. In addition, Brazil did not condition the achievement of these goals to the access to international financing, making it clear that the goals have become comprehensive public policy and not only issue to be addressed internationally. It is worth mentioning that the goal itself is ambitious as it aims for greater use of renewable energy (45% by 2030) in an array already considered clean and the continuation of the successful program of reforestation and combating deforestation of the Amazon rainforest, which reduced its deforestation by 82% from 2004 to 2014.

The Brazilian INDC goal that generated the most criticisms was the elimination of illegal deforestation by 2030. This not only causes strangeness by the explicit admission that the law is not being followed, but it is a setback since the National Plan on Climate Change from 2007 determined as deadline to stop illegal deforestation the year of 2015. Deforestation in the Amazon, although declining, is still the largest on the world. This matter led Brazil’s Environment Minister, Izabella Teixeira, to receive the Trophy Cara de Pau (a Brazilian idiom that means the one that is shameless), delivered by the NGO Engajamundo at the Embassy of Brazil in Paris.

However, even regarding this criticism, we can celebrate another achievement of the Brazilian position: a vibrant and active participation of civil society, which composed the largest national delegation in Paris, with more than 800 people, all accredited. Despite having ample room to refine the patterns of participation in the formulation of national climate policy, Brazil’s Foreign Affairs Ministry stood out again for permanent dialogue before and during negotiations with different actors of civil society and sub national governments. This lively interaction between state and society can be understood as a cause and consequence of the role that environmental issues, and more specifically the climate change issue, reached the national scene.

If Paris was a victory, major doubts remain unsettled in Brasilia, however. Even before

paralyzing political crises seated on the Brazilian capital, the government of Dilma Rousseff had already announced the weakening of the Foreign Affairs and Environment offices. The dramatic decrease on supply to the traditional Ministry of Foreign Affairs made it practically impossible the continuation of the Brazilian leadership in several international guidelines implemented by the government of former President Lula.

The Environment Ministry, that during that government gained unprecedented prominence with strong figures such as Marina Silva and Carlos Minc, was delivered to Izabella Teixeira, a competent technical choice, but without political power to fight gigantic financial interests or claim larger shares of the federal budget.

Even the Ministry of Science and Technology, crucial for monitoring, collecting and analyzing information relating to the environment, was occupied by Aldo Rebelo, a confessed denier of manmade climate change, already proven and explained by the international scientific community. Given these movements and the fragility of President Rousseff, the so-called Bancada Ruralista (pro-agro business caucus) joined forces since the discussion of the new Forest Code and now strides to give Brazil the shameful title of the largest consumer of transgenic seeds on the world.

In another effort for social regression, the same political group tries to withdraw from the Union and give to Congress the power for demarcation of indigenous lands, evoking the colonialist and genocidal discourse that indigenous are not only unworthy of the most basic rights and reparations but also represent an obstacle for the mythical “development”. Indigenous groups at the same time suffer from social marginalization and structural and physical violence, but they are also responsible for the preservation of much of the national forests still untouched. No wonder Amazon deforestation increased by 16% last year, calling the alert to the highest Brazilian environmental achievement.

Because of this and other things, Mario Montovani, one of the most important environmental lobbyists in Congress, recently said that Dilma Rousseff presides over the “worst government in the history for the environment”. The statement seems exaggerated when we remember the military regime, which saw nature (and many of those who dwell in it) as an enemy to be defeated and conquered for development, but the criticism deserves reflection. As well as foreign policy, environmental policy today is one of the targets of the dismantling of a country project, so well dreamed and started in the first term of the Lula’s government. The Brazil from Brasília needs a little more of the Brazil from Paris to make national climate policy a convincing success.

brasilobserver.co.uk | February 2016

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brasilobserver.co.uk | February 2016

Interview

Mercosur-EU trade agreement is priority Brazilian Ambassador to the UK, Eduardo dos Santos says Brazil needs to diversify its exports

By Ana Toledo

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British interpretation of Brazil in 2016 has come without delay. The first cover of the year by The Economist was devoted to the country; in the same month, the Finance Minister, George Osborne, warned that Brazil is part of a “dangerous cocktail of new threats� led by China and its economic slowdown. Internally, the country waits for the end of Carnival to see Congress start work with an agenda full of sensitive issues, for example, the vote on the impeachment process of President Dilma

Rousseff, opened in December last year. In addition, in August this year the country will host the first Olympics held in South America, receiving more than 200 delegations in its wonderful city, Rio de Janeiro.

It is in this scenario that Eduardo dos Santos became Brazilian Ambassador to the UK at the end of 2015. In his third passage on British land, each playing a different role, Santos has already been General Secretary of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs between 2013 and 2015 and

has held the post of Brazilian Ambassador to Paraguay (2008-2012), Switzerland (2006-2008) and Uruguay (2002-2006).

Noting that, even in a recession, Brazil still has favourable points that should not be forgotten, the Ambassador gave an exclusive interview to the Brasil Observer and stressed the importance of bilateral relations with the United Kingdom in this scenario of economic turmoil as well as increased rapprochement between Mercosur and the European Union, among others subjects.

brasilobserver.co.uk | February 2016

Luís Cintra

What do you think about this new stage in your diplomatic life?

It’s my third time in the UK, but that does not mean that this new experience is a repetition of the others. Today, the role that I exercise is different and the challenges are new. The role of Brazilian Ambassador here has a special relevance because the UK is a great influence centre; the contacts diversify within the business community, academy, government, parliament, non-governmental organizations, and cultural agents. Moreover, it is a country with which Brazil has historic relations. And it is an important partner in the European Union.

You arrive here at a sensitive moment for Brazil...

Ambassador Eduardo dos Santos

The difficulties are undeniable. The country has been going through an economic transition. We had benefits from the commodities boom until recently. This allowed us to enable a very intense social program in Brazil. We strengthened the social safety net, withdrew millions brought out of poverty, we expanded the middle class and access to university.

These achievements were made possible by this situation of economic bonanza.

Today the sea is rough, but by no means have we lost the confidence of achieving the expected results and restore economic growth in a sustainable manner. This is the goal for Brazil, the government and we have great confidence that an important partner like the United Kingdom will make a contribution in terms of growth, expanding trade, technological and scientific cooperation. I think the intensification of opportunities for this relationship is very important and is what the Embassy has sought to do.

Brazil is also experiencing a tense political situation, now in February the agenda of impeachment should appear again...

This internal issue of Brazil is followed with interest by the public opinion in the UK, the government here. And, of course, it is an issue that requires our attention.

But I will not comment on that matter, because I represent the government of President Dilma Rousseff. The important thing is that Brazil shows its democratic rule of law and institutions are working, and this should motivate us to have confidence that we will overcome the challenges.

What are the possible paths for Brazil to get out of this?

It is a scenario with difficulties and challenges that Brazil will have to beat going forward with the adjustments deemed necessary in its economic policy. This has been done by the government, and has been very clear. Brazil has enormous potential, has very strong factors that give it a position to participate in the world business in a very active way. We are the seventh largest economy in the world, we have a population of over 200 million, we

are a diversified economy that exports primary products and at the same time, exports industrial products with high technological content. All this gives us confidence. Of course we suffer the impact of international crises, and also suffer the impact of domestic issues. This has forced the government to make adjustments to ensure the balance of public accounts, and ensure it is better able to strengthen trade and investment relations with other partners. This gives us tranquillity to achieve the expected goals.

How do Brazil-UK bilateral relations work?

Relations have recently suffered the impact of this crisis we are commenting, external and internal difficulties, to the point, for example, our trade suffered a significant reduction last year, I believe around 20%, maybe a little more.

Both sides, imports as exports. But the UK is traditionally an important trading partner for Brazil. In 2014, the UK was the fourth largest trading partner of Brazil in the EU. Trade with other EU states was also reduced and this is general, it happens with the other partners. The effort we have to do is also of a general nature. Strengthened relations with the European Union as a whole seek to conclude the negotiations on the EU-Mercosur trade agreement, which is a priority today for the Brazilian government, encourage diversification and improvement of our exports to the UK, incorporate more value-added exports, broaden innovation activities in our economic relations.

For years the Mercosur and the European Union have tried to reach a relevant trade agreement. Are there advances in these negotiations?

Is Argentina’s new president a favourable factor?

It is a favourable factor and from Mercosur side these negotiations have gained momentum. Both the Embassy here, as several other Embassies in the European Union has made repeated representations to the European governments to support the conclusion of these negotiations. Or rather, support the start of negotiations, because they haven’t even started. This has been promised since 1995 and it’s really frustrating to see that today we still could not achieve a result. Mercosur concluded its internal negotiations in the block and prepared a substantial offer to be submitted to the European side, which involves a considerable amount of bilateral trade. We have reached a level of ambition of 87% of trade. Europeans have already signalled an interest that such offer is improved, which is natural.

We have reiterated that the Mercosur offer should be considered a starting point.

This is a sign that we are willing to negotiate, but we cannot anticipate the completion of this quota without knowing the content and what is the way of supply on the European side, we did not have access yet. Every negotiation is a proce-

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dure whereby a part relinquishes certain purposes. And the other part as well, so we arrive at a common point. That’s our commitment.

Can you comment on the Israeli Ambassador’s indication to Brazil?

What is Brazil’s role in the Middle East?

About the problem of the Ambassador indicated by Israel to Brazil, it is not an issue of my jurisdiction. The Foreign Affairs Ministry is dealing with it because it is an internal process. Regarding the role of Brazil, the Middle East is a priority area of activity of Brazilian diplomacy. Brazil has always stood for peace and the peaceful settlement of conflicts, including the Middle East. And in the specific case of the Palestine and Israel, Brazil has always defended the two-state solution. Obviously, our ability to influence the subject is limited. We are not first rate actors within the region, but obviously Brazil believes it has a contribution to make, including the fact we have in our territory the two communities, which live peacefully and harmoniously.

Do you have any news on the Science without Borders?

We are at the point of starting the second phase of the program and I was informed that there will be some adjustments. Above all there is the expectation that there is an emphasis on post-graduation. In the first phase the emphasis was on undergraduation. The Embassy has academic cooperation sector that is dedicated to monitoring and support to students and Brazilian researchers. And besides, we have published the work of these students with the aim of bringing researchers and companies.

Have we had bad luck to have a crisis in the year of the Olympics?

Crises always happen, it is not the first time there is a crisis in Brazil or in the world. I find it very important that Brazil is hosting the Olympic Games as it will be the first time it takes place in South America, and this is a historical fact and Brazil is honoured with this opportunity. The Olympics held in Brazil means a country-wide promotional opportunity, dissemination, strengthening of our international relations. The fact that we are facing an economic crisis does not take away the confidence that the Games will be successful. The world today, in different parts, faces crises; see what is happening in Europe with the problem of immigration, the threats of terrorism, conflicts that still remain in various parts of the world. Therefore, today Brazil and South America, constituting a region of peace, unity, democracy, fraternal coexistence, development, struggle for combating poverty, has very special conditions of international affirmation and above all affirmation of credentials of Brazil as an actor dedicated to peace and international cooperation.

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brasilobserver.co.uk | February 2016

Copyleft

Where did Zika virus come from and why is it a problem in Brazil?

The link to microcephaly isn’t confirmed, but the virus has been found in amniotic fluid and brain tissue of a handful of cases

By Amy Y. Vittor, from The Conversation g www.theconversation.com

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From October 2015 to January 2016, there were almost 4,000 cases of babies born with microcephaly in Brazil. Before then, there were just 150 cases per year.

The suspected culprit is a mosquito-borne virus called Zika. Officials in Colombia, Ecuador, El Salvador and Jamaica have suggested that women delay becoming pregnant. And the Centres for Disease Control and Prevention has advised pregnant women to postpone travel to countries where Zika is active.

The World Health Organization says it is likely that the virus will spread, as the mosquitoes that carry the virus are found in almost every country in the Americas.

Zika virus was discovered almost 70 years ago, but wasn’t associated with outbreaks until 2007. So how did this formerly obscure virus wind up causing so much trouble in Brazil and other nations in South America?

Zika virus was first detected in Zika Forest in Uganda in 1947 in a rhesus monkey, and again in 1948 in the mosquito Aedes africanus, which is the forest relative of Aedes aegypti. Aedes aegypti and Aedes albopictus can both spread Zika. Sexual transmission between people has also been reported.

Zika has a lot in common with dengue and chikungunya, another emergent virus. All three originated from West and central Africa and Southeast Asia, but have recently expanded their range to include much of the tropics and subtropics globally. And they are all spread by the same species of mosquitoes.

Until 2007 very few cases of Zika in humans were reported. Then an outbreak occurred on Yap Island of Micronesia, infecting approximately 75 percent of the population. Six years later, the virus appeared in French Polynesia, along with outbreaks of dengue and chikungunya viruses.

Genetic analysis of the virus revealed that the strain in Brazil was most similar to one that had been circulating in the Pacific.

Brazil had been on alert for an introduction of a new virus following the 2014 FIFA World Cup, because the event concentrated people from all over the world.

However, no Pacific island nation with Zika transmission had competed at this event, making it less likely to be the source.

There is another theory that Zika virus may have been introduced following an international canoe event held in Rio de Janeiro in August of 2014, which hosted competitors from various Pacific islands.

Another possible route of introduction was overland from Chile, since that country had detected a case of Zika disease in a returning traveler from Easter Island.

According to research after the Yap Island outbreak, the vast majority of people (80 percent) infected with Zika virus

will never know it – they do not develop any symptoms at all. A minority who do become ill tend to have fever, rash, joint pains, red eyes, headache and muscle pain lasting up to a week. And no deaths had been reported.

However, in the aftermath of the Polynesian outbreak it became evident that Zika was associated with Guillain -Barré syndrome, a life-threatening neurological paralyzing condition.

In early 2015, Brazilian public health officials sounded the alert that Zika virus had been detected in patients with fevers in northeast Brazil. Then there was a similar uptick in the number of cases of Guillain-Barré in Brazil and El Salvador.

And in late 2015 in Brazil, cases of microcephaly started to emerge.

At present, the link between Zika virus infection and microcephaly isn’t confirmed, but the virus has been found in amniotic fluid and brain tissue of a handful of cases.

How Zika might affect the brain is unclear, but a study from the 1970s revealed that the virus could replicate in neurons of young mice, causing neuronal destruction. Recent genetic analyses suggest that strains of Zika virus may be undergoing mutations, possibly accounting for changes in virulence and its ability to infect mosquitoes or hosts.

THE SWISS CHEESE MODEL One way to understand how Zika spread is to use something called the Swiss cheese model. Imagine a stack of Swiss cheese slices. The holes in each slice are a weakness, and throughout the stack, these holes aren’t the same size or the same shape. Problems arise when the holes align.

With any disease outbreak, multiple factors are at play, and each may be necessary but not sufficient on its own to cause it. Applying this model to our mosquito -borne mystery makes it easier to see how many different factors, or layers, coincided to create the current Zika outbreak.

The first layer is a fertile environment for mosquitoes. That’s something my colleagues and I have studied in the Amazon rain forest. We found that deforestation followed by agriculture and regrowth of low-lying vegetation provided a much more suitable environment for the malaria mosquito carrier than pristine forest.

Increasing urbanization and poverty create a fertile environment for the mosquitoes that spread dengue by creating ample breeding sites. In addition, climate change may raise the temperature and/ or humidity in areas that previously have been below the threshold required for the mosquitoes to thrive.

The second layer is the introduction of the mosquito vector. Aedes aegypti and Aedes albopictus have expanded their geographic range in the past few decades.

Urbanization, changing climate, air travel and transportation, and waxing and waning control efforts that are at the mercy of economic and political factors have led to these mosquitoes spreading to new areas and coming back in areas where they had previously been eradicated.

For instance, in Latin America, continental mosquito eradication campaigns in the 1950s and 1960s led by the Pan American Health Organization conducted to battle yellow fever dramatically shrunk the range of Aedes aegypti. Following this success, however, interest in maintaining these mosquito control programs waned, and between 1980 and the 2000s the mosquito had made a full comeback.

The third layer, susceptible hosts, is critical as well. For instance, chikungunya virus has a tendency to infect very large portions of a population when it first invades an area. But once it blows through a small island, the virus may vanish because there are very few susceptible hosts remaining.

Since Zika is new to the Americas, there is a large population of susceptible hosts who haven’t previously been exposed. In a large country, Brazil for instance, the virus can continue circulating without running out of susceptible hosts for a long time.

The fourth layer is the introduction of the virus. It can be very difficult to pinpoint exactly when a virus is introduced in a particular setting. However, studies have associated increasing air travel with the spread of certain viruses such as dengue.

When these multiple factors are in alignment, it creates the conditions needed for an outbreak to start.

My colleagues and I are studying the role of these “layers” as they relate to the outbreak of yet another mosquito-borne virus, Madariaga virus (formerly known as Central/South American eastern equine encephalitis virus), which has caused numerous cases of encephalitis in the Darien jungle region of Panama.

There, we are examining the association between deforestation, mosquito vector factors, and the susceptibility of migrants compared to indigenous people in the affected area.

In our highly interconnected world which is being subjected to massive ecological change, we can expect ongoing outbreaks of viruses originating in farflung regions with names we can barely pronounce – yet. g

Amy Y. Vittor is Assistant Professor of Medicine, University of Florida

brasilobserver.co.uk | February 2016

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Marcelo Camargo/Agência Brasil

Does anyone know anything about the new BRICS bank?

Last year, representatives of organizations linked to agriculture and development of the BRICS attended seminar in Brasilia

Negotiations on how the bank will be run are taking place on a government-to-government basis, with little transparency

By Milton Leal, from Diálogo Chino | www.dialogochino.net

Despite expectations that it would begin operating in early 2016, the New Development Bank (NDB, or BRICS bank), a new lending institution set up by member countries Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa, remains something of a mystery.

Founded with the aim of developing infrastructure, the bank has no official website or even a contact email address and no one seems to know which projects the bank will allocate funding to.

Perhaps even more concerning is the fact that there is no clue as to whether the bank will establish environmental, social, labour, or human rights safeguards to protect against the impacts of the projects that its loans support.

Announced with great pomp at the 6th BRICS Summit in Fortaleza, Brazil, in July 2014, the NDB currently only has one office in Shanghai, where representatives from each country are located. Yet the bank’s initial US$50 billion of subscribed capital should make it a major new player in development finance. There are great expectations from member countries that this new source of financing can help develop sectors crucial for their growth, such as energy, telecommunications, and logistics.

However, trying to get definitive answers from representatives of the NDB is a fruitless exercise. Even the

private sector, represented through the BRICS Business Council, does not seem to have a clear idea of how the bank will be governed.

Wishing to remain anonymous, an important Brazilian business figure made it clear to Diálogo Chino that negotiations on how the bank will be run are taking place on a government-to-government basis, with little transparency or participation by civil society. “It is very tightly closed. Nobody knows anything,” said the high-ranking source.

In November of last year, the Brazilian NGO Conectas held an event in São Paulo which was intended to discuss the NDB and associated human rights and sustainability issues arising from the granting of loans. The NGO’s lawyer, Caio Borges, who has met several times with representatives from the Brazilian Ministry of Finance to discuss such matters, says that despite the openness of government technicians in welcoming him to participate in meetings, there is still nothing concrete with respect to environmental policy.

Borges adds his voice to that of Diálogo Chino’s source in suggesting that, unlike the World Bank, the NDB does not have a proper set of rules and guidelines and he expects it to examine social and environmental risks on a ‘case-bycase’ basis. “The tendency is for each

project to come to the bank with the environmental and social issues contained within the project itself,” he says.

The private sector representative to the BRICS Business Council says that there is a big discrepancy between founding countries’ attitudes to environmental impacts in infrastructure projects.

“Brazil has environmental and social legislation that is globally unsurpassed.

The BNDES [National Bank for Economic and Social development] has very advanced practices in this regard and is one of the largest development banks in the world,” the source said, adding: “Russia and China, however, want nothing to do with it. They are not interested in having complex environmental criteria.”

Part of the problem lies in creating a coordinated environmental policy framework that accounts for different regulations in each country. For example, a hydroelectric project in China may not follow the same rules as a similar venture carried out in Brazil, and either could be financed by the BRICS bank. Projects co-financed

by Brazil and Russia could breakdown because Brazilian companies would not back down on environmental problems caused by ventures in Latin American or subSaharan African countries where environmental standards are less stringent.

Paulina Garzón, Director of the China-Latin America Sustainable Invest-

ment Initiative, said she also met with representatives of the Brazilian Ministry of Finance and said that technicians admit that there is great concern about the costs of preparing projects. It is possible that the bank could include a special fund for project planning, which would factor in socioenvironmental risks. According to these officials, Garzón said, the costs that the World Bank imposes on loan recipients to calculate these risks are presently too high. Garzón also says that Brazil pressured the NDB to use Brazilian environmental standards, which have been highly praised around the world despite problems with local communities and environmental infractions committed by big infrastructure projects.

Former director general of the Asian Development Bank (ADB), Rajat Nag, said recently that the NDB will establish environmental criteria for the projects it finances. “As far as I know, the NDB is working on social and environmental safeguards, and some people from the ADB are helping,” he said.

“I would be very surprised if they ran contrary to some fundamental social and environmental principles.

I think they will be much more pragmatic. How they will do this, I don’t know, but it is exactly this that we have to monitor,” Nag added.

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brasilobserver.co.uk | February 2016

Investigation Rafael Neddermeyer/ Fotos Públicas

Impeachment’s decisive chapters Request for the removal of President Dilma Rousseff is likely to be rejected, but the government has other complications

By Wagner de Alcântara Aragão

A

After more than 30 days, the impeachment of Brazil’s President Dilma Rousseff gained prominence in the national discussion and news this February. The summer holidays and a number of episodes that have taken place since the request was granted in December by the president of the Chamber of Deputies, Eduardo Cunha, seem to have made the possibility of Rousseff ’s removal less likely. The course of events in the coming weeks will indicate, however, whether this is true or not.

The fact is that on the streets, despite the unpopularity of the president, there is not enough support for impeachment – on the contrary. The demonstrations promoted by social movements on December 16th in several cities across the country gave a demonstration that there is a considerable portion of the population willing to defend Rousseff ’s mandate, even if this same population is dissatisfied with the current government directions.

Manifestos signed by political, legal, artistic, intellectual and popular leaders rejecting the request for impeachment currently in progress also indicate consistent support for Rousseff ’s mandate. Even members of political groups not aligned to the government have condemned the attempt to take Dilma Rousseff out of the presidency.

brasilobserver.co.uk | February 2016

REACTIONS A sample of the reactions contrary to the impeachment was the Thematic World Social Forum held at the end of January in Porto Alegre, capital of Brazil’s southern state of Rio Grande do Sul. In most of the activities at the event, even those in which the central theme was not directly related to the Brazilian political situation, protests against the impeachment – from simple criticism to collective and public statements – were present.

The Brasil Observer spoke during the forum with two student leaders, representatives of a portion of the population for which turbulence like this we see today was known only through history books. For Rafael Bogoni, from the Students National Union (UNE, in Portuguese) and the Latin American and Caribbean Students Continental Organization (Oclae), and for Camila Lanes, president of the Brazilian Union of Secondary Students (UBEs), the coming months should be marked by the increasing participation of young people in political demonstrations across Brazil.

Although they do not always agree regarding the government of Dilma Rousseff, the two student leaders ensure that their movements will take to the streets to fight against the impeachment of the president. “We from UBEs are against [the removal of Dilma]. This does not mean that we are in favour of the government – there are a number of programs that need to be rethought; we cannot admit cuts [in the education budget], we will hit the streets against this too. But the request for impeachment there is no chance. We fought so hard for democracy, we know the price we paid, we cannot accept [impeachment], because there is nothing against Dilma Rousseff,” said Camila Lanes.

For Rafael Bogoni, first of all it is necessary to understand that trying to impeach president Dilma Rousseff represents, in Brazil, an advance of right and conservative forces, something similar to what has occurred in several parts of Latin America. In his evaluation, more than ever it is time for the young people not to be silent. “Students are on the street and will continue to go to the streets to stop this impeachment. This impeachment is a coup like what happened in Honduras and Paraguay, and like they tried to do in Venezuela. We must take to the streets to defend the Constitution.”

SMELL OF COUP The coup taint glued to impeachment in progress is an answer to the following question: if the majority of Brazilians, including those who have elected Dilma Rousseff, are unhappy with her second term directions, why

does the removal of the president lack massive popular support?

The label has mainly been preached by government supporters or sympathizers – and Dilma Rousseff herself, at public events, has used the definition. “Impeachment become a coup when has no legal basis. There is no legal basis because I have an unblemished life. In my past and my present there is no charge established against me,” said the president in an underground station inauguration ceremony in Salvador, in December.

That label stuck, but not only because of the rhetoric. The absence of any indication that the president has committed the crime of responsibility; the role of the right-wing opposition that does not conform to the narrow defeat in the 2014 election; speeches and attitudes of the vice-president, Michel Temer, that sound like infidelity; and reputation in the deep end of the Chamber of Deputies’ president, Eduardo Cunha, who accepted the request of impediment, are facts that have collaborated to give the movement revanchist features.

Also in the Thematic World Social Forum in Porto Alegre, in specific panel discussions on the Brazilian political conjuncture, the impeachment was treated as a clear attempted coup by the right-wing opposition.

Member of the government coalition and electoral cable of Dilma Rousseff, but also a great critic to her second term, Senator Roberto Requião, one of the speakers, defined as “absolutely ridiculous” the thesis that sustains the impeachment request (fiscal manoeuvres). “The request for Rousseff ’s impeachment comes from an insane political dispute fuelled by hatred”, he classified.

ELECTORAL COURT If the fragility of the ongoing impeachment process can give relative tranquillity to the government, it is certain that, if it overcomes this issue, the government will have another uphill battle to stay where it is.

Within the next months, the Superior Electoral Court (TSE) should return to judge the Rousseff campaign accounts of 2014. In December of that same year the accounts had been approved by the TSE, but following a lawsuit filed by the candidate of the defeated coalition Aécio Neves led investigation and trial around alleged irregularities in payments for graphic services.

The failure of campaign accounts does not automatically mean the suspension or cancellation of the election.

It opens, however, the possibility invalidation process – and, by extension, the mandate loss. Escaping impeachment by the end of March, the Dilma Rousseff government will continue to suffer threats of removal.

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brasilobserver.co.uk | February 2016

THE PROCESS

DECISIVE FACTORS

Opening | The opening of the impeachment process of President Dilma Rousseff was authorized by the president of the Chamber of Deputies, Eduardo Cunha, on December 2nd, who accepted that day a request that was filed in October by lawyers Helio Bicudo and Miguel Reale.

● Although especially in this second term Dilma Rousseff government has been facing difficulties to rely on a consistent basis in the Chamber of Deputies, it is evaluated, given the context in which the process of impeachment is being processed, the opposition will struggle to get two-thirds of plenary vote to approve the impediment of the president. ● Although passed in the Chamber, the final word will be with the Senate, where the government has achieved ma-

swaldo Corneti/ Fotos Públicas

Commission | Accepted the request, the Chamber of Deputies should create special commission to evaluate the matter. A commission came to be elected on December 8th; however, the process was annulled by the Supreme Federal Court (STF) on trial on December 17th, motivated by indirect action of unconstitutionality filed by the PCdoB (Communist Party of Brazil). A new commission shall be constituted now in February.

jority with fewer difficulties than in the lower house. ● Movements favourable to the impeachment scheduled for March 13th demonstrations across the country. The success or failure of these acts will have important role in the process. ● The mainstream media’s behaviour, which has opened more space to the impeachment supporters than its critics and contradictions, may also impact the progress of the case

Special Commission Judgement | Once constituted, to have elected president and rapporteur, the Special Commission has ten days to issue a judgement on the possibility of impeachment to be admitted.

Discussion | The opinion of the Special Commission should be read in the Chamber of Deputies. The publication should be distributed to all members.

After 48 hours, the matter will be included on the agenda of the house, for a single discussion. Five representatives from each party may speak for an hour. The rapporteur of the Special Commission may answer each one.

Voting | The opinion of the Special Commission shall be subjected to a vote. If the denunciation of impeachment is not upheld, it will be archived. Otherwise, the complaint follows and the president of the Special Commission will have 20 days to challenge it and to present evidence to support the defence.

For the impeachment to proceed, two-thirds (342) of the 513 deputies must vote in favour.

Analysis | After the deadline, with or without the defence, the Special Commission will reap the testimony of witnesses from both sides and could hear both complainants as reported. It can also make questions and confrontations. The denounced president may attend all sessions in person or send a representative to the site. The commission shall have ten days after the end of the sessions to deliver a new opinion on the merits or otherwise of the allegations of impeachment. The new judgement will also be published and included in the next session of the house to be subjected to two discussions with 48-hour interval between each other. Each party representative may speak once and for one hour.

The opinion will be voted by name.

Accusation | If the complaint is upheld, the prosecution by Chamber of Deputies will be enacted. The president will be summoned immediately by the house. It shall elect a committee of three members to monitor the trial.

President suspended | Ordered by indictment, the president is suspended from the function and has half the pay cut until the final sentence. She shall be replaced by the vice president (in this case Michel Temer). Depending on whether the accusation is of common felony or responsibility, the process will be sent to the Supreme Federal Court or the Senate.

Senate | The next step is the Senate, where there are 180 days for deliberation, led by President of the Supreme Federal Court. If two-thirds of the senators [54 of a total of 81] vote for impeachment, the president loses the mandate and her vice, Michel Temer, takes office.

Majority of state governors and mayors of capitals defend Dilma Rousseff’s mandate The threat of impeachment has surrounded Brazil’s President Dilma Rousseff since the beginning of her second term, one year ago. Several applications have been filed in the Chamber of Deputies until, in December, its president, Eduardo Cunha, accepted a request in retaliation to the government – it was signed by lawyers Helio Bicudo and Miguel Reale.

What had been just a threat became a real possibility - various segments of society began to mobilize and to publicly declare opposition to the ongoing impeachment process. The president has received, for example, the support of 16 of the 27 state governors, from various parties; mayors of 14 capitals, also of various parties, positioned against the dismissal of Dilma Rousseff.

“Brazil must respect the will of the people that gave the President of the Republic the exercise of her mandate (...) and Dilma Rousseff has demonstrated institutional rectitude and public commitment in the exercise of their functions,” says manifesto signed by the mayors. Letter from the governors points out that “is not configured any act of the president that can be typified as a crime committed.”

Countdown to Eduardo Cunha?

If the impeachment of President Dilma Rousseff seems a remote possibility, the chances of the president of the Chamber of Deputies, Eduardo Cunha, to be removed from office increases. In the back of the recess, the Supreme Federal Court (STF) will have the task of analysing and judging request made in December by the Attorney General of the Republic, Rodrigo Janot, asking the departure from the office of Congress-

man and, consequently, the condition president of the house.

Rodrigo Janot listed a number of reasons to justify the need of removing Eduardo Cunha. Facts that, in short, indicate the use of the position in favour of personal interests, criminal organization and obstruction of criminal investigations.

“Eduardo Cunha has adopted since long ago absolutely incompatible positions with the legal

process, drawing on its prerogative as Chamber of Deputies’ president solely for the purpose of self-protection by spurious action to prevent the investigation of his conduct, both in criminal sphere as in the political sphere,” Janot wrote. According to the attorney general, the measurement objective is to ensure public order to prevent new crimes and “regulate the ongoing education and enforcement of criminal law.”

brasilobserver.co.uk | February 2016

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brasilobserver.co.uk | February 2016

CONECTANDO

Future of the World Social Forum Historic meeting concludes that the WSF has reached a deadlock.

It’s necessary to include new political players

By Bia Barbosa, from Intervozes – Brazil Social Communication Collective

E

Ended on January 23rd, the World Social Forum - besides celebrating 15 years of the process that began in 2001 in Porto Alegre, capital of Brazil’s southern state of Rio Grande do Sul - had as a goal to discuss the prospects for the continuity of this global dialog.

This reflection hasn’t started now. Four years ago the organizations that comprise the WSF International Council (IC) had already found that the space was losing relevance and the ability to formulate agendas and articulations in a global dimension. Something that is very different from what happened in 2003, when an international call for peace made on the stage of the WSF in Porto Alegre, on the eve of Iraq’s invasion, took millions to the streets worldwide. Today the obstacles are many.

The world has changed a lot since then, as well as the forms of civil society organization. The WSF, however, has failed to follow these changes. Currently, besides internal difficulties regarding the agglutination of the progressive field, the so-called anti-globalization movement (or alterworldist, from the slogan ‘another world

is possible’) faces a more complex external environment, and a stronger enemy.

“The cruising speed that capitalism has achieved in its expansion is leading the world to the precipice. The system has become a crazed production machine, is utterly insatiable. A machine that needs to continually produce and make profits, destroys what lies ahead. If the dam bursts in name of more profits, there is no problem,” said Chico Whitaker, from the Justice and Peace Commission, one of the builders of the WSF process, referring to Samarco’s environmental crime in Mariana, in Brazil’s south-eastern state of Minas Gerais. “It is a system in crisis, but that dominates the global communication and makes everyone to believe that another world is neither possible nor necessary, that there is nothing to do”.

Despite the drawbacks of capitalism, it still is the force that holds the political, economic and ideological hegemony, argued Givanilton Pereira, secretary for international relations of the Workers of Brazil Central (CTB, in Portuguese). In

g

the last convergence debate at the forum, the union leader recalled that the WSF was originally articulated against the capitalism purposes, producing investigative reports and mobilizations. “We socialized the critical awareness for people to fight and resist against the capital barbarism. And the ‘another world is possible’ policy became an inspiration for the struggles across the planet,” he said.

Divergent views and changes in the global environment, however, have hampered the capacity to develop a response equal to the current global challenges. For Oded Grajew, another activist from the beginnings of this process and currently at Rede Nossa São Paulo (or Our São Paulo Network), the WSF is in crisis, as well as the associations that participate in it. “We must recognize our responsibility for this crisis. We can only rebuild the forces of another world and confront neo-liberalism if we recognize our mistakes, if we make a sincere reflection on them and build other forms of giving legitimacy to our actions. If we

cannot change, there will be very few people with us,” warned Grajew.

POSSIBLE FUTURE The diagnosis is hard, but there are possible ways to face it. The presence of 15,000 people at the Thematic Social Forum in Porto Alegre has shown that, despite all its limitations, the WSF carries an anti-neoliberal legacy that accumulated legitimacy to articulate organizations and movements with profound theoretical and political knowledge of the fields in which they operate, as well as great practical experience, as Pereira recalled.

For the CTB’s leader, with a welldefined strategy, this important social political front may have a greater role in the fight against capitalism.

“But for that, we must increase WSF’s political base and forge common goals. This can maximize its energy, increasing the forum’s unifying capacity and its transforming power. This is a required update in order to face the geopolitical transition

brasilobserver.co.uk | February 2016

19

Aline Baker/Ciranda

15,000 people joined the forum in Porto Alegre

underway”, analysed Pereira.

“We have to consider that there are new political players getting organised, such as young people who have occupied schools in São Paulo, the young people who go to fight against the increase in public transportation fares, the fighting in Africa and Latin America against all forms of oppression. It is important to absorb this rich experiences and it is necessary that WSF becomes the articulation space for all these fights,” said Dennis de Oliveira, a professor at the University of São Paulo and a member of the group of anti-racist activists Quilombação.

It is time, therefore, to involve the numerous and plural political figures who have been leading the peoples’ resistance in the territories and who have expanded the agenda of struggles. To cope with this task, WSF depends on the choices to be made along the way.

One of them, and that is always reason for controversy, is whether the WSF should or should not be a decision-making space, with referrals and concrete guidance to par-

ticipants made after each global meeting – that now occur every two years, one of the changes made in the course of these 15 years as a response to political and financial difficulties that the social movements have to face to meet annually on a global scale.

“We seek new formats in order to make the forum able to directly implement some of its proposals. Dreams must to have their own tools. We hope WSF can build its own,” said Cesare Otonini, from AIH/Italy.

INTERNAL AND EXTERNAL ISSUES The challenge, however, goes beyond the inclusion of new political actors and the creation of a more efficient decision -making process. It goes through the whole operation of the WSF, including the responsibilities of each member organization of the International Council (composed with more than 100 entities) and the internal democracy of the organism.

“It is possible to revitalize this spa-

ce. We are moving forward, with much of the next WSF being made by young people in Canada, since the IC oxygenation challenge involves the youth,” said Rogerio Pantoja, from the Central Workers Union (CUT, in Portuguese) and member of the IC. Finally, we must also connect the internal challenges with the external process experienced by progressive governments globally – and particularly in Latin America –, which came to power with significant support of organizations and movements participating in the WSF. “We cannot untie our questions with dilemmas, conflicts and limitations that these governments have had and are now implying in the defeats that we are having in the region. Such impasses are the result of a contradictory relationship of these governments with the capitalist general order, since they used the capitalism tools to implement a series of public policies,” criticized Nalu Faria, from Marcha Mundial das Mulheres (or Women World March). “So we have not just a re-articulation of the imperial forces to fi-

ght in our continent, but also the incorporation and co-optation of our demands under the capitalism speech,” she added.

The militant energy and the will to build struggles side by side, which animated the discussions in Porto Alegre, is the basis for the conduct of this complex and very confrontational transition process.

“The future depends on how we articulate all these issues,” Faria concluded. g

This article was produced for the shared communication coverage of the Thematic Social Forum held in Porto Alegre on January 2016 CONECTANDO is a project developed

by Brasil Observer aiming to enhance experiences of ‘glocal’ communication. In partnership with universities and social movements, our goal is to bring local content for a global audience. To participate, write to contato@brasilobserver.co.uk

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brasilobserver.co.uk | February 2016

SPECIAL

Heading for a major celebration in Rio First athlete to achieve the distance ‘triple-double’, Mo Farah wants more

By Samuel Green, from Rio 2016 Portal www.rio2016.com

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Mo Farah has confounded expectations throughout his life. When he arrived in Britain as an immigrant from war-torn Somalia, eight years old and speaking hardly any English, few could have imagined he would become a national hero. When he failed to qualify for the 5000m final at the Beijing 2008 Olympic Games, few could have imagined he would go on to become one of the greatest distance runners of all time.

Two Olympic gold medals, five world championship titles and a wax model at London’s Madame Tussauds later, Farah’s place among the elite of world sport is cemented. At last year’s world championships in Beijing, Farah became the first athlete to do the distance ‘triple-double’ – win-

ning the 5,000m and 10,000m crowns at the Olympic Games and two world championships in succession.

Now Farah is determined to reach the stratosphere at the Rio 2016 Olympic Games, where he plans to defend both his titles. “This is what I’m training for every day,” he said in an exclusive interview with Rio2016.com. And if he achieves the ‘quadruple-double’ and his good friend Usain Bolt delivers the ‘triple-triple’ (three consecutive 100m, 200m and 4x100m golds) in Brazil, it seems there will be a major celebration.

A devout Muslim, Farah has become a role model for immigrants in Britain. But his inspirational effect is universal and he is a proud Briton, a proud Londoner and a proud Arsenal fan.

brasilobserver.co.uk | February 2016

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How are your preparations for Rio 2016 going?

I’m currently in Ethiopia for an altitude training camp. Running at high altitude means the body can carry more oxygen and it’s an important part of endurance training. I will stay here until the Glasgow Indoor Grand Prix on 20 February, after that I return to the US and will continue to prepare for Rio over the summer.

What will be the main challenges to overcome and pitfalls to avoid on the road to Rio? The main thing for me is to stay injury free so that I am able to follow my usual training programme – straying from my schedule complicates things and I’ve got to be focused on Rio every day. A big personal challenge is spending so much time away from my wife and kids, it doesn’t get any easier over the years, in fact, it gets harder!

How does it feel to be the only athlete to have completed the distance ‘triple-double’?

I’m very happy with my gold medals from London, Moscow and Beijing.

None of them were easy and being able to win and then defend my titles meant a lot to me. Any international win for an athlete is something to be proud of, but it feels special to make history on the world stage. I’m putting my body through hell every day to make sure I do myself proud in Rio. At the start of your career, did you believe you could be so successful?

It took me a very long time and a lot of hard work to reach this level. You have to put in the time – month after month, year after year. When I first started out I had no idea of what was to come, I was still dreaming of becoming a footballer! Athletics has changed my life and shaped my world, it’s given me great discipline over the mind and body. It’s also given me the opportunity to provide for my family and to make sure my children have all the chances I may not have had when I was growing up.

Mo Farah won the 5,000m and 10,000m crowns at the Olympic Games and two world championships in succession

When you arrived in Britain, aged eight and speaking very little English, could you ever have imagined how your life and career would develop?

No, at that time I didn’t even know what competitive running was! When I was young I absolutely loved football and wanted to play for Arsenal. I had never really considered running until my PE teacher, Alan Watkinson, recognised my talent for athletics. Thanks to him and his support, I was able to win quite a few English Schools titles whilst I was still at school. It was only when I won the European Junior 5000m Championships in 2001 that I thought I could do this professionally.

How did your experience as an immigrant – and having come from a war-torn country – influence your development as a person and an athlete?

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I don’t really remember too much about Somalia as I was so young. But I and my family felt so at home in the UK because the people there are so welcoming, it is a truly multi-cultural society. It’s where I grew up, it’s where I went to school. I am proud of my dual heritage and proud to be British – when I run, I run for Great Britain.

2015 must also have been a difficult year, with the controversy surrounding your coach (Alberto Salazar, who strenuously denied doping allegations made against him) – how did this affect you?

It’s been frustrating to be pulled into it and it isn’t something I want to go through again but I just put my head down and got on with my training and two gold medals in Beijing was the result. So really last year was a great year for me.

Looking back on the London 2012 Games now, what are your clearest memories and strongest emotions?

I remember the roar of the crowd when I was on the last lap, it was a great feeling to have 80,000 people pushing me to win, shouting my name.

Can you do a ‘quadruple-double’ by defending your titles in Rio? Who will be your main challengers?

This is what I’m training for every day.

I expect my main challengers to be the same as the last few years, mostly athletes from Kenya and Ethiopia. There are always incredibly talented runners in both the 5k and 10k.

What do you think Rio will be like as an Olympic host city?

I’ve never been to Rio but I can’t wait, everyone has told me how beautiful the beaches are and how the people are so friendly. Brazil is famous for its football so hopefully I’ll get a chance to take a break from running and improve my dribbling! Even though I’ll be thousands of miles away from London, I know I will still have that support from home, and that keeps me going.

How did your friendship with Usain Bolt develop and will you celebrate together if you both achieve your goals in Rio? Usain and I have grown up together in athletics, under the spotlight, and he understands what it takes. We have known each other for over 10 years now. I wish him all the best for Rio, if we both win I’m sure we’ll throw a huge party!

What will you do after the Rio Games?

In 2017 we have the world championships in London – that will probably be my next target. I’m undecided, but maybe after that I will move to the roads and marathon. I will have to wait and see how the rest of the year plays out.

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brasilobserver.co.uk | February 2016

The last ‘adiós’ P Portuguese poet Fernando Pessoa taught us “the value of things is not the time they last, but the intensity with which they occur”. So after a brilliant career of nearly 20 years, the Orquesta Buena Vista Social Club – as it is currently named – comes to London for its farewell tour, Adiós Tour, on April 6th at The O2 Arena, under the illustrious leadership of Omara Portuondo and Eliades Ochoa, members of the first generation of this iconic Cuban group.

“Although it is a farewell, I want to keep singing for years to come,” said Omara Portuondo to the Brasil Observer. The Cuban singer and dancer began her artistic career in groups like Cabaret Tropicana and Cuarteto d’Aida, and at the height of her 84 years old she continues to impress and amuse with energetic performances.

The Brazilian public, by the way, should remember: Omara toured around Brazil in 2008, along with Brazilian singer Maria Bethania, with whom she released a live DVD. Buena Vista Social Club was a dance club for members in the city of Havana that became a popular meeting point for musicians during the 1940s. Almost 50 years after its closure, already in the 1990s, the club inspired a recording made

by Cuban musician Juan de Marcos González and the American guitarist Ry Cooder, who managed to bring together several traditional Cuban musicians, including some who had played at the club in its heydays. Members of the group were found in the most unlikely places, such as the shoe shiner Ibrahim Ferrer, immortalized by his romantic duets with Omara Portuondo before he died in 2005. The band was a breath of hope in a Cuba suffering with the fall of the Soviet Union and the US embargo. And soon it achieved international fame.

The first album, Buena Vista Social Club, was released in 1997 and had more than nine million copies sold worldwide. Success also outlined after the German director Wim Wenders (Wings of Desire) won an Oscar with the documentary with the same name, Buena Vista Social Club, which depicts the first concerts of the band in Berlin and New York, as

brasilobserver.co.uk | February 2016

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Iconic group from Cuba Orquesta Buena Vista Social Club comes to London for its farewell tour

By Gabriela Lobianco

Alejandro Gonzalez

well as interviews in Havana. The history of the group also has other two albums, one recorded live (Buena Vista Social Club at Carnegie Hall) and one with exclusive tracks that were saved in archives (Lost and Found). “I can only thank the many years of care and affection by the public,” acknowledged Portuondo.

The band had to deal, however, with the deaths of the oldest members, as Ibrahim Ferrer, Compay Segundo and Ruben Gonzalez.

“For a long time now we have been accompanied by very talented young musicians, such as pianist Rolando Luna and singers Carlos Calunga and Idania Valdez,” explained Portuondo.

In this new formation, veterans and novice artists pack the biggest hits of the orchestra during nearly two-hour of concert, as I could witness in the presentation they made in Cork, Ireland, in 2013. The Latin beat pulsates and, without realizing it, we are dancing as the musicians on stage. It is impossible not to remember songs like “Candela”, “Chan Chan” or “Dos Gardenias” from the very moment that the first chords echo of metallic instruments conducted by more than 40 musicians who make up the troupe. However, not only old hits feed the show: Rolando Luna stands out with a beautiful interpretation on the piano of “Como Siento Yo” and Jesus ‘Aguaje’ Ramos enlightens us with a unique trombone solo in “Bodas de Oro”.

Eliades Ochoa, another star of the earlier composition, dominates the stage at one point with his cowboy-style clothing to play “Guajira El Carretero”.

Portuondo hopes the audience in London to be equally intense and beautiful as other times they were in the UK. “Our audience is very diverse and with the Adiós Tour I realized that the people who accompany us for many years now attend the show with their families and children,” she said. “I invite everyone and promise a very special concert for this farewell.”

The end is close. The last presentation of the band in Havana also occurs in April. But perhaps fans can still have a glimmer of hope for a return. After all, as the song says: Siempre que te pregunto/ Que, cuándo, cómo y donde/ Tú siempre me respondes/ Quizás, quizás, quizás. Who knows?

From left to right: Eliades Ochoa, Barbarito Torres, Omara Portuondo, Guajiro Mirabal and Jesus ‘Aguaje’ Ramos

Orquesta Buena Vista Social Club When: April 6th Where: The O2 Arena Price: £42,50 – £113,25 Info: www.comono.co.uk

I can only thank the many years of affection Omara Portuondo

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brasilobserver.co.uk | February 2016

TIPS

MUSIC Divulgation

Zeu Azevedo

Getting into the Forró culture In its fifth edition, the Forró London Festival offers a rare opportunity to immerse into one of Brazil’s most popular rhythms. Participants have the chance to learn how to dance in a series of workshops and trying new moves at parties that happen in places like Guanabara, Grace Bar

and Stoke Newington Hall. Among the musical attractions are Geraldinho Lins, Os 3 Do Nordeste, Luiz Bernardo, Zeu Azavedo and ForroBamba. The festival is led and organized

by Carlos Andre, who for more than 12 years teaches the steps of forró for a diverse audience.

Forró London Festival When: 25-28 February Where: Various locations Entrance: £89 (weekend pass) Info: www.forro.co.uk

Criolo is highlight at Latin music festival La Linea Festival has built a respectable reputation bringing to London prominent names in Latin music.

And this year is no exception. In April, the British capital receives the Brazilian rapper Criolo, the Portuguese fado singer Ana Moura, the Cuban singer Daymé Arocena and Chilean cumbia band Chico Trujillo, among other attractions. In addition to playing in London, on April 24th, at Koko, Criolo will also perform in other English cities: Cambridge (21/4), Bristol (22/4), Leeds (23/4), Brighton (25 / 4) and Manchester (26/4).

La Linea Festival When: 19-27 April Where: Various locations Entrance: From £12 Info: www.comono.co.uk

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Criolo

brasilobserver.co.uk | February 2016

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EXHIBITION Divulgation

Mario Cravo Neto: ‘A Serene Expectation of Light’ The work of the Brazilian photographer Mario Cravo Neto explores the cultural heritage of Bahia, like Candomblé and its African roots. The exhibition – the first in solo format in the UK – comprises two series, ‘The Eternal Now’, in black and white, produced in the 1980s and 1990s, and ‘Laróyé’, coloured, produced in the 2000s, during the latter part of Cravo Neto’s career (he died in 2009). The first combines human beings with inanimate objects and animals, while the second depicts the urban life in Salvador.

Rosângela Rennó:

When: 15 January – 2 April Where: Autograph ABP, Rivington Place, London EC2A 3BA Entrance: Free Info: www.autograph-abp.co.uk

Claudio Tozzi:

‘Rio-Montevideo’

‘New Figuration and the Rise of Pop Art’

The first solo exhibition of Brazilian artist Rosângela Rennó in the UK presents images of photojournalist Aurelio Gonzales and uses 20 analogue projectors.

Taken between 1957 and 1973, the pictures were hidden in the walls of the then office of the Communist newspaper El Popular before the military coup in Uruguay, and were discovered by chance 30 years later.

Rennó highlights the stories of a time of upheaval in that country and in Latin America, debating national amnesia phenomenon caused by the censorship imposed by the military regimes.

The exhibition focuses on the key work of the Brazilian painter, designer and visual programmer Claudio Tozzi career, between 1967 and 1971, one of the most repressive periods of the Brazilian military dictatorship (1964-1985). To produce art that could circumvent censorship, and also avoid punishment, Tozzi and others were forced to adopt different techniques that usually ended up polarizing artists and curators. The work of Tozzi, predominantly around urban and social conflicts themes, throws a particular light on the politics of the Brazilian Pop Art that time.

‘Stone Valley’ In ‘Stone Valley’, the Swiss-Brazilian photographer Julieta Schildknecht creates a metaphorical dialogue between the environmental transformation of today and the man’s relationship with nature. Its layered images generate surreal situations that can be seen both as perception and memory issues as how to change between physical and mental landscapes. Layers are an accumulation of random, fragmentary and subjective impressions, more surrealistic than naturalistic representations of nature, in a continuous search for a geo-cultural consistency.

When: 23 January – 24 March Where: Cecilia Brunson Projects, Bermondsey Street, London SE1 3GD Entrance: Free Info: www.ceciliabrunsonprojects.com

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When: 22 January – 3 April Where: The Photographers’ Gallery, 16-18 Ramillies St, London W1F 7LW Entrance: Free before 12pm; £2,50 advanced; £3 door Info: www.thephotographersgallery.org.uk

Julieta Schildknecht:

When: 27 January – 22 February Where: Sala Brasil, 14-16 Cockspur Street, London SW1Y 5BL Entrance: Free Info: www.culturalbrazil.org

PERFORMANCE When: 12 February – 6 March Where: Barbican Theatre Entrance: £32–£42 Info: www.barbican.org.uk

Divulgation

The Encounter

A sound journey to the depth of Amazon In ‘The Encounter’, Simon McBurney takes us to the Amazon humid depths in a narrative that has the evolving presence of binaural technology. In 1969, the photographer Loren McIntyre was lost in a remote part of the Brazilian rainforest during a search by Mayoruna people. Mixing scenes from his own life with the details of the journey of McIntyre, McBurney incorporates objects and sound effects for this performance in solo format that seeks to recreate a tropical landscape. Broadcast direct to the public through headphones, an innovative sound connects to the power of imagination, instigating our perceptions of time, communication and awareness.

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brasilobserver.co.uk | February 2016

Columnists FRANKO FIGUEIREDO

Living in fear Are gated communities contrary to what democracy is all about?

Reproduction

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Franko Figueiredo is artistic director and associate producer of StoneCrabs Theatre Company

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As we become more connected through a virtual world, are we getting more disconnected to real life? As we become global citizens, are we actually erecting more walls and borders that push us away from our fellow citizens?

Last December, while in Brazil, I reconnected with a friend who I hadn’t seen for 30 years. We had found each other in a WhatsApp group and arranged to meet at her mother’s flat in one of those “all singing, all dancing” gated communities in Brazil.

I grabbed some presents and set off in a taxi. Arriving at the place, there were four entry gates, each with their own security system and a dedicated porter. Only after answering a series of questions, phone-calls made, identity cards provided, names added to a special guest book and my wrists sealed with a colourful paper bracelet, I was allowed entrance. I felt as if I was paying a visit to the Queen of England or going through an airport’s border control. I was overwhelmed, which didn’t make me feel at all welcome.

The place was huge, almost a little town in size and full of commodities! There were seventeen high-rise buildings or “towers”, as they refer to them. Each complex of three towers had its own swimming pool, cinema, restaurants and the rest. My friend and her family waited for us at their designated restaurant by a lovely pool.

We had started enjoying a drink and a good talk when we were abruptly stopped: my friend had invited a few others and her mother was being told that she had gone over her “monthly quota of friends” for the restaurant pool area.

I was really taken aback by that, and quickly asked what was the “monthly allowance” for friends? The porter solemnly answered: “four”.

“Wow! To live in such an exclusive place and have a monthly pool allowance of four friends, how generous!” – I was shocked; the whole thing seemed absurd.

You could easily see it as a stage set for Gary Owen’s dystopian play, The Drowned World, where he presents a world divided between citizens and non-citizens, the beautiful and the repellent, the pure and the foul and warped violence reigns.

Oddities apart, we managed to have a fantastic evening together. Nonetheless, the episode alerted me to the fact that, over the last decade, there has been a significant increase in the number of gated communities within Brazil; and whether or not they are safer than properties without fencing is an important debate: Is this rapid growth of gated communities contrary to what democracy is all about?

Residents will defend and try to prove the advantages of living within a gated community on the increased need of “security”. However, I am not convinced. It feels like an easy response to the perceived fear of “the others” and the desire for status, after all, some of these places are being marketed as “residential resorts”, even though they seem more like glamorised residential prisons.

I won’t deny that Brazil has had an alarming increase of crime, and that the abductions of affluent people, with ransom notes that often include dismembered body parts increasingly common. Brazilians do seem to live in fear.

The news is constantly pushing reports of awful crimes which would scare any living being from leaving their home, so it doesn’t surprise me that the number of residents living in gated communities doubled to over 1 million; I would probably feel the same way, because you are almost conditioned to be fearful of everything.

Equally, there is something masochistic about this attitude: it is the violence, lawlessness and kidnappings that get the highest ratings on TV. People seem to secretly enjoy living in fear, either perpetrating or being victims of it.

There is no concrete data that proves or disproves that gated communities promise a higher level of security or decreased crime rates.

However, many believe that gated communities cut down on crime, because security gates provide limited access to non-residents, and I get that; gated communities seem to not only provide a solid physical barrier, but also act as a psychological deterrent for would-be criminals.

Nevertheless, the integrity of a gated community is only as strong as the integrity of the people that live within it. You shouldn’t assume that just because a community is surrounded by a security fence and gate that only law-abiding people live among the property. This sense of security is mostly psychological and false; in fact, many security firms have been known to rake in huge money by making people feel fearful through fabricating bogus crimes.

By separating apartment complexes and entire neighbourhoods with fences, it prevents the community from coming together as a whole, which is well known to deter crime.

One of the most efficient crimes deterrent in the UK is the “neighbourhood watch”, the largest voluntary crime prevention scheme where civilians agree together to keep an eye on one another’s properties, patrol the street, and report suspicious incidents to law enforcement.

Most streets in the UK where residents adopted such an approach have had fewer or almost no crimes and burglary than those who didn’t.

It is a complex issue, and my perspective is that of an outsider, but I believe we are given free will to help create our realities. At the moment, we just bow to archaic ways of resolving deep entrenched problems that only create more problems. We keep segregating when we ought to be sharing. Instead of trying to understand the root-cause of the violence and take humane action to resolve it, we close our eyes and hope that someone else will deal with the problem. But guess what? The problem will only grow bigger until each citizen decides to take responsibility for it.

Gated communities are nothing but an expression of increased inequality and increased uneasiness in accepting diversity, in accepting the other.

brasilobserver.co.uk | February 2016

MARCUS FAUSTINI

The ghetto stands out Marcello Dughettu is part of a generation that comes from the periphery and put down the flag on the city’s map

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To learn more about Marcello Dughettu, follow him on Facebook (/marcello.silva.7).

Marcus Faustini is a writer and creator of the Youth Network Agency, which works in Rio, London and Manchester, and the Home Theatre Festival, held in Rio and London

AQUILES REIS

Nothing more beautiful Thoughts on Regina Machado new album, dedicated to the work of Tom Zé

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Aquiles Reis is a musician, vocalist of the iconic Brazilian band MPB4

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The amount of characters that emerged in the history of Rio de Janeiro with deep relationship with the city is still a great mark of its identity. Popular artists, intellectuals, writers, leaders, outstanding figures of a generation or time, bohemians, rebels, bold entrepreneurs etc. Whether from the elite or poor communities, the history of Rio is told by the story of the characters that create the narrative of the city. From conflicts to celebrations. From Cartola to João do Rio (one of the most emblematic). From Prata Preta to Jovelina Pérola Negra.

Over the past eight years, on the wave of changes that happened in the country and, above all, because of the modifications in the process of major events realization, the city became home to a new breed of characters. From critical emerging figures to ones that feed from the consolidated “carioca” imaginary. The big news is a generation that comes from the periphery, the suburbs, and put down the flag on the city’s map. Marcello Dughettu is one of these characters.

Dughettu is a rapper and entrepreneur, and took a risk joining the government (City Hall) creating the Instituto Eixo Rio (or Rio Axis Institute), which aims to integrate the urban culture to government spheres, generating and fostering joint actions. He heeded the call from the mayor and articulated a new place for the urban scene and the suburbs. He succeeded; a lot of things were created from this action, despite the typical difficulties of the government. Now he is on another endeavour. In a joint action with the market, he just created a space in Madureira – a classic suburb of Rio. Leveraging the Madureira Park, Dughettu created a kind of producer, show house and coexistence space that brings together artists, musicians and activists of the hip hop scene. The DUTO, name of the initiative, puts the urban scene from the suburb at a level of dispute with the most privileged places in town.

Dughettu is aware of what he is doing and emerges as a character in the current history of the city for the courage of his work, doing unusual transits. His lines are conscious, like his songs: “To be in government meant to reverse the logic of public power to power for the public. Interfere inside to articulate the city’s movements. My position was not for a political party or ideology, was to create a new way of getting closer to the city’s movements, seeking a new, more authentic connection with the government. It was a learning exercise as a citizen, as a professional, to understand that the government is a tough ship to turn, but when you turn it takes a lot of people. The private sector is a fast boat, but it takes less people.”

“The DUTO is a space to renovate the idea of creativeness. All spaces that legitimized the creativity of the suburb were in the richer areas of the city. The possibility of having a space that brings visibility, a structure, and strengthens an aesthetic on the outskirts opens the menu for creativity to be legitimized in the very periphery. If we can evolve as an artist, changing our territory and strengthening the partners, we reach a powerful tripod. It is ghetto standing out”.

“When a black artist speaks in first person, the market feels intimidated. We have many black artists, but few blacks taking care of their career. The music market is still white. Black artists are a list on the worksheet, I do not want to be an artist on the list, I want to be the spreadsheet. I think we’re getting to do this by taking steps to put behind the stage a guy like us too.

In the coming years we will have many unfolding in this world. Rap has turned white in Brazil. Rap is something about skin. The conquest of black rap space is our challenge, not just empower the genre, you need to empower artists.

The rap universe in Brazil is significant, but we still have few black artists recognized”.

At the end of 2015, São Paulo singer-songwriter Regina Machado launched at end of 2015 the album Multiplicar-se Única – Canções de Tom Zé (Canto Discos), dedicated to the work of Antonio Jose Santana Martins, the extraordinary and always surprising Brazilian singer-songwriter Tom Zé.

With production and arrangements by Dante Ozzetti, the work begins with “Lua-Gira-Sol”. Ozzetti opens the introduction with an acoustic guitar solo.

Soon the drums (Sergio Reze) join him, creating percussive effects. Regina then sings (and enchants): Lua uva/ Lua nova/ Lua noiva, ô luar (or, literally translating: Grape moon/ New moon/ Bride moon, oh moonlight). There is an electric guitar (Dante Ozzeti), bass (Zé Alexandre Carvalho) and drums riff that is repeated throughout the instrumental arrangement and add pepper to the sauce of the song. That’s when, thanks to the arrangement of Dante Ozzetti and the voice of Regina Machado, the melodies and lyrics of Tom Zé begin to rediscover their early origins.

This start is only part of the fine aesthetic and musical concepts implemented by Dante Ozzetti along the nine tracks of the album. With the subtleness of a properly voice emission, both treble and bass, Regina’s fine tuning and accurate sense to divide the melodic phrases bare the songs’ fortune chosen by her and Silvia Ferreira.

“Multiplicar-se Única”, which gives its title to the album, comes next. The guitar (Norberto Vinhas) “bumps” in notes that serve as background for ad libtum singing of Regina. The keyboard and percussion (Guilherme Kastrup) soon have the enhancement of acoustic box songs. The guitar then breaks out, distorting the notes. Regina sings: No ar/ O som da voz/ Canta por nós/ Cordas vocais/ Sem cais, cordas ou nós (or: In the air/ The voice’s sound/ Sing for us/ Vocal

cords/ Without pier, strings or us). The drums accentuate the march in the box, the guitar makes firm chords, and percussion takes over.

Bass (Zé Alexandre Carvalho) and guitar (Dante Ozzetti) govern the beginning of “O Amor é VelhoMenina”. The beautiful music by Tom Zé grows in Regina’s treble. Driven by percussion (Guilherme Kastrup), the rhythm arrives. The acoustic guitar (Dante Ozzetti) gives the harmonic ground to the verses: O amor zomba dos anos/ O amor anda nos tangos/ No rastro dos ciganos/ No vão dos oceanos (or: Love mocks the years/ Love walks on tangos/ On the gypsies’ trails/ On the oceans’ vains).

“Menina Jesus” has a rhythm chained by the acoustic guitar (Dante Ozzetti) and programming settings (Guilherme Kastrup). The rhythm remains until the end of this epic song, accompanied by the beautiful sound of a clarinet (Maria Beraldo Bastos).

The honour to the city of São Paulo “Augusta, Angelica e Consolação” has special vocal participation of Suzana Salles and Wandi Doratiotto. The collective arrangement, with tenor and seven strings acoustic guitar, tuba and clarinet, cavaquinho and percussion, wears the reference to Adoniran Barbosa and Paulo Vanzolini, two great samba singer-songwriters from Brazil’s biggest city.

Minimalist “Solidão” has a sad bassoon (Ronaldo Pacheco) and footsteps and ambient sounds that sometimes sharply cut the corner as when interrupt the way on the last syllable of the word telefone: Solidão/ Olha a casa é sua/ O telefo.../ Solidão... (or: Loneliness/ See the house is yours/ The telepho... / Loneliness...).

Only and nothing more than the beautiful voice of Regina Machado and unmistakable arrangements of Dante Ozzetti. Nothing so beautiful. Nothing beyond Tom Zé.

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brasilobserver.co.uk | February 2016

LONDON BY

suggest starting by Hampstead. Despite being one of the most expensive neighbourhoods in the city, with homes valued at 20 million pounds, you pay nothing to walk around its streets and alleys full of shops, cafes and pubs. Among them, I highlight three: Holly Bush, Spaniard’s Inn and Flask Tavern, the latter being the one with the best food. There is also a trailer that sells the best crepe in London – always with giant queues.

Do you know who lived here? George Orwell, Charles Dickens, Byron, Keats, Coleridge, Agatha Christie, among others. The house where lived the Romantic poet John Keats, by the way, is now a museum and literary centre.

Another place worth visiting is the Burgh House, with museum and café, in a simply beautiful place. From Hampstead Tube Station, you can walk to Hampstead Heath Park, the largest and most beautiful of London with over 170 species of birds, Henry Moore sculptures, panoramic city views and several lakes very well used during the summer.

It is also worth visiting Kenwood House, a neoclassical mansion with many stories to tell which is just north of the park. Admission is free. And there are works by Rembrandt (one of his self-portraits, inclusive), Vermeer, Turner and Van Dyck. Movies like Notting Hill and Belle, for example, had several scenes recorded at Kenwood House.

If you get hungry, you can have lunch in the park’s café, which provides hot meals and sandwiches and the famous English cakes, not forgetting the delicious tea. Right next door is a small shop that sells various items for those who enjoy gardening, biking and picnicking. But that’s just a taste of what Hampstead and other districts in North London have to offer.

Little Venice Laura Nolte/Flickr

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Much of London’s charm is a result of its cultural diversity. The coolest thing to do here is to embrace this apparent confusion of the most international city on the world and feel its energy. Walk the streets and absorb the aromas, listen to its music, observe the customs, the way of being of Londoners and migrants who live here. Everything is the result of a fascinating mixture of peoples, creeds, cuisine, fashion, architecture. It’s amazing how many different languages we hear daily on the streets, restaurants, buses, shops and underground. Although English is the official language, more than 300 languages are spoken in London!

Without being parochial, since I live in the region, North London is to me one of the most beautiful areas of the city. Here we have a perfect mix of what is best in London with a countryside touch. For those who have time, I recommend touring around Highgate, Muswell Hill, Belsize Park, Hampstead, Camden, Primrose Hill, and St John’s Wood.

One of the most delightful walks to do when the weather permits is along the Regent’s Canal. I often go from Camden to Little Venice by the edge of the canal, through Primrose Hill, Regent’s Park and Abbey Road. Along the way there are several unexpected attractions.

For those who find the walk very demanding, there are alternatives: cycling, kayaking, boats and punting, the ones like gondolas, with a rower at one end and a musician in another – romantic, isn’t it? I’ve seen a lot of white brides and grooms in tails doing this tour.

There are tastes for everything!

And what can we not see in London anyway?

If you already know London and want to escape the obvious tours, I

Back Lane, Hampstead Laura Nolte/Flickr

Monica O’May explains why North London is one of the most beautiful areas of the city

Christopher Chan/Flickr

Finding the north

Support for Brazilians arriving in London to stay or travel. Personalised and guided tours. (www.inlondonlondon.com) WhatsApp: +447720879247 Instagram: london.london.guia

Keenwood House

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Moelock/Flickr

brasilobserver.co.uk | February 2016

Hampstead Heath Park

Adrian Scottow/Flickr

Camden Town

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brasilobserver.co.uk | February 2016

BR TRIP

Brazilian paradises to discover With winter gripping Europe, who isn’t dreaming of a holiday in the Brazilian sunshine? Alison McGowan, owner of bespoke travel company HiddenPousadasBrazil.com, tells us about the country’s secluded gems that should be on the top of your list

By Christian Taylor

“Barra Grande is just like Jericoacoara was 20 years ago,” says Alison McGowan. This simple fishing village is just starting to make a name for itself, thanks to its beautiful pousadas, spectacular beaches and ideal conditions for kite-surfing. “This is not the place to come if you’re looking for nightlife, but what you will find is paradise – blue skies, hot sand and ice cold beer.”

Barra Grande is an hour and a half from Parnaiba, and while it’s not the easiest place to get to, Alison describes her time there as ‘bliss’, waking up to the sound of rolling waves and spending her afternoons in beach bars enjoying fish soup, beer and fabulous views of the kite surfers and their incredible manoeuvres.

While in Piauí, Alison also recommends a side trip to Parque Nacional Serra da Capivara. “There you’ll find tens of thousands of rock paintings, some of which date back to 29,000 years before Christ. It’s absolutely incredible.”

Where to stay: Terra Patris Atellier (terrapatris.com.br)

Barreirinhas and Lençóis Maranhenses, Maranhão “Barreirinhas is a fairly non-descript and sprawly town on the banks of the River Preguiças, however, it is also the ideal place to begin your trip to Lençóis Maranhenses. And if you decide to stay on the other side of the river like I did, the only noises are the rustling of leaves and the birds singing - you really can relax in peace.”

Alison recommends arriving from São Luís – from there you can take the 7am van which picks you up from your pousada or hotel and will get you to your accommodation in Barreirinhas by midday, just in time for lunch before a sunset trip to the dunes, which departs at 2pm.

The ideal time to visit is between July and November. That’s when the lagoons are at their fullest and the views are breathtaking - soft rippling sand dunes and inviting blue pools stretch out to the horizon. “Just don’t forget your hat, sunscreen and insect repellent!”

Where to stay: Sossego do Cantinho (sossegodocantinho.com.br)

Icaraizinho de Amontada, Ceará “With vistas made up of beaches, dunes and lagoons, this is an idyllic place where all you can hear is the sound of the wind and the waves,” says Alison. “You still won’t find Icaraizinho de Amontada on most maps but it lies on the coast of Ceará, 198 km north of Fortaleza.” In fact, Alison only discovered the place by accident about four years ago, while driving along the deserted beaches of Maranhão, Piauí and Ceará by 4×4.

Alison describes this small fishing village as a place “where everyone knows each other, with a church, a village square and a bar which is perfect for relaxing with a beer while gazing out to sea”.

When you’re done relaxing, there’s plenty to do, like kite-surfing, taking a buggy trip across the dunes at sunset, enjoying fresh seafood at Ze’s local restaurant or sipping caipirinhas on the river Aracatiassu.

If you don’t have a car, your pousada can organise an airport transfer from Fortaleza to Icaraizinho for R$ 350, or you can hire a beach buggy with a driver for the day for R$ 600. There’s also the FretCar bus which leaves Fortaleza daily at 2pm.

Where to stay: Casa Zulu (casazulu.com)

Chapada Diamantina, Bahia Of course, there are some wonderful destinations inland too. Chapada Diamantina in Bahia, five hours drive west of Salvador, offers nature in abundance, including hikes, waterfalls and caves to explore. There are two towns that are excellent starting points from which to explore the national park – Lençóis and Palmeiras.

“This is an extraordinary place – the curious flat topped mountains and ridges date back billions of years and were once at the bottom of the ocean. The Capão Valley itself is 1000 metres high and the temperature is lower than the coast of Bahia, averaging 19°C year round.”

Where to stay: Lagoa das Cores (lagoadascores.com.br)

Santana dos Montes, Minas Gerais “This is a great stop off point for historic towns like Tiradentes and Ouro Preto - but you will need a car. Visitors can go swimming in the waterfalls, natural pools and lakes, enjoy the horseback or bicycle tours, or go walking in the mountains.”

Where to stay: Fazenda Santa Marina (fazendasantamarina.com.br)

Divulgation

Barra Grande, Piauí

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