· March, 2013

Stories about Portuguese from March, 2013

Brazilian LGBT Advocates Beaten, One Arrested

  29 March 2013

On March 27, a protest against the recent election of congressman and controversial evangelical preacher Marco Feliciano as chairman of the Committee for Human Rights and Minorities in the Brazilian Deputy Chamber ended with repression against LGBT rights advocates. On Youtube, Rodrigo Grassi shared the moment when one of the protestors...

Will Brazil Stem New Tide of Immigration?

  29 March 2013

The global financial crisis, wars and natural disasters have inspired a new wave of immigration to Brazil. The development of successful immigration policies may contribute to Brazil’s reputation as an emerging global power.

Brazilian Military Enters Indigenous Lands

  28 March 2013

On March 22, the Brazilian Government deployed [pt] 60 forces of the police and army to the lands of the Munduruku indigenous people, at the Tapajós river basin. Activists and bloggers believe that the mission is to ensure the realization of studies of impact of the construction of yet another...

Global Dialogues Seeks Stories for Short Films

  26 March 2013

Global Dialogues is promoting an international contest that challenges all young people worldwide (under 25 by April 10, 2013) to pitch an idea for a short film about HIV/AIDS and sexuality or about violence. Besides the prizes listed in the rules of the contest, Global Dialogues promises that “the best...

Brazil Violently Ousts Indigenous Village Ahead of World Cup

  25 March 2013

Brazilian police violently evicted a group of indigenous people from a building they had occupied in Rio de Janeiro to make way for a sports museum, the latest in a series of evictions that have drawn criticism from human rights defenders as Brazil prepares to host the 2014 World Cup.

VIDEO: Tokyo Gives Harlem Shake a Whirl

  21 March 2013

Popular Internet video meme the Harlem Shake [en] has hit Tokyo. A verison organized by a Latino under the pseudonym Saw was filmed on March 17, 2013 in Shibuya, the heart of Japan's youth culture, and the video was uploaded on YouTube a few days later. Portal Mie [pt], an online portal that serves Portuguese-speaking foreigners in Japan, has...

Guinea-Bissau is Second Worst Democracy

  21 March 2013

The Democracy Index 2012 from The Economist Intelligence Unit, published on March 19, 2013, places Guinea-Bissau second to last in the ranking, just before North Korea. The same day a coalition of civil society organizations released a roadmap with concrete proposals for the restoration of constitutional order following the military...

Science and Homosexuality Through the Lens of a Brazilian Pastor

  20 March 2013

Silas Malafaia, a conservative pastor and bachelor in psychology, is the head of Brazil's Victory in Christ Assembly of God Church and enemy #1 of those who fight for homosexual rights in the country. And despite heavy opposition to the ideas he espouses, Malafaia has a very large following throughout the country.

Tales of Love and Sex from Angola

  19 March 2013

Rosie Alves is a 21-year-old blogger in Luanda who writes short tales often about love and intimate encounters in her blog "Sweet Cliché". She shares with Global Voices her motivations and aspirations, telling us more about her generation and the growing Angolan blogosphere.

Unstable State of Justice in São Tomé and Príncipe

  15 March 2013

The judicial system of Sao Tome and Principe has been in tumultuous tides. Elsa Pinto's appointment to Attorney General's Office raised objections about her judicial past and lasted no more than fifteen days [pt]. Humbah Aguiar analyzed the situation in a video [pt], Danilo Salvaterra shared on Facebook a reflection...

Banned Music and Missing Voices in Angola

  14 March 2013

The Angolan National Police have confiscated, amongst other works, DVDs by rapper Brigadeiro 10 Pacotes in an act of censorship against voices that are unsettling the Angolan authorities. A protest was called for in response which ended in police violence and at least one arrest. On the web, citizens remember the activists that disappeared after demonstrations in 2012.

Grievance of a Young Indignant Santomean

  13 March 2013

Danilo Salvaterra published [pt] a video on Facebook that shows a young boy from São Tomé and Príncipe complaining about the general lack of basic infrastructures not only in Diogo Vaz (where the teenager lives and the video was recorded), but also in the rest of the country. He mentions...

Activists Worldwide Mourn French Author Stéphane Hessel

  6 March 2013

Writer, human rights advocate, and French resistance fighter Stéphane Hessel, whose bestselling manifesto on peaceful uprising inspired the disenchanted of Europe and the United States to organize into protest, died on the night of February 26, 2013. He was 95. A peaceful march is planned on March 7, 2013, the day of his funeral.

About our Portuguese coverage

Manuel Ribeiro
Manuel Ribeiro is the Portuguese editor. Email him story ideas or volunteer to write here.