Explaining Brazil: Recent Episodes
Central 3 Podcasts
You’ve grown accustomed to reading The Brazilian Report‘s content online. Now, we’re bringing you our latest project: Explaining Brazil, a weekly podcast. We will talk about the most pressing issues in Brazil, ranging from politics, to economics, to social issues.
Brazil’s “Big Center” were the big winners of this year’s municipal elections, despite being regularly demonized by the population. We explain who they are and how they work.
Just as Brazilians were starting to get used to their so-called new normal, a second wave appears to be on the horizon.
After weeks of gloating about its fast and efficient vote count system, Brazil’s election authorities were hacked during Sunday’s vote, raising cybersecurity fears.
The U.S. election process took days to confirm a winner. Were it to have taken place in Brazil, the entire vote count would have been wrapped up within a couple of hours.
Brazil’s Central Bank has launched PIX, its new instant payment system. We analyze what changes this brings to the country’s financial landscape.
Jair Bolsonaro and São Paulo Governor João Doria are using the race for a vaccine as a sparring match before the 2022 election.
Almost two years since his election, President Jair Bolsonaro has cozied up to the establishment politicians he campaigned against — and his core supporters are incensed.
Municipal elections have a significant impact on national politics. And what happens in November 2020 will ripple over until 2022.
Some Latin American countries have been called out for not enacting social distancing rules during the pandemic. Others, for using them to repress specific populations.
Every single living former governor of Rio has been jailed at some point, and the incumbent governor looks set to face the same destiny.
Brazil’s second-quarter GDP results have been released and it’s official: the country is back in recession. We analyze how Brazil can recover.
Latin America had its first confirmed Covid-19 case on February 26. Six months later, the region is the world’s coronavirus epicenter. How have things gotten so out of control?
Álvaro Uribe is arguably the most powerful politician in Colombia, but he has been placed under house arrest for a fraud scandal. What does this mean for the country?
Ironically, Brazil’s mismanagement of the coronavirus crisis may lead to the country cutting the line in the race for a vaccine. This episode was supported by AMEC, the Brazilian Association of Investors in Capital Markets.
After months of reckless behavior, President Jair Bolsonaro has been infected with the coronavirus. And is trying to make lemonade out of it.
In this final episode of our series, we look back at the legend of that final, and then try and frame the legacy of the 1970 World Cup, both in Brazil and abroad.
Pelé is the greatest footballer of all time, and the 1970 World Cup in Mexico is seen as his crowning achievement. But just months before the tournament, people in Brazil thought he was finished.
The coronavirus has made regular meet-and-greet campaigns impossible. And that will favor political fake news rings.
As anti-racist protests break out around the world, we pick apart at the deep racial divides in Brazilian society and take a look at our own heritage.
Brazil saw anti-Bolsonaro protests this weekend. Does it mean that opposition to the far-right leader has finally come out of hibernation?
The world has abandoned chloroquine as a possible cure against the coronavirus. But Brazil’s Bolsonaro is doubling down on his bet.
If Covid-19 is a war, then heads of state must choose the fighting lanes that will cause the least casualties. Which is best? Enacting a lockdown, or reopening the economy? These economists believe they know the answer.
Jair Bolsonaro fought tooth and nail to keep his Covid-19 tests a secret. Johns Hopkins professor Filipe Campante explains what was at stake in this case.
Links to paramilitary mafias, poor economic results, controversial cabinet firings … and a botched pandemic response. None of this has dented Jair Bolsonaro’s core group of supporters. Until now. Originally aired in May 6th
Despite Brazil releasing updated figures on Covid-19 cases and deaths every day, inconsistencies in the data have left policymakers in the dark over the real spread of the virus. Originally aired in April 15th
Amid the worst pandemic in a lifetime, President Jair Bolsonaro has gone after his own Health minister, stopping just shy of sacking him. Originally aired in April 8th
Brazil’s employment rates will be decimated by the Covid-19 pandemic. Originally aired in April 2nd
While the world goes into self-isolation and governments pass stimulus packages to save their economies from collapse, the Brazilian president resists such moves, and wants “business as usual.” Originally aired in March 27th
By asking supporters to take to the streets and ask for the shutdown of Congress and “the end of the Supreme Court,” Jair Bolsonaro may finally have gone too far.
The implementation of 5G in Brazil still has many obstacles in its way, not least pressure from the country’s two leading trading partners.
Recent crises in Latin America show how the Armed Forces remain key power brokers in the democratic game. But using the Army as a legitimizing force brings back old demons from Latin America’s not-so-distant past—when most of the region was ruled by military dictatorships. And this puts civilian leaders in an immensely fragile position.
President Jair Bolsonaro has broken away and launched the only overtly far-right party in Brazilian politics. This week we look at the rise of extremism and polarization in Brazil’s political arena.
The Brazilian Republic is 130 years old. The democratic dream remains not entirely fulfilled, but Brazil has made many strides. So we ask: what is the state of our union?
Brazil is known for its mammoth bureaucratic system. But blockchain could help business in Latin America’s top economy.
From Iraq to Catalunya, Lebanon to Hong Kong … it seems like we’re seeing protests erupt everywhere. But one region seems to have been hit harder than others by this massive wave of disgruntlement: Latin America. It seems that Latin America’s veins are as wide open as they’ve ever been.
In just a couple of weeks, Brazil will hold the largest oil auction in its history. This week, we look back at how the country rose to become a key player in offshore drilling
The Brazilian construction group admitted to paying USD 29 million in bribes over a decade in Peru. And it has caused the downfall of four former presidents—and potentially a fifth.
With references to God, socialism, and gender issues—not to mention skirting the blame for Amazon deforestation—Jair Bolsonaro’s speech at the United Nations General Assembly made people all over the world cringe.
The world’s largest retailer has just improved its position in Brazil. What will be the impact on local players?
Ranchers in Northern Brazil used WhatsApp to coordinate massive—and simultaneous—Amazon fires. The worst part? The government knew beforehand.
Brazil has hit the headlines worldwide thanks to Jair Bolsonaro’s inflammatory statements and lack of environmental policy, but there are deeper origins to Brazil’s image problem abroad.
A Harvard professor believes that international powers could start pressuring (and even threatening) Brazil due to its environmental shortfalls. Guest: Stephen M. Walt, professor of international affairs at Harvard University’s John F. Kennedy School of Government.
The Brazilian Congress is back from vacation. And the country’s lawmakers have a lot on their plates. After six months of constant power struggles with the government, what can we expect in the second half of 2019? Is a tax reform too far-fetched?
Since the turn of the year of 2016 to 2017, over 200 inmates were killed within government-run prisons. In other countries, this would spark outrage, protests, and public disgust. Not in Brazil, a country where more and more people believe that the only good criminals are dead criminals.
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.
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. Andrew Fishman explains the case. He is the managing editor of The Intercept Brasil. He is one of […]
Brazilian President Jair Bolsonaro’s recent call to arms is a strategic bet on polarization. The pro-government protests gave him breathing room—but for how long?
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?
The Brazilian government wants to privatize every one of its state-owned companies. But privatization remains a dirty word in Brazil—and only 17% support the idea. Guests: Former Finance Minister Henrique Meirelles and Insper Professor Sandro Cabral.
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).
The Church’s efforts to protect the Amazon and indigenous people led Brazil’s intelligence agency to spy on Catholic priests. Featuring the following guests: journalists Mauricio Savarese, Paula Schmitt, Rubens Valente (and voice-over of Alex Hochuli).
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?
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.
Imagine you are a Brazilian soybean producer located in the state of Mato Grosso, deep in midwestern Brazil, neighboring Bolivia. And you have clients waiting for your products in China. So, how do you get your soybeans to your Chinese customers? What would you say if I told you that the drive between your silos […]
On February 4, Justice Minister Sergio Moro presented his first bill after taking office. His anticrime plan, as the set of proposals was called, includes several measures against organized crime. And, for the first time, it singles out urban militias as one of the targets of the state. It may seem ludicrous, but urban armed […]
On January 25, an iron tailings dam near the town of Brumadinho, in the Southeastern state of Minas Gerais, spilled the equivalent of at least 12 hundred Olympic-sized pools of mud onto the surrounding region. -How did this happen? -Who is to blame? -What will be the lasting environmental consequences? -And, most importantly, how can […]
If you live in or have even been to São Paulo, it is likely that you’ve walked over a waterway without even noticing it. There are between 300 and 500 of them in Brazil’s biggest city, running through pipes extending from 1,500km to 4,000km. And the fate of the city’s main rivers doesn’t have a […]
To discuss this topic, we spoke with Gustavo Faleiros, coordinator of the organization Info Amazônia, a network of organizations and journalists which deliver updates from the nine countries of the Amazon rainforest.
The conservative wave that swept across the country marks a major rupture. Or, instead, a critical transition – a concept developed by professors Carlos Pereira (FGV), Bernardo Mueller (UnB), Marcus Mello (UFPE) and Lee Alston (Indiana University) in their book Brazil in Transition: Beliefs, Leadership, and Institutional Change.
We analyze the reasons for the conservative tsunami that swept Brazil’s 2018 election. Three main factors come into play.
As brazilians head to the polls in two and a half weeks, we’ve got to ask: what’s the state of brazilian democracy?
The Brazilian Report talks to Fernando Vega, the Latin American Social Solutions Manager at comScore
Now, eight years after the end of his second term, Lula is in prison, serving a 12-year sentence for passive corruption and money laundering. His Workers’ Party suffered major defeats in the 2016 municipal elections, losing in many key municipalities, including their crown jewel – São Paulo. Barring the legal equivalent of a miracle, Lula […]
In two months, Brazilians will choose a new president. This past weekend, though, it was our candidates’ turn to choose their running mates. We explain why that matters. Of Brazil’s 37 presidents, eight of them took the job after being elected vice president – for various reasons: death, resignation or impeachment.
As Brazil prepares to analyze the issue of abortion rights, we talk to the Center of Reproductive Rights about the possible impacts of legalizing abortions.
We're joined by Oliver Stuenkel (FGV) and author of "The BRICS and the Future of Global Order"
We host Dr. Rosana Richtmann, an infectious disease specialist at the Emilio Ribas Institute,
We are joined by FGV professors Claudio Couto and Oliver Stuenkel to discuss the repercussions!
We host Xavier Leclerc from Rio.Futuro to discuss how Brazil can become a more innovative country