Stories about Brazil from July, 2010
Brazil: Nomad Tribe Protest to Prove Its Existence
Altino Machado blogs on the tribe Awá-Guajá, a group of nomad indigenous who emerged from the heart of the Amazon forest to prove their existence [pt] and to demand that their land be protected from invasion. Survival International also reported on the story.
Brazil: Copyright Reform Proposal Under Consultation
A public consultation on the Brazilian Copyright Act has received over 1,200 contributions. The proposed changes have fuelled intense debate in the blogosphere and twittosphera.
Brazil: Disgust at prejudice against atheists on live TV
Robson Fernando comments [pt] on a declaration of the police-show host José Luiz Datena who has “associated atheists and disbelief in God with everything that sucks” and said that “Atheists have no moral boundaries, the most brutal crimes are linked to the ‘lack of God in the heart'” on live...
Brazil: African Artist Refused Entry
Spanish based storyteller and artist Boniface Ofogo Nkama, from Cameroon, was refused entry to Brazil last Friday because of the lack of a visa. He had been invited to participate in a Storytelling Symposium [pt], and the organizer, Benita Prieto, pours her heart out and tells all [pt].
Brazil: Limits on Food Ads Shake Market Forces
The Federal Brazilian Health Surveillance Agency has ruled changes in food advertising to include warnings printed on packages, amidst strong industry reaction. Do consumers have a say in this debate?
Brazil: Collaborative Website on Street Dwellers
Maria Frô talks about the new website FalaRua [Street Talking], dedicated to the street dwellers of Brazil. The online community offers information about the Project for Training and Strengthening of Street Dwellers and invites everyone to participate through a quick registration. [all links in Portuguese]
Brazil: Training Citizen Media in the Suburbs of São Paulo
A new citizen journalism project is underway in the poor, marginalized suburbs of São Paulo. Journalist Bruno Garcez launched blog Mural [pt] where he posts citizen media tips and interacts with his students. The new citizen reporters are also invited to publish their reporting and explain the process they have...
Brazil: How Could the Amazon Thrive in the 21st Century?
Lou Gold reacts to Andrew Revkin's post at the NY Times blog DotEarth on the future of the Amazon: “Can we really keep marketing the land, its products and services? Can the market really be the final arbiter? What are its limits? Perhaps only catastrophe can show them to us?...
Mozambique/Brazil: “Ethanol diplomacy” meets criticism
NGOs furiously denounced last week's trilateral accord between Brazil, Mozambique and the European Union promoting ethanol production in Mozambique for the European market. The blogsphere provides some background to this "ethanol diplomacy" and questions its future social and environmental impacts.
UK: No Reckoning for Police Excessive Force
Today marks five years since the shocking shooting death of Brazilian Jean Charles de Menezes by London police. The Brazilian blogosphere has yet to respond. Random Blowe reminds that no official has been held responsible, and compares to the G20 brutality case in which it was just announced there will...
Brazil: Daily Violence Against Women
In Brazil, 10 women are assassinated everyday. The recent assassination of a woman by the alleged father of her baby, and a promising young Brazilian goalkeeper, has sparked the conversation in the blogsphere about violence against women.
Brazil: Electoral Blogsphere Censored
Censorship in the Brazilian blogsphere is an extremely sensitive issue due to a dictatorship past when it was legal. As the presidential elections of 2010 approach, the siege tightens and bloggers react.
Brazil: Lusophone Countries United at the Theater Stage
For the first time in Brazil, theater groups from East Timor and Sao Tome & Principe will present plays at the FESTLIP (Festival of Portuguese Language) [pt]. The festival taking place in Rio de Janeiro, also includes plays from all the other lusophone states: Cape Verde, Mozambique, Angola, Guinea-Bissau, Portugal...
Paraguay: Prejudice in International Media During the World Cup
In Paraguay, the 2010 FIFA World Cup evidenced that Paraguayans had to look out for discrimination coming from the least expected source: international mainstream media from Brazil and Spain.
Brazil: Call for the First Progressive Bloggers Meeting
Conceição Lemes in Viomundo calls on bloggers for the 1st Progressive Bloggers Meeting, to take place in São Paulo in 21-22 August [pt]. The meeting will gather bloggers from all over the country in order to share experiences on freedom of speech, politics, and democracy in the Brazilian society, in...
Brazil: Death of an Old and Brave Newspaper
Brizola Neto says that one of the oldest Brazilian newspapers, Jornal do Brasil (JB) will cease its printed version and will only run online. The blogger adds that the almost-120-years-old newspaper was a brave opponent to the Brazilian dictatorship (1964-1985) and its disappearance will leave a gap in Rio de...
Brazil: “Paulista” Separatism in a State with 42 Million Inhabitants
A curious map of the state of São Paulo, Brazil, was featured on blog Strange Maps. The blogger gives some background on the “Paulista” separatist movements in that state, which he describes as the West’s Most Populous Sub-Nation.
Equatorial Guinea: Portuguese as its Third Official Language
An online petition [pt] against the entry of Equatorial Guinea to the Community of Portuguese Language Countries (CPLP) has been launched by Portuguese and Mozambican organizations. Brazil and São Tomé & Príncipe [pt] support President Obiang intentions. In case the country is accepted, Portuguese will become its third official language...
Brazil: High Index on Work Stress
A recent survey by Isma Brazil (International Stress Management Association) reveals that 30% of the economically active population of Brazil has already reached a burn out point at work, coming in just behind Japan. The reasons presented are long journeys, fear of dismissal and absence of a balance between effort...
Brazil: Afro-Brazilian Claims to Affirmative Action Denied
After nearly a decade discussing the Racial Equality Statute, last month the Brazilian senate finally approved it. Out of the document are the most controversial demands from Afro-Brazilian movements: a quota system of affirmative action in both education and the job market.
Brazil: Jokes and the World Cup Octopus
Many Brazilian bloggers started making jokes with the ability of an octopus named Paul to “predict” the results of many matches of the 2010 FIFA Wolrd Cup, incluiding the one of the final match. The funny images can be found here, here, here and here and a website was also...
About our Brazil coverage
Fernanda Canofre is the Brazil editor. Email her story ideas or volunteer to write.
