Imagina na Copa

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“Imagina na Copa!”, loosely translated as “Imagine it during the World Cup!” is a phrase that has been oft-repeated in Brazil in the last year or two. For most of its lifespan, it has been used to refer to something that doesn’t work the way it should or to something that will worsen (such as traffic congestion) during a mega-event such as the World Cup. But what if the phrase was transformed into a force for good? That’s the hope of the site Imagina na Copa which is posting, week by week, 75 stories of how young people are improving their own surroundings.

“Every week, we’re going to post stories of young people that are transforming the country for the better. These stories will serve as inspiration and will show that it’s possible to make a difference with the resources that we have. The idea here is also to facilitate the interaction between the visitors to the site and the young people behind the initiatives.”

The site will also sponsor workshops for up to 25 young people in the 12 Brazilian host cities. The objective being to help those interested to better understand the project and plan their own involvement. By combining theory, design and practice, the team behind the site hope to generate interest as well as new ideas.

As part of week 9, the story revolves around two social entrepreneurs who are transforming their city of Porto Alegre. They decided the 5,000 bus stops in Porto Alegre needed some sort of sign that indicated which bus routes passed by that location. The way they went about it was to create large stickers with white space where bus riders themselves could write in the bus routes. The collaborative effort was vandalized more than once and now the governmental entity in charge of transportation in the city is working in conjunction with the entrepreneurs to implement the project in the best way possible.

If you’d like to see the other 8 stories (thus far) from Imagina na Copa, you can do so on their site or via their Youtube channel.

Goela abaixo – new expression

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I just came across a phrase with a word I’ve never heard or seen and thought I’d share it. The phrase is “goela abaixo” where “goela” is synonymous with “garganta” (throat) and “abaixo” just means “below”. So, you’re thinking “throat below…., huh?” Apparently, it’s used to refer to something being forced down your throat, whether figurative or literal. Below is a real example:

“Ele teve álgebra empurrada goela abaixo sem nunca saber para que ela servia.”
(“He had algebra shoved down his throat without ever knowing what it was useful for.”)

Carriage vs Car – São Paulo

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Last year, artist Eduardo Srur set up a stunt for a horse-drawn carriage to race a professional driver on the freeway in São Paulo rush-hour traffic. The result was a tie due to technicalities.

The idea came when he read that the average car speed in São Paulo traffic was 20km/hr, which also happened to be the speed of a carriage used by the elite in the 1800s, when infrastructure was basically zero. His conclusion? “the carriage is a more adequate symbol to represent mobility on the streets of São Paulo.”

His blog, found via Continente.

A closer look at Rio politics

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I just finished watching Vocação do Poder, a 2004 documentary (PT) that “follows the campaign of 6 candidates (out of 1,100 for just 50 vacancies) to the municipal legislative council of the city of Rio de Janeiro in Brazil, in the 90 days preceding election day. All of them dispute their first election, but only a few will be successful.” Read more (PT)

It was definitely interesting to get a bit of an inside look at what the candidates go through. Most seem like “filhinhos do papai” (no shock there) and there are a few subtle instances of vote buying via the trading of favors (again, no shock). The strangest thing, even with my familiarity with Brazilian life, is that the candidates have a singular focus of name/face/number recognition, as opposed to stating what they stand for and debating those points. One voter even says something to the tune of “if you don’t make any promises, I’m likely to vote for you.” I mean, I understand the reasoning (too many promises made but not kept) but at the same time it seems counterintuitive.

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(the 6 candidates from the film)

Another strange thing, from having watched a friend run for vereadora (city counsilor) in Rio, is that she was forced to visually affiliate herself with Mayor Eduardo Paes when making the campaign posters (you can see this in the documentary on the young candidate’s poster which has Cesar Maia’s face on it). The fact is though, she hated the guy and from the get-go wanted to distance herself politically from everything he stands for. And as far as posters and handouts go, they need to be considered visual pollution, and people should actually stop taking accepting them.

All in all, it’s not the candidates that will give the people what they want, it’s the system that needs to be turned on its head so that it attracts the kind of candidates that the people want represting them. My father once relayed to me an important lesson of business which I think should be utilized for politics, too: Don’t trade an act for a promise. In other words, trade an act for an act or a promise for a promise but not one for the other.

Arte na Escola

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In light of the negative news in Brazilian media, I’m happy to bring you something good-hearted.

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Arte na Escola Institute is a project that hands out awards to teachers that start projects to improve the lives of their students. Each year, they give out awards to 5 teachers and record a clip detailing their project. While looking through their site (PT) I came across the winner for the Preschool Education category from the 10th edition (in 2009), Gilmária Ribeiro da Cunha, and her project “Somos brasileiros, somos diferentes”. Below, you can learn a bit about what she does.

“The experiment was carried out with children five years of age living in Subúrbio Ferroviário in Salvador, a region characterized by low-income housing, but rich in cultural traits with strong African and Indian origins. Having in mind this context, the experience sought to rescue and value these cultures in order to establish comparisons between the way of being and living of indigenous peoples and Africans with Brazilian culture and, especially, the local culture. The project has also sought to raise the self-esteem of children through the enhancement of their cultural heritage, especially African. The art was guiding the whole process, having been applied via different avenues: through visual arts, music, dance and theater.

In her report, the teacher said that the option of having art as the primary mediator in the acquisition of knowledge allowed the children to express themselves through various languages​​, building their cultural identity and expanding their vision through representations about multiculturalism, the playfulness of childhood, the artistic and cultural expression of the body, and their feelings.

As a result, also she points out that the experience contributed to the construction of the children’s identity and the strengthening of respect for differences leading to citizenship, supported by ethical values​​.

Besides the interaction with the professor of a theater school and university participation of trainees in this area, the development of the project had the full support of the Escola management, considering that its elements form the basis of its educational project, which brings Arts education as a guiding pedagogical practice aimed at valuing the culture of childhood and the local culture.” – Source (PT)

São Paulo to launch “bolsa crack”

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Cracolândia / Especial / JT

To aid families suffering financially with a member who uses illegal drugs, the São Paulo state government will launch a program to help fund the treatment of addicts. The amount of R$ 1,350 per month per patient will be paid to accredited clinics specialized in the recovery of drug users.

The project will be launched on Thursday by the governor Geraldo Alckmin. From the start, about 3000 addicts should benefit. The idea is to give a card to the families of addicts who accept treatment voluntarily. By presenting the card in  financed clinics, the user will receive the treatment, and the money will be transferred from the government of São Paulo directly to the clinic.

A notice to the accredited clinics should be released in the coming days by the government. Clinics in 11 cities will participate: Diadema, Sorocaba, Campinas, Bauru, São José do Rio Preto, Ribeirão Preto, Presidente Prudente, São José dos Campos, Osasco, Santos and Mogi das Cruzes.

On a visit to Franca (SP) on Tuesday, Alckmin told the G1 website that he does not fear criticism about the program.

“We have full support. Families suffer when a member is an addict. We provide this service free of charge via the NHS. This card is for the family. It’s not a card to hospitalize the sick, but rather a social card,” the governor explained. – Source (PT)

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Read about SP’s Cracolândia via the Guardian or check out (and listen to a story of) Rio’s crackland on NPR

Isis de Oliveira and the Radionovela

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The radio-actress Isis de Oliveira, who between the years 1940 and 1960 was one of the great names of Rádio Nacional do Rio de Janeiro died on Tuesday (May 7th), at age 91, in Niterói (RJ).

Isis de Oliveira was the stage name of Ivete Savelli, born March 18, 1922. She joined the Rádio Nacional in 1941 after winning a radio-theater test along with actor Altivo Diniz, in a talent show put on by the station. For over 20 years she participated, often as lead actress, in soap operas and dozens of Nacional plays at the time at the radio station with the largest audience in Brazil and the most important in Latin America.

The actress was married to the Nacional announcer Jairo Argileu. In 1964, Argileu was among the dozens of station staff members fired for political reasons by the military dictatorship. Isis remained with Nacional until 1972, when she left the radio for two years (to practice law). In 1974, she returned and joined Radio Tupi in Rio, where she worked until 1979. – Source (PT)

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(from Direito de Nascer)

The Radionovela and Direito de Nascer

The first radio transmission in Brazil went on the air on September 7th, 1922, though radios were expensive so it took a good long while for their price to go down. When they were more affordable, there wasn’t much of a reason to actually buy one even when one-time, weekly plays (one series of single plays from the late 1930s was called Teatro em Casa) were recorded for the new medium. It took bringing the news to the airwaves for widespread consumption to occur. Once the people were hooked, Brazilian radio stations in São Paulo and Rio de Janeiro began making radionovelas. Since the early 30s, Cuba had been broadcasting them, too, and many of Brazil’s first shows were actually Cuban, adapted for Brazilian audiences. The first of its kind in Brazil was Em Busca de Felicidade (In Search of Happiness), in which Isis de Oliveira participated.

Considered the largest success of all time (throughout Latin America), the radionovela Direito de Nascer (Right to be Born) went on the air in 1951 and stayed at the top during its 3 years on the air (a long time, considering some radionovelas had storylines that only lasted 2 months). According to Wikipedia, it was so omnipresent that it was popularly known as “Direito de Encher” (Right to Fill Up, or maybe more likely, Right to Be Annoyed).

With the arrival of the 1960s, the radio gave way to the television and so it’s fairly safe to say that the newer generations grew up without the ability to put their imaginations to work. I say this because television, like film, hand-feeds the viewer while radio, like literature, has the power to light up the viewer’s imagination.

Here’s a snippet of Isis de Oliveira on Direito de Nascer, which was remade by TV Tupi twice in 1954 and 1978, redone for Mexican audiences in the 1980s, and again redone in Brazil for SBT in 2001.

‘Consumer basket’ increases in 12 of 18 capitals

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According to Dieese (Department of Statistics and Socioeconomic Studies), the highest increases were observed in Recife (6.55%), João Pessoa (5.94%) and Belém (5.25%). Already the largest declines occurred in Salvador (-4.63%), Porto Alegre (-3.00%) and Campo Grande (-1.73%).

In just the first four months of the year, the 18 capitals had higher prices in regards to the “cesta básica” (or consumer basket). The biggest increases occurred in João Pessoa (22.33%), Aracaju (21.40%) and Recife (19.84%). The smallest increases were observed in Porto Alegre (6.08%) Florianópolis (7.36%) and Goiânia (8%).
In SP, the consumer basket rose 2.39%

São Paulo continued to be the capital with the highest-priced consumer basket (R$ 344.30). Compared to March, there was an increase of 2.39% in prices of essential commodities, the eighth largest in relation to the 18 state capitals. For the year, the increase was 12.92%. In comparison with April 2012, the increase is 24.18%.

Behind São Paulo, the capitals with the most expensive ‘basket’, according to research, are Manaus (R$ 339.64), Victoria (R$ 328.94) and Rio de Janeiro (R$ 327.52). The lowest values ​​were observed in Aracaju (R$ 247.72), Salvador (R$ 268.05) and Campo Grande (R$ 271.65).

Tomatoes were more expensive in 10 capitals

According Dieese, prices of basic foods were influenced in April by the increases in milk, beans, flour, french bread and bananas. Fresh milk prices rose in 16 state capitals. The largest increases occurred in Brasilia (9.52%), Campo Grande (7.69%) and Rio de Janeiro (6.16%).

Already the price of beans was more expensive in 15 state capitals. The largest increases occurred in Goiânia (13.59%), Recife (11.67%) and João Pessoa (9.25%). Flour prices increased in 14 capitals, the price of French bread was more expensive in 13 locations and banana prices increased in 15 of the 18 state capitals.

The tomato, a product that had shown high prevalence in previous months, was even more expensive in 10 capitals. The largest increases occurred in Belém (18.55%), Recife (18.54%) and João Pessoa (17.66%). The decreases were recorded in eight locations, highlighting Salvador (-37.50%), Porto Alegre (-19.84%) and Goiânia (-16.19%). In the annual comparison, there was an increase in all 17 capitals, where information available. The major variations occurred in Rio de Janeiro (320.55%), Victoria (213.33%) and Aracaju (172.93%). The smallest increases were recorded in Salvador (14.35%) Manaus (65.95%) and Belém (86.36%).

Consumer basket exemption

According to Dieese, despite the April high, the behavior of the price of the items exempted by the federal government may have helped prevent a larger increase in the value of the ‘basket’ in 16 of the 18 state capitals.

In April, the vast majority of the set prices of commodities exempted by the federal government introduced a drop in prices in relation to the previous month, according to Dieese. Of the exempted products, five (such as meat, butter, coffee, sugar and oil) are part of the items that make up the ‘basket’.

Regarding the behavior of prices for capitals of Brasilia, Curitiba and Porto Alegre, there was a reduction in prices in all five exempted products. “In the vast majority of the capitals, this decrease reached four of the five items, indicating the predominance of decreases in commodity prices, among the state capitals,” it said.

Minimum wage should be R$ 2,892.47, says Dieese

According to Dieese, in April this year the minimum wage should be R$ 2,892.47, or 4.26 times the minimum wage of R$ 678.00. In March, the minimum was lower, amounting to R$ 2,824.92 or 4.17 times the current level. In April 2012, the amount necessary to meet the expenses of a family came to R$ 2,329.35, which represented 3.74 times the minimum then (R$ 622.00).

The value is calculated monthly by Dieese based on the cost of the São Paulo ‘basket’, and taking into account the constitutional provision which states that the minimum wage should be sufficient to defray the costs of a worker and his family with food, shelter, health, education, clothing, hygiene, transportation, leisure and welfare. – Source (PT)

Harvard economist on Brazilian economic growth

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Brazil will not again grow between 7% and 8% annually, says economist Dani Rodrik, professor of international political economy at Harvard University and a leading expert in development economics.

According to Rodrik, the beneficial global environment — high-growth in China, high commodity prices, growth in advanced countries — will not be repeated. “It is unrealistic to expect a growth rate of 3% to 4% in Brazil,” said Rodrik, who attended yesterday’s seminar by the magazine “Carta Capital”.

According to him, the phase of high growth in the world is over. Brazil, with strong democratic institutions, is resilient. “But the country should not be overly ambitious, it needs to be careful and fiscally safe to deal with external shocks that are likely to come.”

Folha – Brazil grew 0.9% in 2012 and there is a perception that the growth model based on consumption is exhausted. What do you think?

DR – Two years ago, everyone said that Brazil was experiencing a new economic miracle. I thought it was a huge exaggeration. Now, people are jumping to conclusions on just one year of growth.

Brazil will not grow over 7%, like the economic miracle before the debt crisis or even like in 2010 (7.5%). It is unrealistic to expect a growth rate of 3% to 4%. If the global context improves, 5% is a reasonable rate.

Folha – You say that from now on, high growth in the world will be the exception. Where is Brazil in this scenario?

DR – The conditions that allowed growth of 7% to 8% will not be repeated. Before, we had the early stages of industrialization, when taking labor from rural areas or in the informal sector and bringing it to the industries, we had 400% gains in productivity. Now, we have no great gains without having more investment in education and technology. As technology changes, the industry is very capital-intensive and does not absorb as much manpower. And Brazil, in fact, already reached the peak of industrialization and is now de-industrializing. But this is true for most countries. It is inevitable. The discussion now is the speed of deindustrialization, it is faster than it should be. The industry is no longer the engine of growth. Services and other areas will generate productivity gains.

Folha – You were disappointed with the decision of the BRICs (Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa) to create a development bank …

DR – This is a notion of the 50s, that you have to have financing for infrastructure. Often, what obstructs the development is not lack of funding, but weak institutions, excessive regulation, lack of industrial policy and overvalued currencies. Funding is only one factor. I do not think it’s the appropriate focus for the BRICs. It lacks new ideas on how to fix globalization and create a new relationship between the emerging and the rich.

Folha – You say that the BRICs must stop “pleading”. What is the message that Brazil should send in world forums?

DR – I would you like to see Brazil not address the international system as a developing country, saying it is poor and needs help. Instead, Brazil needs to position itself as a policy maker, who also has great responsibilities. In areas such as climate change, for example, there will be no reduction of emissions if emerging economies do not take responsibility.

Folha – What do you hope from Roberto Azevedo ahead of the World Trade Organization?

DR – The WTO agenda needs to change. The Doha Round has died and people should just accept it. The real challenge for the WTO is to establish a new narrative, that is not limited to: “you reduce your rates and in return we open our markets.” At the moment, the biggest problem is not the lack of trade openness.

And Brazil needs to change its attitude. Brazil occasionally needs to protect its industry, but it has to understand that the rich countries are going through a very difficult situation and they also need to protect their industry. Brazil, despite all the recent increases in rates, can not be called a closed economy. Incidentally, I think that the current tariff structure in Brazil is even positive.

Folha – Why?

DR – Because the bank is giving temporary protection to some industries being decimated by currency appreciation. We live in the possible world, not in a doctrinarian world.

Folha – What is the importance of having a Brazilian leading the WTO?

DR – Brazil may take a pragmatic approach to the WTO, not doctrinarian, which is an evolution of the proposed radical of the free market — that is how the economic policy of Brazil is today. So having a Brazilian in charge of the WTO is very positive.

Folha – You ranks countries as mercantilist or liberal. Where on that range is Brazil?

DR – Brazil is a good mix — it uses liberal rules in its financial system, monetary and exchange policies, but it’s more mercantilist in terms of industrial policies, protection by tariffs, local content rules and usage of the BNDES. Maybe you need less liberalism on the macroeconomic front and more on the trade front. – Source (PT)