Explaining Brazil

On October 27, Argentinians are heading to the polls to choose who will lead their nation for the next four years. And, based on what we have seen so far, the race to the Casa Rosada will be extremely hard-fought and polarized. Read show notes. — Support the show

Political scientist Maurício Santoro takes The Brazilian Report to discover Little Africa, the center of black resistance in Rio authorities tried to bury.Read show notes. — Support the show

Economist Monica de Bolle (Johns Hopkins University) talks to The Brazilian Report, breaking down the blockbuster deal between Europe and South America's biggest economies.Read show notes. — Support the show

Brazil has elected an open and proud homophobe as president. As São Paulo hosted its first Pride Parade under his government, we take a look at what it means to be gay in Bolsonaro's Brazil.Read show notes. — Support the show

A look into the billion-dollar gospel market. With sociologist Paul Freston and journalist Amin Guedara.Read show notes. — Support the show

Operation Car Wash's weapon of choice has been used against its members. Thousands of messages exchanged between prosecutors and Sergio Moro—who is now Jair Bolsonaro's Minister of Justice—cast doubt on the legality of several convictions.Read show notes. — Support the show

After five months of squabbles with Congress, President Jair Bolsonaro wanted to show his political strength. A massive crowd would corner lawmakers into bending to his will. A flop, however, could spell the ruin of his administration.Before Mr. Bolsonaro, Brazil wasn't exactly a perfect example of how to protect the rainforest. Now, it is on its way to becoming one of the world's biggest cautionary tales.Today is World Environment Day, but does Brazil have anything to celebrate?Read show notes. — Support the show

Brazilian President Jair Bolsonaro's recent call to arms is a strategic bet on polarization. The pro-Bolsonaro protests gave him breathing room—but for how long? Read show notes. — Support the show

The Brazilian government has suggested reducing the number of questions in the 2020 Census as a way of cutting public spending. Will this compromise the results? Read show notes. — Support the show

Brazil has 138 federally-owned companies—and the government wants to privatize every single one of them. But only 17% of Brazilians support the idea. Guests: Sandro Cabral, head of the Master's Degree in Public Policies at São Paulo's Insper Business School; and former Finance Minister Henrique Meirelles.  Read show notes. — Support the show

Deemed the country's "national sport," Brazilian football remains amateur on the business side of it—which interferes with on-the-pitch action. Guest: Fernando Monteiro, managing director and partner in L.E.K. Consulting’s São Paulo office. He produced a study on Brazilian club's financial woes. Read show notes. — Support the show

It is no wonder Brazilians call their tax authority the "Lion," due to its ferocious pursuit of tax dodgers. Guests: Fundação Getulio Vargas professors Linneu de Albuquerque Mello and Antonio Carlos Porto Gonçalves. Read show notes. — Support the show

Jair Bolsonaro has been ambivalent towards China, the Asian juggernaut that is—by far—Brazil's top trading partner. But that could change soon. Guests: Charles Tang (head of the Brazil-China Chamber of Commerce and Industry), and Mauricio Santoro (Head of the Department of International Relations at the State University of Rio de Janeiro). Read show notes. — Support the show

The Church's efforts to protect the Amazon and indigenous people led Brazil's intelligence agency to spy on Catholic priests. Guests: journalists Rubens Valente, Mauricio Savarese, Paula Schmitt (and voice-over of Alex Hochuli). Read show notes. — Support the show

After a year in jail, how does Lula still fit into the Brazilian political landscape? What does the future hold for him, or his Workers' Party—and for the Brazilian left? Read show notes. — Support the show

For decades, political elites and the military have tried to sweep Brazil's recent authoritarian past under the rug. It was a time in which kidnappings, torture, and rape became state policy. Now, Brazil's ultra-right wing is trying to rewrite history. Read show notes. — Support the show

After five years, Operation Car Wash's gravitational center has shifted from Curitiba to Rio, where investigators have opened up a sordid bottomless pit of corruption in that state. How will the anti-corruption probe look like moving forward? Read show notes. — Support the show

For the first time, we were able to witness the bromance between Jair Bolsonaro and Donald Trump on full display. Has the Brazilian president come out strong from his visit to Washington? Read show notes. — Support the show

Rio de Janeiro city councilwoman Marielle Franco was assassinated in March 2018. Investigations stalled and were filled with missteps by the police. One year later, though, a breakthrough appears to have happened. Read show notes. — Support the show

Carnival is such a focal point of the Brazilian calendar that often locals say nothing gets done in the new year until Ash Wednesday. But, in actual fact, a huge amount of work goes into producing Carnival, and that's what we are going to take a look at this week.Read show notes. — https://brazilian.report/podcast/2019/03/06/50-business-carnival-rio/Support the show