The Brazilian Post - Issue 84 - English

BRAZIL: p03 Twelve years after the first World Social Forum in Brazil, the meeting tackles the Arab reality from Tunisia

L. AMERICA: p09 April 09th – 22nd 2013 LONDON EDITION

The Argentine Film Festival returns to London and provides an excellent showcase for the South America culture

www.brazilianpost.co.uk • Issue n. 84

STEP FORWARD FOR BRICS Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa have agreed to create a development bank to finance infrastructure projects valued at more than $4 trillion. This first BRICS’ institution shows potential to be an alternative force to American and European politics, but also creates new key challenges for the group, such as overcoming structural differences.

Photo by Getty Images

Read more on pages 2 and 8 >>

02 |

April 09th – 22nd 2013

Front Page MULTILATER AGREEMENT

BRICS strengthened with creation of a development bank Overcoming structural differences is the next challenge for the next superpowers

T

By Guilherme Reis

he five giants of the developing world that form the BRICS group - Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa, have agreed to create a development bank to finance infrastructure projects valued at more than $4 trillion. The announcement was made after a meeting between the presidents of each country in Durban, South Africa.

There are still technical details to be decided for the bank, such as the initial capital of the institution (which is expected to reach $50 billion) and where it will be based, which has caused a deal of scepticism in the Western media. It cannot be dined, however, that this is a major step forward taken by the BRICS in consolidating their relationship for the first time suggesting their potential to be an alternative force to American and European politics.

The BRICS share common experiences, and rejection of the neoliberal development model propagated by the West and its institutions, notably the International Monetary Fund and the World Bank. Their rapid growth in recent decades occurred in spite of this model, not because of it. The countries whose governments have been able to resist the model grew faster and took more and more people from poverty, contributing to the consolidation of a new global middle class.

T

he announcement of the creation of a bank of the five emerging economic powers - Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa, has raised questions of how the giants of the developing world will overcome geographical, political, and economic disparities. In some ways, with the current financial crisis in the US and Europe, the BRICS take a step forward and endorse its potential to establish as an alternative force. For more information on this and what it means for Brazil, read Guilherme Reis’s article on pages 2 and 8.

Fifth BRICS Summit in Durban, South Africa This transformation has become even more evident since the beginning of the current financial crisis. The policies of the bloc are rather different from what is seen in America and most European countries, which has sparked a rebalancing of the global economy.

“The economic growth of the BRICS countries has occurred at levels much higher than those observed in the rest of the world. This contributes significantly to weight perception that those savings have gained in the development of the world economy,

since they were responsible for over 55% of global growth over the last three years, while the 23 most developed countries accounted for just over 20%”, said the Nilson de Paula, a professor from the Department of Economics of the Federal University of Paraná (Brazil) in an interview with The Brazilian Post.

The strategic decisions of the BRICS to dismiss the governance of the global economy of the area of US and EU, however, do come against opposition within the bloc itself and external critics.

According to the New York Times, the

group “has no similarities and common goals enough to function effectively as a counterweight to the West.” They are “deeply divided on some basic issues” and are “more rivals than allies in the global economy”. The same article also stated that they invest little in each other and have “divergent foreign policies and different forms of government.”

Although the tone seems alarmist, the NYT points to a concrete difficulty of BRICS. While China, for example, became the main trading partner of Continued on Page 08 >>>

EDITORIAL Have you heard of the World Social Forum (WSF), the annual event which took place in Tunisia? The WSF was born in Brazil in 2001 and now, 12 years after its first edition, the Forum has become an important marker of latin American and Arab relations. To better understand what happened in the WSF 2013, given the transformations in the Arab world, read the text by Rita Freire, directly from Tunis, on page 3.

Out traveling and not sure how to redeem the duty on your shopping?

Don’t lose out, make sure you claim back the 20% for Vat that you are entitled to Find out more on page 5.

Who has not been moved by the photography of Sebastião Salgado?

From 11 April, you can see a once in a lifetime show of the famous Brazilian photographer, at London’s Natural History Museum. For more information, check out our Guide.

If you want to discover some brand new music from Brazil don’t miss the Afro-Brazilian fusion, a combination of rock’n’roll, blues and African roots, by the trio Toumani Diabate, Arnaldo Antunes and Edgard Scandurra. The performers come to London this month as part of the Latin Music Festiva,l La Linea. It will be rare chance to see the

three acts perfom together in London, worth checking out!

Find more information on page 21.

This is how, through the diversity of news, facts and events, we seek to promote the interaction and engagement of the two sides of the Atlantic. With exclusive news, produced by our team of journalists, especially for you, our reader!

Keep in touch!

Ana Toledo ana@brazilianpost.co.uk Editor in Chief

Brazil | 03

ANOTHER POSSIBLE WORLD

World Social Forum: solidarity from Brazil to the Arabic World

Porto Alegre, 2001

By Rita Freire (Ciranda International of Shared Communication)

W

hen the World Social Forum (WSF) was created in 2001 in the city of Porto Alegre, Rio Grande do Sul (south of Brazil), no one could have predicted that it would be replicated years later in Tunisia.

The WSF proposed another future for the world, engendered by civil society at a time when the former dictatorship of Ben Ali in Tunisia was condemning any voices of dissent to prison. In the years since the people of the country have ended the years of stagnant politics, taking to the streets to over throw the dictatorship, sparking a series similar uprisings across the Arab world and were to host their own WSF. Surely this must have seemed unimaginable to the Tunisian and other participants who attended the first event in 2001 event.

Twelve years later, in late March 2013, young activists from different countries began arriving in the capital Tunis, traveling the temporary office of the WSF in Avenue Bourguiba, to help in the planning of the final tasks for the event that brought together about 50 thousand people to the University of El Manar. Along with them, communication activists, hackers, members of unlicensed community radio stations in Africa, who also held their own discussions as part of the ‘Third World Forum of Free Media’. This hive of volunteers, journalists and media activists all congregating around the WSF was already a sign of its impact, just as the event had been in Porto Alegre.

Tunis, 2013 In the years since the first WSF, the geopolitical environment of social transformation has moved its focus Latin America, where many authoritarian governments have been replaced by more popular alternatives to North Africa and the Middle East. In the two years since actions in Tunisia triggered the Arab Spring, Ben Ali was removed from power, Hosni Mubarak was toppled in Egypt, revolts have occurred across the region of the Maghreb and Mashreq and other movements such as Occupy Wall Street and Indignados of Spain have been inspired.

Che, Chavez and Chokri Although the WSF supports all social movements that hold to account, but do not participate in political parties or governments, two events in the sphere of political sphere have contributed to a symbolic link between the resistance in Latin America and the Arab world.

The murder of Chokri Belaid, leader of a party representing democratic opposition to the new conservative government of Tunisia, in early February 2013 prompted thousands of people to once again take to the streets. It could have been thought that the crime could have caused a decline in participation in the WSF with people feeling dissatisfied with democracy but in the murder had the opposite effect. It produced an immediate demonstration in support of global civil society from the people of Tunisia, against violent outputs.

Comparatively, the Latin Americans arrived in Tunis still coming to terms with the death of Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez, and looking for a way to

stand up to with external domination of the continent without him.

The WSF also saw a series of selforganised concerts in Avenida Bourgiba with creative acts and tributes to the former leaders with people waering t-shirts with the slogan, “Che, Chavez and Chokri”.

Common denominator: Palestine The last two years have brought not only revolutionary winds to the region of the Arabic world. They also brought violent reactions from the threatened regimes, unwanted foreign intervention (for example the clashes in Mali between different movements of “liberation” between secular and Islamist parties) and also in fighting between leftists around the world. In Syria, where Bashar Al-Assad is threatened, rebels accuse supporters of peace and stability as traitors to the Arab Spring, and the defenders of governments accuse the rebels of being mercenaries in the service the west.

Despite these tensions and almost inevitable differences, the many representatives expressing of the struggles in the Arab world marched together during WSF, for the common cause: the liberation of Palestine. Many share a commitment to end the Israeli occupation in the wake of another massacre in Gaza, in November 2012, this acts as a common denominator to all social movements and organisations present.

The WSF also contributed to raising awareness of the Saharawi people who, twice, in editions of the WSF in Dakar,

Senegal, and now Tunisia, suffered hostilities from Moroccan activists, opposed the independence of Western Sahara from Morocco’s colonial state.

The assaults have undermined Morocco’s chances of hosting the next edition of the event, a dream of Moroccan democratic organisations.

Apart from the Sahara and Palestine, Kurdistan, another group of stateless people were cause for concern at the WSF. The representative of the Kurdistan International Council, Yilmaz Orkan, who had been trying to seek international support for peace talks in Turkey, where the Kurdish population live under repression, was arrested at Brussels airport en-route to Tunis. This came after a series of unexplained murders and arrests of Kurds in European countries in recent months which have sparked more diplomatic discussion of the displaced people who are divided between Turkey, Iran, Iraq and Syria, and seeking political recognition.

All these events, loaded with revolutionary tension, composed the environment for the WSF to reflect on its own role. It is possible that an upcoming meeting of the International Council will take place in Tunisia within six months, after a process of consultation with the social movements and organisations.

Some of the questions to come out of the event in Tunisia was how to find a way of becoming more responsive, serving a greater democratic function that instance, improving internal organisation and supporting the actions of solidarity in a more effective way.

While these might be the questions facing the Arab world, they are also at the centre of the WSF itself.

Brazil | 04 |

April 09th – 22nd 2013

LEGISLATION

Domestic workers win new rights

N

ew rules for domestic workers provided by the Constitutional Amendment No. 72 have already become valid. The text extends the rights enjoyed by all workers covered by the Consolidation of Labour Laws (CLT) to Brazil’s many domestic servants.

Until now, domestic workers were entitled to minimum wage, the irreducibility of pay, the thirteenth salary, paid weekly rest, vacation, maternity leave and paternity leave, the notice to retirement and Social Security.

With the new rights, these workers will guarantee a 44-hour workweek, payment for overtime, Guarantee Fund for Length of Service (FGTS) and unemployment insurance. Specific rules for reducing risk at work and recognition of conventions will also be created.

The new legislation will also make discrepancies in pay due to gender, age, ethnicity or marital status prohibited.

Discrimination or alternative wage criteria for workers with a disability, those under 18 will also be ended.

More control over working at night or in hazardous situations will also come into place along with a ban on housework for anyone under the age of 16, except for apprentices.

Brazil currently employs the highest number domestic workers than anywhere else in the world, according to the International Labour

Congress enacts new legislation Organization (ILO). In 2010 it was estimated that at least 7.2 million people counted this as their main employment, rising from 5.1 million in 1995, of these, more than 95% were women. While across the world employment figures also grew with population, nothing compares to statistics in Brazil. Today, one in every six workingwomen will be in domestic service. The expansion was followed by the rise in earnings by 47% in wages, thanks to the increase of the minimum wage under Lula’s administration.

Although the working conditions of domestic workers in Brazil have slowly been improving, the approval of the new rules is a significant step forward for the country. Many of those

still work in poor conditions. This issue is even more significant in a country who was the last to abolish slavery and where the remnants of this past are still present in society, especially the relationship that often exists between employers and domestic workers, in which rich and poor are opposed by a subservient system.

The ILO congratulated Brazil and stated that the country has become an international reference on the subject. Martin Oelz, law expert of the ILO’s work on labour conditions in the world, said in an interview with BBC Brazil that the country is now on the short list of countries that have laws considered more advanced in this area.

“With the approval of the constitutional

amendment, Brazil became an example for other countries”.

A committee of the Ministry of Labour and Employment (MTE) will next prepare proposals for the standardisation of the pending issues between the rights extended to domestic workers by Constitutional Amendment No. 72. The group will have 90 days to submit the proposed regulation on the various topics.

According to the ministry, the points to be discussed by the committee will be the protection of domestic workers against arbitrary dismissal without cause, unemployment insurance, the Guarantee Fund Service Fund (FGTS), payment for overtime and night work.

STUDENT INITIATIVE

Film festival brings together young people from Brazil and abroad

T

he International Student Film Festival in Barra do Pirai, a town in the southern state of Rio de Janeiro, has its fourth edition this April, bringing together students from 18 local schools participating in live events and ten schools from across Brazil whose films have been selected in the national competition. Besides these, five projects representing schools, governments and youth from around the world will be shown at the festival, which is unrivalled around the world.

The honouree this year is actor Lázaro Ramos, “for his career in film and television and for the example that he sets for other young people”. There will be three winners in each category. The best local and national films receive a trophy and 2,000 reais (around £700), which can be used to purchase equipment.

The event has quickly gained

momentum and it is estimated that over the 7 days of the festival around 25,000 will attend. The films will be shown outdoors so that the public’s vote can be included.

Established in 2010, the festival is the brainchild of the project: Lights, Camera, Education, Polo Audiovisual, who lead workshops in film production for students in the 6th grade of elementary school 3rd year high school at public and private schools in the city, about 500 students from the municipality attended the workshops.

In the workshops, students learn the entire process of producing a film by producing a short fiction film, for which they choose the theme and devise. The films are produced with high resolution equipment, with support from a professional production of film, and will compete in eight categories during the festival.

Workshops teach film production process

05

Community TAXES

Spend in the UK and claim money back Shops offer free tax system with same benefit of airport duty-free, allowing consumers to redeem 20% tax

L

By Nathália Braga ondon is known for being one of the most expensive cities in the world. Despite this, thousands of tourists who love the land of the queen are happy to pay high prices to explore the advantages that the city offers.

One of these advantages is the wide variety of shops where you can find everything, in most cases, for a price much more affordable than it would be in Brazil. London is also one of the fashion capitals, with worldwide designer and high street brands everywhere you turn.

Factors such as these make shopping a major attraction for Brazilians visiting the city. Better yet, they can now get back up to 20% of the amount paid for a product.

Though it has been found that many do not know they are entitled to this. A study conducted by Global Blue, who specialise in information on international spending habits, the sum of taxes that Brazilians fail to claim back reaches €51 million.

So save yourself some money and do your shopping in town with the same advantages you take for granted in an airport, though there are a few procedures to follow.

First, check if the store accepts that people can re-claim VAT (Vallue Added Tax). To do so, look for stores that have a Tax Free Shopping logo - not every store operates on this system since it is not mandatory.

“In the UK, the Value Added Tax (VAT) is charged on purchases of goods and services. Stores with tax-free allow travellers leaving the EU to receive back the VAT paid for goods but not for services,” explained Anthony Vertice, a business consultant from Vertice Services.

At the time of purchase, you need to ask for a form called VAT 407, submit an official document, fill out and sign the form and ask the sales staff to sign their section. This means they have agreed that the refund will be made. “Some stores may pay the refund directly to consumers and others will arrange for the refund to be

Brazilian has failed to take back 51 million Euros made once the customers has left the UK,” detailed Vertice.

If you choose the second option, you need to get to the airport early to check in and request a refund at customs.

You retain the original rebate form, the products purchased and all receipts.

If you can’t do this at the airport, there should have a phone to request the presence of an officer or a mailbox in which the consumer can leave the rebate form. Only after the form is reviewed and approved by the customs officer will the shop be contacted for reimbursement of VAT, which will be paid the way it was agreed at the time of purchase of goods.

You can post the refund form to the shop or submit the form for the refund to be done immediately, in this case, there may be charges to cover the cost of the refund and the same should be submitted in the form. A third option is to post the form to the outsourced company contracted by the shop who are responsible for making refunds of VAT. In all cases the procedure must be performed before leaving the UK. If travel connections with other European Union countries, there are two options: the first

is to have the goods in hand luggage and present them along with the rebate form and receipts in the last EU country which you leave.

You can get the VAT refund for most purchases made in the UK, but there are some exceptions. These include the purchase of cars (new or used), goods with a value exceeding £600 from businesses with specific export or resale good, purchases made via mail (including internet sales) and partially used products in the European Union such as perfumes.

For residents in the UK, you can also receive the VAT refund, if you are

travelling to another country that is not in Europe until the end of the third month after the purchase of the goods.

Although this might seems bureaucratic at first glance, it is really worth doing.

“I visited London in last summer, and did some shopping. I heard about the possibility of having part of the amount paid back. I did not think it would work, but getting it refunded at the airport and customs was easier than I expected,” said businessman Carlos Costa Padilha - after all, there is nothing better than spending abroad and returning with a few bucks to spend at home.

Requirements to receive the VAT: • • • •

Complete and sign the claim form at the time of purchase, along with the merchant Check the list of products that do not fit the system “tax free” Leave the UK to destinations outside the European Union with the purchased goods by the end of the third month after purchase Show the customs official goods, receipts and the VAT refund form when leaving the European Union.

Community | 06 |

April 09th – 22nd 2013

. http://hilarious-consequences.blogspot.co.uk http://www.steaknightcomics.com/ steaknightcomics.com/RRR_BOOKS.html

Element with symbol O A traditional British daily newspaper that generally supports fairly rightwing political ideas

Suspicious Frustrating Economic Geography (abbr.)

Finished Well? (expression of curiosity)

Violin

Destiny Fashionable (informal) Cassius (?): Muhammad Ali

Harmful Hint Suffix of "menthol"

A plant disease A sweet potato Record (abbr.)

Second (symbol)

- Ben Bannister, 28, from England

To imitate the sheep sound One of the letters in the New Testament of the Bible written by an Apostle Not short Added to (conjunction)

Sonnet measure (?) Garcia, actor

Past of "to stand"

Some

Question

Single

Stamp To satisfy an appetite or desire To trouble District Attorney (abbr.)

A 15-yearold girl that currently is the top-ranked woman amateur golfer in the world An object for children

Alternative conjunction (?)-mail, electronic message

To mention

3/ail — toy — yam. 4/done. 5/fishy. 6/canker. 7/lydia ko — painful. 9/defeating.

NAS BANCAS

1

Answers O T X H Y E G T E I N M E C S A N K E R

Aprender é divertido...

E

CLUE

S T O O D

Reading The Brazilian Post helps me understand Brazilian culture and the things visitors to London find fascinating. Going to the Brazil vs Russia game was a great way to experience Brazil in London - the crowd were amazing and to see some of the world’s greatest football players was fantastic! It’s a shame we didn’t win but I’m sure 2014 will be a different story!

© Revistas COQUETEL 2013

Type of antibiotic Summarily medication (?) Zeppe- English Football League (abbr.) lin, band

Screenwriter who became, in 2003, the first American woman to be nominated for an Academy Award Salesman

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This is your chance to let the Brazilian Post’s team know what you think. Send your feedback and get involved! Send your emails to contato@brazilianpost.co.uk

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P S E D O N F I I C P A I C L O L E P I P N O L O A N L T O Y

OMBUDSMAN

Crossword

Community| 07

PROFILE

Conversations on the Couch

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Interview and Photo: Rômulo Seitenfus

or this week’s profile, the psychoanalyst Saulo Cemin offers vital reflection on the choices and directions of thought in modern life. In this conversation about human behaviour, he cites the impact of social pressure on people, reflects on the frustrations that people and criticises the constant search for idealised lives that unattainable in most cases, in some cases which result in long term stress.

Cemin is sceptical about self-help books, even bestsellers, questioning and deconstructing their predefined concepts.

He also believes people should break geographical boundaries for intellectual growth and elucidates the possibility of rethinking contemporary psychoanalytic paradigms.

whether we are 15, 20, 60, 70. Solving problems is a brain function. While we live, we will feel the anguish of every age. The problem is when a person of 20 years wants to live the life of 40, or vice versa. I see it all the time, those who do not want to grow and those who want to grow too fast. Living outside your age and your world is complicated. I think you have problems to solve in every age, and every life stage completely changes you. Someone who is constantly well balanced and problem free would be a static person who does not exist.

What problems do people bring to you most often?

They come with anxiety over social pressure and the need for a standard life. People are developing various types of neuroses by craving a stereotype of the perfect person. Most want to be within the standard model inspired by the media. Some cases result in disorders such as Obsessive Compulsive Disorder (OCD), which is on the rise, still with no explainable or accepted cause, but for me, the main one is insecurity.

So the secret is to deconstruct our problems?

Deconstruct and construct. It is a very dynamic process. Only presumptuous people that have a great knowledge think they are well resolved. In their personal lives, these people often fail to maintain a good relationship with their partners, for example. We are a cultural product of our environment and of our time.

What is it to be well settled in the world? Being in a comfortable financial situation, with quality of life? You know, you have children who grow up in this environment but can we presume they will not experience a little anxiety? They will bring many new things and refresh your world, and no one can be prepared all the time. Life continually shows that the world gives us surprises beyond our control.

What can people do to be more balanced?

But what is a person who is balanced? I think that we live in the world not just to resolve things. We condition ourselves to solve problems and then realise that each phase of life brings a new challenge,

We are in the era of social networks that raise a confusion of feelings and expose us to a mass of ideologies.

What do you make of this situation?

Thought is not being well valued. Thinking is melancholic and doing is manic. Within normal limits, you think and do. Today

people only do more and are thinking less and less. The whole story behind this concept: self-esteem, positive self-image, which in fact, could still get people to appreciate the melancholy is fading. And if the intelligence is the centre of creativity and adaptation, when this person is charging too much creativity, there is no room to perform. Talent develops in thought and can hardly be produced in moments of mania.

Melancholy is a balance needed to make your mind feel useful in solving problems. A person does not have time and pushes away feel melancholic as society sees despair as something negative. People are worried about becoming depressed but ignoring our problems only means that our inner depression starts to fight with itself. If people were calmer and faced their grief, their losses and even their frustrations, there wouldn’t be so much depression, but society does not allow this.

When does this difficulty in dealing with frustrations come?

During childhood the person would face the error and failure and learn that this has been something natural and positive. In adult life this process is fully depreciated. There is great pressure to always get things right which leads people to become increasingly fragile.

We are seeing more fear of exposure and social phobia, for this to end a big societal change is required. Currently we find that people say: “I have a father, I have a mother, I have a car, I have my own home, I’ve got money, but I’m not totally happy. I must have a defect.” And this is not true. The defect is the pressure people place on themselvs. These

pressures are generating new and totally superficial values, things are moving away from being natural and are forced.

This burden of perfection is getting very hard to carry and heavy for everyone. It is most explicit in the neurosis of beauty, of looking good and living well that means people are effectively living in bondage within those standards - in some cases resulting in anorexia, bulimia and body dismorphia.

I realise that you think we should not seek an ideal model. Still I wonder if there is any advice you could offer our readers...

Many! One would be to travel. I would say that travelling is very good, think that instead of spending money on selfhelp books and bestselling fiction, people should go to see new and different places.

And read the classics...

Yes, and read the classics. But reading is a habit, and it is very difficult for a person deprived of the habit to take on classic books. You need to have commitment and even a powerful curiosity.

Travel generates changes with the interaction with different people and things. It can give a high degree of transformation and set other benchmarks. Life is the diversity of living things that cannot be full without real contact with the outside, except intellectually. I think it is very good when you have this experience of living with other communities. This cognitive dissonance that occurs when the brain is in the midst of another tribe, leaving your home country and knowing other languages and cultures, this causes a shock and an overwhelming growth.

08 |

April 09th – 22nd 2013

Continued from page 02 >> Brazil (ahead of the United States), whole sectors of Brazilian industry suffer from competition from cheap Chinese manufacturing. The same occurs at different scales in other countries of South America and Africa. China has contributed to the de-industrialization in the two continents, importing their raw materials and exporting products with higher added value.

Accordingly, before actually becoming powerful in international geopolitics, the BRICS countries need to reduce their structural inequalities.

“The demands are many and certainly conflicting. The demands of South Africa are different from those that prevail in other countries. Beside lags in

development, competitive demands are derived from basic social needs such as sanitation, schools, infrastructure, etc.

The extent to which the budget allocation established for the bank will be enough is something to be observed in the future,” added Nilson de Paula.

Nilson argues that: “The way forward is to reduce the social and regional disparities within each country and between them.” Moreover, “the best way forward is through technological development”, so that countries that face competitive difficulties may establish a new production bases and solidify their economies in the most sustainable way possible.

Such obstacles will certainly not be easy to overcome. And so it makes

sense that there were other initiatives presented in Durban, like cooperation between development banks of each country to sustainable projects and financing of infrastructure projects in Africa, as well as a fund of $100 billion to help other developing countries.

A development strategy, according to Nilson Paula, must entail multilateral union and although it should work as a bloc, the BRICs cannot exclude itself from other important political alliances.

“Although the purpose of promoting economic development is a priority in any circumstance, it cannot be attained with the transfer of costs to other countries.”

That goes for the relationship between the BRICS countries themselves

and between these with other nations.

Brazil, for example, has to treat the development and consolidation of the Bank of the South, essential for the South American continent with equal importance, and continue to contribute to the formation of a more open and democratic world.

Mortimer, Marketing & Media LTD

President Dilma Rousseff in Durban

CEO Marcelo Mortimer

“We are supported in a future vision that our countries will occupy an increasingly important role.”

marcelo@brazilianpost.co.uk EDITOR IN CHIEF Ana Toledo ana@brazilianpost.co.uk

“It is a bank tailored to our needs.

We have to strengthen ties and created mechanisms for mutual support. It is a stability mechanism that can create reciprocal lines of credit, strengthening the soundness of the international market.”

Editors Guilherme Reis Kate Rintoul PUBLIC RELATIONS Roberta Schwambach contato@brazilianpost.co.uk

“We must have the optimism and dynamism, reiterating confidence and maintaining an action against the pessimism and inertia affecting other regions. We will respond to this crisis with vigour.”

COMMERCIAL DEPARTAMENT Leonardo Altomar (074 6692 6782) GRAPHIC DESIGN Roman Atamanczuk

“Today we have to keep in mind: to make a great effort. If there is a lack of investment opportunities in advanced economies, we will create sources of funding.”

DISTRIBUTION Emblem Group LTD CONTRIBUTORS Carolina Beal Christiano Holanda Cibele Porto Daniela Barone Jamie Jubon Nathália Braga Rafael Cabral

BRICS countries in numbers

Gross Domestic Product (GDP)

Population

GDP per capita

Unemployment

Ricardo Somera

Life expectation

Brazil

2,4 tri

196 mi

10.720

5.6%

73 years

Russia

1,8 tri

141 mi

10.730

5,8%

69 years

India

1,8 tri

1,2 bi

1.041

3,8%

65 years

China

7,3 tri

1,3 bi

4.940

4,1%

73 years

South Africa

408 bi

50 mi

6.960

24,9%

52 years

* Data from the World Bank, 2011 (in US dollars)

Rômulo Seitenfus Saulo Caliari Shaun Cumming Tico Silvério Zazá Oliva PUBLISHED BY Mortimer, Marketing & Media LTD 14 Widgeon Close, London – E16 3EF Company number: 8043939

09

Latin America CINEMA

Argentine Film Festival returns to London

A

fter a highly successful inaugural year the Argentine Film Festival returns for its second edition in London from 17-21 April 2013.

The Festival has been founded by an elite group of film and media experts from Argentina including Sofia Serbin de Skalon, who previously worked on films like the phenomenally successful Evita, academic Maria M. Delgado of London’s Queen Mary University and writer Demetrios Matheou, who is film critic for the Independent on Sunday.

The festival will include 10 feature films, each of which will be opened by short music films that showcase Argentine culture from tango, bookshops and wine to lesser known delights the country has to offer.

This year also sees a new section to the festival devoted to new talent that will feature short films from Argentina’s emerging young filmmakers.

The films will be shown across

London in three venues, the Brixton Ritzy, Hackney Picture House and Cineworld in Haymarket. This should mean that wherever you live in London, you won’t be too far from some excellent Argentine directorial and musical talent.

There is also plenty of variety in the schedule to all from casual movie-goers to seasoned film connoisseurs. Daniel Burman’s All In (La suerte en tus manos), is a charming romantic comedy that opens the event and can be watched in Brixton or Haymarket.

Other highlights include The Lost World Cup (Il mundial dimenticato), a documentary that delves into little known football history documenting a Jewish Hungarian’s attempt to host a world cup during WW2.

Those who loved the touching film Las Acacias will be excited to see another Argentine road-movie, Villegas, which follows the story of two young cousins setting out to their grandfather’s funeral and passing emotional and coming of

All in age landmarks on their travels.

With a mix of feature films, documentaries and short films, the festival has been thoughtfully curated and scheduled to showcase the variety of stories and originality in Argentinean filmmaking.

The films vary from being highly accessible for those just looking for an alternative night out to others that offer

insight or perspective on issues or hidden stories from Argentina. It is wonderful to see Latin American culture being celebrated and promoted in the capital, hopefully getting people to change their film habits and start watching alternative films that are a welcome change from the hum-drum summer blockbusters and never ending actionhero remakes.

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10 |

April 09th – 22nd 2013

Technology ATIVISM

‘Wikileaks Party’ debuts and announces Julian Assange for the Senate in Australia

T

By Rafael Cabral he controversial Wikileaks project, famous for having caused an international crisis by releasing 250,000 U.S. diplomatic cables in 2010, is set to become a political party. The group: ‘Wikileaks Party’, was officially created on 6 April, and for now is restricted to Australia, where the founder Julian Assange will run for senator and, according to a research released in late 2012, is likely to be elected.

Since what has now been coined ‘Cablegate’, when Wikileaks leaked confidential files stolen by U.S. intelligence analyst military Bradley Manning, Julian Assange has lived with his freedom severely deprived, first being forced to live under house arrest in England and fitted with a monitoring device permanently tagged to his leg.

He has also been accused for sex crimes in Sweden, which he claims are a fabrication and fearing extradition to the United States, the hacker sought political asylum in Ecuador last summer and, since then has taken refuge in the country’s embassy in Knightsbridge. His fears are not without reason, correspondence stolen by the group Anonymous and published by Wikileaks revealed that the Scandinavian country negotiated sending Assange to the United States, where the government has already prepared his indictment for war crimes, espionage and terrorism.

Wikileaks checks the veracity and releases documents submitted by whistleblowers and anonymous sources, a role that does not differ that much from a conventional newspaper. In fact, Julian Assange is

really a journalist, conducting research on companies and governments.

Creating a criminal image of the hacker is dangerous for the freedom of expression around the world and, despite living in a ‘democratic’ part of the world, Assange is being condemned for having acted against interests of very powerful people.

However, it could seem like a contradiction that one of the most outspoken critics of the political world is suddenly becoming a politician. Assange says he decided to create the Wikileaks Party and run for one of the 76 senate seats in Australia to use his mandate to defend the cause of freedom and responsibility in politics, taking advantage of the legal protection provided to senators against lawsuits motivated by speeches given at the podium. To be elected, the hacker needs at least 15% of votes in the electoral sector of Australian region of Victoria, while the party should regularize 500 members to confirm the record.

Besides Assange, the Wikileaks Party will shortly announce candidates in two other Australian districts, New South Wales and Western Australia.

If elected, the founder can attract even more attention to his current legal and political situation, but is not sure if he will be able to take his place in office. Guarded 24 hours a day

by British police, Assange fears being extradited if he sets foot outside the building of the Ecuadorian embassy.

Australian elections happen on the 14 September and, if the party achieves the required number of votes, Assange can become a senator in July 2014. So we can only wait to see how the next chapter in the Assange saga unfolds.

Julian Assange: ‘imprisoned’ at the Embassy of Ecuador in London

11

Economy STIMULATING GROWTH

Has Osborne Pulled a Rabbit Out of the Hat?

A

By Christiano Holanda mid a backdrop of faltering economic growth, Chancellor George Osborne was always going to face an uphill task providing answers to an increasing list of questions on how to stimulate growth.

Has he gone far enough?

Mark Boleat, policy chairman at the City of London Corporation, the local authority for London’s Square Mile, said: “Budgets are often best remembered – fairly or not – for the proverbial rabbits pulled out of the chancellor’s hat. In reality, however, the most effective policy approach is to provide a sense of stability and continuity. One rabbit pulled from the chancellor’s hat today that the City [of London] welcomes his pledge to increase infrastructure spending by £3 billion from 2015/16. We cannot afford to

stand still while our rivals build for the future.”

Andrew Milligan, head of global strategy at fund manager Standard Life Investments, said: “The Chancellor is playing some cards well, some cards poorly, but he would prefer not to be in this card game at all. Despite the strong criticism from certain quarters, the room for manoeuvre for the government to stimulate growth is very limited.”

Ronnie Ludwig, head of the Private Wealth Group at accountancy firm Saffery Champness, said: “Although politically risky, Osborne could have also done away with the ‘non-dom’ charge. This does little to deter the megawealthy, but can be sufficient to scare off internationally mobile entrepreneurs that are often the ones we look to provide the creative edge as we claw our way out of the downturn.”

Michael Wistow, head of tax at law firm Berwin Leighton Paisner, said: “Effectively excluding banks from any corporation tax reduction through increasing the bank levy conflicts with the Government’s stated aim of encouraging banks to lend. We need to put an end to banker bashing via the tax code, which is often counter-productive.”

Tim Knox, director of the Centre for Policy Studies, a UK think tank, said: “The problems facing the British economy are structural and will not be changed by an industrial strategy here, a tax break there or a new incentive scheme for that bunch over there. You have to forget the (mostly) fine rhetoric in today’s budget and look at the numbers. The deficit is still extraordinarily high. Did he do enough to kick-start the British economy? That is aiming far too high. And this budget certainly fell far short.”

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April 09th – 22nd 2013

Sport TENNIS

Andy Murray: on the road to success A

By Jamie Jubon

ndy Murray’s defeat of David Ferrer at the Miami Masters propelled the Brit to the world number two spot.

It was the first time since 2009 that he had reached that position in the world rankings, and that was only at a period when Rafael Nadal was injured and Novak Djokovic was going through a slump in form.

However, this time it could be hugely significant.

There has been a feeling in the tennis world for some time now that Murray and Djokovic are indeed the number one and two players, and for the first time ever, that opinion is now reflected in the world rankings.

Many pundits have talked about how the two could go on to contest a rivalry similar to that of Nadal and Roger Federer, due to the fact that two players are so similar both in terms of style of play and ability.

Andy Murray was born a week earlier than his Serbian compatriot, and the two have been good friends since childhood, when they would regularly compete against each other in junior tournaments.

‘Nole’, as the Serb is affectionately known, certainly made an impact on the game of tennis faster than Murray, and for a considerable amount of time, was a fair bit ahead of the Scot in his development.

Djokovic has already won six Grand Slam titles, whilst Murray of course has only the one, claimed in spectacular fashion against the world number one at the US Open last September.

Whilst Djokovic’s early career was boosted by a surprise Australian Open success back in 2008, at a time when the Federer-Nadal monopoly was really at its peak, Andy Murray’s was a story of near misses and heartbreak.

Grand Slam Final defeats in 2008, 2010, 2011 and at Wimbledon in 2012 were huge disappointments and cast doubt on the Scot’s ability to get over the line and claim his maiden Major title.

For a long time in his career, he also carried the burden of trying to become Britan’s first Grand Slam champion since the 1930s, a stat that Murray himself admits did affect him in the past as he

attempted to close out big matches.

For a country that invented the game and for a nation with huge sporting tradition, indeed the most famous competition in tennis is staged in these Isles at Wimbledon, not having had a Grand Slam champion since Fred Perry nearly 80 years ago, was a fact that both embarrassed and perplexed Britain.

Perry became so famous for being the last British Major winner, that he was able to introduce a clothes range bearing his name on it, which is still going strong today. Indeed, in Murray’s early career, he would wear sportswear bearing the Fred Perry logo.

The fact that he has been able to overcome this huge hurdle and win a Grand Slam title, both for the country and Murray himself, should stand him in great stead for the rest of his career.

The British number one has talked about a huge weight being lifted off his shoulders now that he has finally become a Grand Slam champion, and it has been noticeable in watching some of his big games since, he doesn’t seem to harbour the mental doubts he once did.

He can now play his shots with more relaxation and freedom when playing against Djokovic and the other top

players, notably Federer and Nadal, safe in the knowledge that he has successfully come through huge matches before and can do so again.

As well as the US Open triumph, a big turning point in Murray’s career was his Olympic Gold medal win just prior to Flushing Meadows. It was there that he managed to deal with pressure of an expectant home crowd and he has talked about how claiming a gold medal at Wimbledon gave him huge belief going into last year’s Open.

Since that Gold medal success, he has reached the finals of both the US and Australian Opens respectively, narrowly losing to Djokovic in Melbourne this year, after famously triumphing over him in New York.

The Scot has now reached the last three Grand Slam Finals, reaching the Aussie Final without dropping a set, demonstrating his new-found confidence and immense belief.

Looking ahead to the French Open in May, even on Murray’s weakest surface it is hard to see past the Scot reaching the semi-finals at least.

Nadal is of course back in action, and looked close to his imperious best at Indian Wells last month as he claimed his first hard-court title since 2010.

He will be the man to beat at Roland Garros, but with the Majorcan down at world number five due to his recent injury travails, will be seeded to meet Novak Djokovic in the quarter-finals if the rankings stay as they are now until May. That could be a real boost for Andy, and may mean that he doesn’t have to come up against one of the two favourites until at least the Final.

Isso pode ser um grande incentivo para Murray, já que ele só poderia enfrentar os dois maiores favoritos do torneio em uma final.

Of course, it is all hypothetical, and Nadal’s defeat against Lukas Rosol at Wimbledon last year demonstrated you should never look too far down the draw beyond the early rounds.

However, if Murray does perform at his best on the Paris clay, there is no reason why he can’t once again go a long way in the tournament, and continue to break records in a career which is already undoubtedly Britain’s most successful in over 70 years of tennis.

Sport | 13

FOOTBALL

The gun fires for the Cup of Brazil 2013

T

By Tico Silvério

he Cup of Brazil kicked off in early April. And the 2013 edition has some new features compared to previous.

The tournament will run from March to November. Teams that will contest the Copa Libertadores will join the Cup of Brazil in the second semester. Also, Brazil’s four teams in the Copa Sudamericana will be the top four of the previous year’s Brasileirão already eliminated from the Copa do Brasil.

The sponsor for this edition has also changed, and with a contract until 2015, Perdigao will be the main sponsor, making the competition’s official name ‘Brazil’s Perdigao Cup’.

The Cup of Brazil 2013 is divided into seven stages, where teams face off in single-elimination round matches. In the first and second phases, the visiting club to win the first game by two or more goals difference eliminates the need for a second-leg Gremio, Fluminense, Corinthians, Palmeiras and Atlético Mineiro, who disputed the Libertadores, enter the eight-final, in addition to Vasco, who

inherited the position of São Paulo.

The tiebreakers in case team’s finish on equal points earned at the end of two matches are: goal difference, goals scored away from home and a penalty shootout, respectively.

The new format adopted by the CBF makes the tournament, created in 1989, more like the major cups of Europe, held throughout the season. Although mostly the preserve of the so-called elite of Brazilian football, the Cup of Brazil has been responsible for large and pleasant surprises, like the titles of Criciuma (1991), Juventude (1999), Santo Andre (2004) and Paulista (2005 ).

The changes this year have piqued the interest of the giants of Brazilian football, which in the past have appeared to disparage the competition, placing it in the background.

The last champions were Palmeiras, who despite having been relegated from the National Championship, were crowned champions of the 2012 Cup of Brazil in imperious style.

The 2013 edition promises to be highly contested, especially by having clubs from the Libertadores, but the champion will probably come from some of the clubs in the Brazilian Serie A.

86 clubs play the more democratic football competition in Brazil

Sport | 14 |

April 09th – 22nd 2013

MEGAEVENTS

Rio’s stadium closure raises questions over World Cup and Olympics legacy

Structural failures in the stadium roof sealed it off

T

By Guilherme Reis

he João Havelange Olympic Stadium, better known as Engenhão, in Rio de Janeiro, should be interdicted for up to six months. The estimate was given by the advisor for Construction of Large Structures Regional Council of Engineering, Architecture and Agronomy (CREA), Eulalio Antonio.

According to Antonio’s evaluation, the steel used in the stadium’s roof structure was not of the required quality.

“It should have been steel with a high corrosion resistance, with 50% more resistance but a higher cost of 10% to 15%. But the cost-effectiveness would be better for the Government,” he said. Mayor Eduardo Paes banned the stadium at the end of March, after structural flaws were detected.

The João Havelange Olympic Stadium was built for the Pan American Games in Rio in 2007, and inspired by the stadium of football team Benfica,

in Portugal. The work that began in 2003 was initially budgeted at R$ 60 million (around £20 million), but the final cost was R$ 376 million (around £125 million).

The construction is an example of poor planning, with budget overspending an almost immutable characteristic of all large construction works in the country. Despite the spiralling costs, there are still flaws in the construction and the costs will likely increase further to rectify the errors that have been made.

The Engenhão, since the conclusion of the Pan American Games, is managed by Botafogo. With the reform of the Maracana for the World Cup (another stadium whose budget has sky-rocketed: initially R$ 700 million and should exceed R$ 900 million – more than 100 million pounds over), it became the home of both Fluminense and Flamengo. Still, it is seen as inadequate for a stadium that was built to be cutting edge as it will also host some events during the 2016 Olympics.

What should already be completed, however, is shamefully interdicted.

Engenhão is not the only lost legacy of the Pan American Games which raises serious questions about what will be left of several construction projects around Brazil after the mega sports events in 2014 and 2016. The Maria Lenk Aquatic Park is another example of the lack of future planning.

It was built at a cost of R$ 80 million (around £25 million) and heralded as a great legacy for the city.

After six years, the site will not host competitive swimming (a new complex will be built in the Olympic Park), only water polo. This is a case of improvisation instead of reusing existing structures to lower costs.

The Maria Lenk Aquatic Park, as well as the use of the Multipurpose Arena and Velodrome also built for the Pan 2007, rarely ever fill capacity.

Will something similar happen after 2014 and 2016? There is little reason to believe that this time will be any different.

The vast majority of the stadiums being built for the World Cup have had their budget revised upwards. Many infrastructure projects that would be completed alongside the stadiums to justify huge spends are being cancelled, so that what matters now is to meet the expectations of FIFA, the international body that has the power to change which country holds the footballing spectacle.

The 2014 World Cup and the 2016 Olympics, no doubt, will be magnificent events. The world would certainly be charmed by our culture and hospitality, with Brazil’s great natural beauty and diversity on show. Brazil is what the gringos have been talking about for some time now. We should surprise them, and show impeccable organization. It will be difficult, however, to hide the lack of long-term planning. In the end, people will pay for the mistakes that have been made along the way; the parties will eventually end and very little of what is left will be reused. I hope I am wrong.

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