In October this year Brazilians go to the polls to elect their president. There is a lot at stake as the country grapples with its recovery from the covid pandemic, as the incumbent Bolsonaro looking to seal a second term in office. However former president Lula da Silva has made a long awaited political comeback …
Continue reading “Interview with Sam Cowie on the Presidential Elections in Brazil 2022”
Translated version published by Penguin in 2016 This is a brutally honest portrayal of corruption in Brazil; an engrossing read in which we have to give credit to the author for his pull no punches approach, as he lays bare some of the most extreme examples of wanton police violence and brazen political wrongdoing. In …
Continue reading “Rio de Janeiro – Extreme City by Luiz Eduardo Soares – Book Review”
In Fordlandia Greg Grandin discusses the creation, from scratch, of a town on the banks of the Tapajós River, in the Brazilian Rainforest, by one of the world’s most famous car makers, Henry Ford. The idea behind the ambitious project was to source locally grown rubber for manufacturing purposes, to compete with British and French …
I was four days into a six week trip around South America; it was a Saturday evening in early February and I was in a bar in Ipanema in Rio de Janeiro with some Spanish friends. Due to the time of year the carnival season had started and the streets were teeming with a mix …
Continue reading “Travelling in South America without a Phone”
By Lilia M. Schwarcz and Helosia M. Starling Published by Allen Lane, translated edition in 2018. Brazil’s past is covered in meticulous yet readable detail in this stunning new history of South America’s largest country. Schwarcz and Starling have produced an enjoyable read that takes the reader through the various stages of Brazil’s history, right …
Everyday the news from Venezuela seems to get worse. The images that mainly foreign journalists have managed to capture of the state of affairs is truly shocking. Government forces are wantonly killing protestors and many more are dying and suffering from the lack of medicines, basic resources such as drinking water and food, and are …
When Jair Bolsonaro was elected as the 38thpresident of Brazil on 28thOctober 2018 it was the book end that drew to a close the right wing election victories that took in the Brexit referendum, the Trump election, the election of Iván Duque in Colombia and the rise of right wing movements across Europe. It was …
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