The IBGE study looked at airfare costs, but also the most likely passenger-related problems. It mapped the highest-frequency routes in the country, where the majority of flights are concentrated. Of the 877 registered flights in the country in 2010, practically 50% of the passenger air traffic concentrated itself in 24 pairs of cities. The stretches that connect São Paulo with the six principal metropolises (Rio, Brasília, Porto Alegre, Salvador, Belo Horizonte and Curitiba) was responsible for 25% of the total passengers transported — 71,750,986 people in 2010.

For the coordinator of the study, Marcelo Paiva Motta, the concentration of connections represents disadvantages for the passengers from some Brazilian regions. “The concentration may cut travel costs, but it depends on what smaller cities have a higher number of connections, a measure that lessens the passengers’ access, because travel time becomes longer,” he explained.

In 2010, 135 of 5,565 Brazilian counties had airports. The demographic and economic importance make São Paulo the main concentrator of passenger flow in the country, followed by Rio de Janeiro and Brasília. Despite the concentration, in spacial terms, the country is well-covered, according to Mota.

The study also shows that air cargo transport is even more concentrated, due to elevated costs. More than half the traffic occurs in 10 pairs of connections. São Paulo-Manaus led the air cargo movement, with a total volume of 99,344 thousand kg. The São Paulo-Recife connection comes in 4th place, with 17,085 thousand kg. In the top 10 is Recife-Fortaleza (9th place) at 7,557 thousand kg.

In Marcelo Paiva Motta’s opinion, the data may help in the creation of public policies to improve the accessibility of cities that are less favored in terms of aerial connections and solve the problem of places where the distance of the airports is far or hard to access.

Stratfor explains Brazil’s geographic challenge to consolidate control over its vast territory and connect its regions more efficiently.

Brazil has officially inaugurated its new national stadium in the capital, Brasilia.President Dilma Rousseff took to the pitch in what is Brazil’s most expensive stadium, having cost more than $750m to build.With the Confederations Cup less than a month away and the World Cup little more than a year away, Brazil has rushed to complete 12 new stadiums in the country.

Trish Regan investigates Brazil’s immense oil reserves, and explains how General Electric is developing new technology in an attempt to extract it from beneath the ocean floor.

Famous for its churches, the historic city of Ouro Preto, in Minas Gerais, turned into a track for the best of downhill mountainbike riders in South America. 18-year-old Lucas Borba won the Red Bull Desafio das Cruzes.

Trish Regan reports on how a cheap, bland (but oddly refreshing) Rio beach drink has broken into the American market, and set off a brand war between beverage giants Coke and Pepsi.

The reason for this is that the increase in web usage in Brazil, Angola and Mozambique still would have a long ways to go before reaching the same levels of penetration of rich countries, while in Japan the reality points to a technological “maturity”. Proof of this is that there are already more Portuguese speakers on the web than the 75 million Germans and the 60 million users that speak French. Arabic, despite being spread out throughout different regions of the world, today has a internet user population lower than Portuguese, with 65 million.

The leading langauge of the Internet continues being English, with a user population of 565 million. But, if this was total dominance 10 years ago, today it’s facing threat by China. The number of people that principally use Chinese on the web is already at 510 million people. The third place goes to Spanish, with 165 million users. To specialists, part of a language’s global influence will be measured in a few years just by its usage on the Internet.

Politics. Counting the number of users in each language isn’t just an indication of its culture’s influence. The governments of emerging countries are pressing the International Telecommunication Union to adopt a stronger position in relation to the defense that there is more control by governments over a web that is now largely dominated by technology companies from rich countries. This week, in Geneva, the ITU is holding another debate on the subject and, once more, emerging countries will press them for a greater interference of the States on the future of the web.

There are at least three groups of countries that do not disguise the clash of opinions. On one side, Americans and Europeans insist that the Internet needs to continue its semiprivate trajectory, without larger State involvement. Emerging countries say this position is “cynical”, since the very company that establishes web domains is from a project headed by the American government. “What the US wants is the non-involvement of other governments on the web. But they continue having a clear influence”, said a director of a regulatory agency in South America.

Control. On the other end are countries like Russia, which defend State control on the web. In a middle position is Brazil, since Brasília insists that one of its goals is to guarantee a larger “democratization” of global management of the Internet. – Source (PT)

“Some believed it was due to Pope Francis’s visit to Rio in July. Others thought it was because of the Confederations Cup to be held next month. Rumors that the Bolsa Família program would be suspended made thousands of people who benefit from the federal government’s social program form long lines at Caixa Econômica Federal bank branches in the suburbs of Rio de Janeiro and in the Baixada Fluminense on Saturday afternoon – they wanted to withdraw the funds given by the federal government.

The rumor was denied by the federal government and by Caixa, but the denial didn’t reach most beneficiaries, who rushed to Caixa banks. “They are saying that the government will pay the next three months by Sunday, May 19, and then cancel the program. My neighbor already withdrew her money and said the government wants to save up to pay for the celebrations for the Pope,” said Janúbia Silva Alves, 29, a resident of Baixa do Sapateiro, one of the slums that comprises the Complexo da Maré, in Bonsucesso (North zone of Rio).

She has two children and receives R$ 134 from the Bolsa Família program.Alves and two of her friends were part of a group of more than 150 people who spent the afternoon in one of the Caixa agencies in the neighborhood. Part of the Maré and Complexo Alemão are in Bonsucesso.

On Sunday at 5:03 pm, the ATM machines in the bank stopped working after they ran out of cash. When the first person in line said the money had finished, the people started to scream. “The people on my street say the government is canceling the funds. That’s why I came as fast as I could,” said Maria José Barbosa, 40, who didn’t know much about the rumor.

She is the mother of four children, one of them a baby, and wanted to receive R$ 195. Her money is deposited on the 28th of every month. She lives in the Adeus slum, the first stop of the Alemão lift. At the other Caixa branch in the neighborhood, Michele Silva encouraged her neighbors to stay in line. On Saturday, she withdrew the May payment and tried to receive the amount equivalent to two other months. “I read online that the Bolsa Família program will be suspended for three months due to the Confederations Cup.

I was told that some friends received the money for the three months on Saturday and I came here to receive the other two payments,” said Silva, a resident of Maré.On Sunday at 5:20 pm, 109 people were in line inside the stuffy branch on Cardoso de Morais street.

Not even a poster saying that the payments will not be suspended made the people give up. “Nobody here believes in politicians. I will stay in line until midnight to receive my money,” said Silva, 31, the mother of three children.

Similar rumors led to a rush to ATM machines in capital cities of northeastern Brazil as alarmed beneficiaries tried to withdraw the payments. There are preliminary report of disorder in Alagoas and Maranhão. The Brazilian Federal Police is investigating the origin of the rumors.” - Source

As far as blogs go, what are my favorites? Eat Rio, Scharlab, and Expat Brazil. Deep Brazil also gets an honorable mention for consistent, varied content.

There are some relative newcomers on the scene but I find their approach a bit off-putting because their main interest is revenue. Nothing wrong with a little capitalism but their implementation and quality leaves something to be desired. In fact, these types I put in the same group as the “recent” influx of tourists and Brazil-groupies who show fake-interest (if I may call it that) in Brazil.

Not to get too off-topic but I’ve spoken with gringos in Rio who’ve been there for many, many years and they detest the “new Rio” (of the last several years). Of course, they’re referring to the Zona Sul, but I digress.

For Brazil-groupies, Brazil as a deeply interesting place is replaced with surface-Brazil, to the likes of which Paris Hilton might say “that’s hot” (and then move on). There’s definitely a reason I look fondly upon my time living in Natal in Rio Grande do Norte….small and quiet with a coastline and a sea of warm water. Plus, it’s tough to beat leaving my apartment in swim trunks and flip-flops only and walking down to a beautiful and peaceful beach in about 4-minutes flat.

While everyone awaits the big gaming events, I await the hopeful calm after the storm.

Looting, stealing, fights, drug use, the closing of metro stations and more serious incidences: two deaths (one by gun and the other by overdose), five shot and at least two stabbed. Over the weekend, São Paulo recorded the most violent Virada Cultura since its first edition, in 2005. The crimes were concentrated between 2am and 5am yesterday (Saturday) and caused scenes of terror, like that of a young man being stabbed in the Viaduto do Chá area. In all, 28 adults were arrested, 9 adolescents were apprehended and 1,800 people had to be attended due to an excess of alcohol.

The city government and the Military Police confirmed the record violence at the Virada this year and attributed the problems to the “increase in the quantity of people willing to steal.” “People’s behavior changed. People who used to not come are coming (to the Virada) with other intentions”, said the mayor Fernando Haddad, upon commenting on the results of the first Virada of his term. “But we can’t let ourselves be intimidated. We have to go to the street.” At his side, Coronel Reinaldo Simões Rossi, the Military Police chief, said the police presence was larger than ever — 3,424 officers (350 more than last year) and 1,400 civil guard officers. “The MP have expertise in policing crowds. The behavior of the theives, however, transcends any planning”, he said.

During the day, there were complaints that the MPs weren’t reacting firmly towards the crimes. “In front of a crowd of 4 million, the uproar caused by police chasing after theives might be worse than the theft alone”, the Coronel reasoned. There were scenes of scuttling and confusion provoked by fights and looting in the early hours of the morning. Some areas were badly illuminated, like the Ramos Plaza, in front of the Teatro Municipal, and the Viaduto do Chá. Journalists from the Estado newspaper witnessed looting on the corner of Direita and Quintino Bocaiuva streets, close to the Sé Plaza. Merchants ended up closing their doors. Elsewhere, on Duque de Caxias Avenue, near the Sé Plaza, two girls fought 330 yards from a police vehicle. A little further, a young man was being beat up by four others. The police officers did nothing against the assaults.

Suplicy. On Saturday, just after the Daniela Mercury and Zimbo Trio concert, one of the victims of the violence was Senator Eduardo Suplicy. As soon as he realized his wallet had been taken, Suplicy went to the stage, beside Daniela Mercury, and made a plea that his belongings be returned. “They took his wallet with all his documentation. When he told me, I said that he should personally come to request that they be returned”, said the singer, who went on to say: “The person should return everything. If there’s money, all of it. Find a way to return it to a (police) posting.” After a few minutes, the Senator’s wallet with its documents were returned, but his cell phone didn’t show up. – Source

“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.

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.”)

____

Related: Portuguese now the 5th most used langauge on the web (new)

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.

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.

(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.