Billionaire’s Star Rises as She Takes Bold Stance on Racism in Brazil

THE NEW YORK TIMES: Luiza Trajano turned a small family store into a retail giant. Now, a company policy limiting its executive training program to Black applicants is drawing praise, outrage and much soul-searching.

Luiza Trajano says her company, Magazine Luiza, is taking overdue steps to diversify its senior ranks and to atone for the brutal legacy of racism in Brazil. | Victor Moriyama for The New York Times
SÃO PAULO, Brazil — It was a casual conversation that led Luiza Trajano, one of Brazil’s wealthiest women, to ponder her country’s racism, to recognize her part in it — and to do something about it.

A few years back, she said, she had heard a young, accomplished Black businesswoman mention that she never attended happy hours with colleagues unless her boss explicitly asked her to join. Years of feeling the rejection that many Black Brazilians experience in predominantly white settings had taught her to seek clear invitations, the woman explained.

Ms. Trajano, who is white, felt a pang of sadness. Then an uncomfortable thought crossed her mind.

“At my birthday parties, there aren’t any Black women,” Ms. Trajano remembered thinking. “That’s structural racism that, in my case, is not born out of rejection, but out of failing to seek them out.”

That moment of introspection for Ms. Trajano, who had turned a small family business into a retail behemoth, helped plant the seeds for a bold corporate affirmative action initiative, which has drawn praise, outrage and plenty of soul searching in Brazil. » | Ernesto Londoño | Friday, January 7, 2022

Leer en español:

Una empresaria audaz está decidida a hablar del racismo en Brasil : Luiza Trajano convirtió una pequeña tienda familiar en un gigante del comercio minorista. Ahora, una política de la empresa que limita su programa de formación de ejecutivos a solicitantes negros suscita elogios, indignación y mucho examen de conciencia. »

President Jair Bolsonaro of Brazil Is Hospitalized

THE NEW YORK TIMES: Mr. Bolsonaro, who was stabbed while on the campaign trail in 2018, experienced stomach discomfort during his vacation and was flown back to São Paulo.

RIO DE JANEIRO — President Jair Bolsonaro of Brazil was flown to São Paulo on Monday and hospitalized for treatment of a possible stomach obstruction after experiencing discomfort while on vacation in the southern state of Santa Catarina, his office and a hospital said.

He was admitted to Vila Nova Star hospital, where he was undergoing exams under the care of Dr. Antônio Luiz Macedo, the surgeon who treated Mr. Bolsonaro after he was stabbed in 2018 while campaigning for president. Mr. Bolsonaro is in stable condition, the hospital said, adding that five doctors were overseeing his care.

In a post on Twitter, Mr. Bolsonaro said he “started feeling poorly after lunch on Sunday.” After arriving at the hospital at 3 a.m., he wrote, he was administered a nasogastric tube, which can be used to drain fluid from the stomach of a patient with an intestinal obstruction. The president, who included a photo from the hospital in the tweet, said that more exams would be conducted to determine whether surgery was necessary. » | Ernesto Londoño and Flávia Milhorance | Monday, January 3, 2022

Brésil : Jair Bolsonaro hospitalisé d'urgence pour une probable occlusion intestinale : Le président brésilien a subi une demi-douzaine d'opérations de l'abdomen depuis la tentative d'assassinat qui l'a visé en septembre 2018. »

The Bolsonaro-Trump Connection Threatening Brazil’s Elections

THE NEW YORK TIMES: With his poll numbers falling, President Jair Bolsonaro is already questioning the legitimacy of next year’s election. He has help from the United States.

President Jair Bolsonaro of Brazil during Independence Day celebrations in São Paulo in September. | Victor Moriyama for The New York Times
BRASÍLIA — The conference hall was packed, with a crowd of more than 1,000 cheering attacks on the press, the liberals and the politically correct. There was Donald Trump Jr. warning that the Chinese could meddle in the election, a Tennessee congressman who voted against certifying the 2020 vote, and the president complaining about voter fraud.

In many ways, the September gathering looked like just another CPAC, the conservative political conference. But it was happening in Brazil, most of it was in Portuguese and the president at the lectern was Jair Bolsonaro, the country’s right-wing leader.

Fresh from their assault on the results of the 2020 U.S. presidential election, former President Donald J. Trump and his allies are exporting their strategy to Latin America’s largest democracy, working to support Mr. Bolsonaro’s bid for re-election next year — and helping sow doubt in the electoral process in the event that he loses. » | Jack Nicas | Thursday, November 11, 2021

Charge Bolsonaro with Murder over Covid Toll, Draft Brazil Senate Report Says

THE GUARDIAN: Draft text says neglect, incompetence and opposition to science fueled ‘stratospheric’ death toll

Jair Bolsonaro’s ‘deliberate and conscious’ decision to delay buying Covid vaccines led to thousands of deaths, the report says. Photograph: Anadolu Agency/Getty Images
The Brazilian president, Jair Bolsonaro, should face murder charges for his role in the country’s “stratospheric” coronavirus death toll, a draft report from a senate inquiry into Brazil’s Covid crisis has recommended.

The 1,078-page document, published by Brazilian media on Tuesday afternoon, is not due to be voted on by the commission until next week and could yet be modified by senators.

But the draft text paints a devastating portrait of the neglect, incompetence and anti-scientific denialism many believe has defined the Bolsonaro administration’s response to a public health emergency that has killed more than 600,000 Brazilians.

Bolsonaro’s “deliberate and conscious” decision to delay buying Covid vaccines needlessly condemned thousands of citizens to early graves, the report claims. » | Tom Phillips in Rio de Janeiro | Tuesday, October 19, 2021

The Rise of Gay Churches in Brazil (2013)

Brazil Has the Highest Coronavirus Death Toll after the United States | COVID-19 Special

Oct 8, 2021 • Brazilian President Bolsonaro called it "a little flu". Now his country has the highest coronavirus death toll after the United States. Infection and death rates are slowly easing but that's little consolation for the bereaved.

Mass Protests in Brazil Call for Jair Bolsonaro’s Impeachment

THE GUARDIAN: Crowds parade through cities as polling shows president’s ratings sinking to new depths

Protesters in Rio de Janeiro were addressed by politicians calling for a united opposition to Jair Bolsonaro.Photograph: António Lacerda/EPA
Tens of thousands of protesters have returned to the streets of Brazil’s biggest cities to demand Jair Bolsonaro’s impeachment, as a poll showed the Brazilian president’s ratings had plumbed new depths.

Huge crowds paraded through downtown Rio on Saturday to voice their outrage at Bolsonaro’s response to a Covid outbreak that has killed nearly 600,000 people and dealt a heavy blow to the South American country’s economy.

“We have come to shout at the top of our voices: Bolsonaro’s place is behind bars,” Carlos Lupi, the president of Brazil’s Democratic Labour party, told thousands of flag-waving demonstrators who had gathered outside Rio’s municipal chamber under a ferocious midday sun.

“This crook who uses the Bible to trick the people … This worm! This wretch! He must go to jail!” Lupi bellowed to cheers of approval. » | Tom Phillips in Rio de Janeiro | Saturday, October 2, 2021

Gay Dating in Rio de Janeiro

Brazil’s President Bans Social Networks from Removing Some Posts

THE NEW YORK TIMES: The new rules in Brazil appear to be the first national policy that restricts how tech companies can control their sites, analysts say.

Supporters of President Jair Bolsonaro of Brazil in São Paulo on Tuesday. Victor Moriyama for The New York Times
President Jair Bolsonaro of Brazil is temporarily banning social media companies from removing certain content, including his claims that the only way he’ll lose next year’s elections is if the vote is rigged — one of the most significant steps by a democratically elected leader to control what can be said on the internet.

The new social media rules, issued this week and effective immediately, appear to be the first time a national government has stopped internet companies from taking down content that violates their rules, according to internet law experts and officials at tech companies. And they come at a precarious moment for Brazil. » | Jack Nicas | Thursday, September 9, 2021

Brazil: Warning Bolsonaro May Be Planning Military Coup amid Rallies

THE GUARDIAN: Former world leaders and public figures say nationwide marches are modelled on US Capitol insurrection

Jair Bolsonaro warned on 21 August that the rallies were a ‘necessary counter-coup’ against Congress and the supreme court. Photograph: Adriano Machado/Reuters
THE GUARDIAN: Former world leaders and public figures say nationwide marches are modelled on US Capitol insurrection

The Brazilian president, Jair Bolsonaro, and his allies could be preparing to mount a military coup in Brazil, according to an influential group of former presidents, prime ministers and leading public figures on the left.

An open letter claims rallies that Bolsonaro followers are staging on Tuesday represent a danger to democracy and amount to an insurrection modelled on Donald Trump supporters’ attack on the US Capitol on 6 January.

They assert the nationwide marches by Bolsonaro supporters against the supreme court and Congress, involving white supremacist groups, military police, and public officials at every level of government, are “stoking fears of a coup in the world’s third largest democracy”. » | Patrick Wintour, Diplomatic editor | Monday, September 6, 2021

Fears of Violence on Brazil’s Streets as Millions Rally to Back Bolsonaro

THE OBSERVER: His rural voters see the embattled president as a ‘messenger from God’. And this week they will march in the cities to support him

Supporters of President Jair Bolsonaro take part in the ‘march of the Christian family for freedom’, in Brasilia, Brazil, on 15 May. Photograph: Joédson Alves/EPA
Jair Bolsonaro supporters aren’t hard to find in Sinop, an agricultural boomtown in the Brazilian Amazon where nearly 80% of voters backed the country’s ultra-conservative leader in the 2018 election.

“He’s a president of the people,” said Marcos Watanabe, the head of the city’s conservative association, sporting a T-shirt stamped with Bolsonaro’s name.

Few, however, are as passionate as the president of Sinop’s farmers’ union, Ilson José Redivo, who has placed a billboard of his leader outside its headquarters with the slogan: “We believe in God and we value the family. We’re with Bolsonaro.”

“He’s trying to change Brazil,” said the 64-year-old corn and soya bean farmer who hosted the rightwing populist in Sinop last year at an event attended by members of the region’s powerful agribusiness elite.

Redivo is one of millions of Bolsonaro devotees expected to hit the streets on 7 September for one in a series of mass rallies that have jolted Brazilian politics and left many citizens fretting over the future of their country’s young democracy.

“It will be the largest demonstration Brazil has ever seen,” Redivo claimed on Friday as he prepared to make the 780-mile journey to Brazil’s capital, Brasília, where one of the largest mobilisations will be held. » | Tom Phillips in Sinop | Sunday, September 5, 2021

Brazil's Jair Bolsonaro Says He Will Be Killed, Arrested or Re-elected

Mr Bolsonaro is planning to run for a second term next year | AFP
BBC: Brazilian President Jair Bolsonaro has said he sees three alternatives for his future: prison, death or victory in next year's presidential election.

The right-wing populist leader is trailing left-wing former President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva in the polls.

"I have three alternatives for my future: being arrested, killed or victory," he told evangelical leaders.

But the former military officer said there was no chance of prison because "no man on Earth will threaten me".

Mr Bolsonaro was nearly stabbed to death on the campaign trail in 2018. His remarks come amid fierce tensions between him and the country's judiciary and election authorities. » | BBC | Sunday, August 29, 2021

Brazil Hopes the World Will Get a Taste for Its Favourite Spirit

While cheaper cachaça is transparent, the more expensive bottles take on darker colours after ageing in wooden barrels

BBC: There is no other drink that represents Brazil more than the sugar cane spirit cachaça.

You visit a bustling bar with friends on a hot evening, and enjoy cold glasses of the country's national cocktail - caipirinha, a mixture of cachaça, sugar, and lime, with lots and lots of ice.

Or just as popular - you drink cachaça neat, downing shots to toast your companions.

Yet like the nation as a whole, the spirit has had a difficult pandemic.

With bars and restaurants across Brazil closed for long periods since last spring and households not allowed to mix, sales slumped by almost a quarter in 2020.

Producers and industry leaders now hope to boost overseas orders of cachaça, in order to compensate. But as Luciano Sadi Andrade, marketing manager at distillers Companhia Müller de Bebidas, admits: "It has always been a challenge... to explain the concept of cachaça for the foreign market."

So what exactly is cachaça? Pronounced "ka-SHAS-sa", it is distilled from sugar cane juice. This, Brazil says, makes it different to rum, which is typically made from the molasses, or thick treacle, left over after sugar cane has been processed into sugar.

Fans of cachaça say this makes it taste fresher and fruitier than rum. » | Luana Ferreira, Business reporter, Brazil | Thursday, August 19, 2021

Brazil: Evangelical Superstar Expelled from Congress over Alleged Role in Husband’s Murder

Flordelis dos Santos de Souza insisted she was innocent and beseeched colleagues to show mercy. ‘Here Flordelis is, destroyed,’ she said. Photograph: Cleia Viana/Brazilian Chamber of Deputies/AFP/Getty Images
THE GUARDIAN: Lower house votes to strip the disgraced celebrity of her mandate in latest dramatic chapter of a saga that has gripped country

Brazilian lawmakers have voted to expel the gospel star turned congresswoman Flordelis over her alleged involvement in the murder of the husband with whom she had raised more than 50 children.

In the latest dramatic chapter of a saga that has gripped Brazil, 437 members of Brazil’s 513-member lower house voted to strip the disgraced evangelical celebrity of her mandate as a result of “conduct incompatible with parliamentary decorum”.

Twelve lawmakers abstained and seven opposed the expulsion of Flordelis dos Santos de Souza, a favela-born church leader who was elected in 2018 as part of the same evangelical wave that brought Brazil’s ultra-conservative president Jair Bolsonaro to power. » | Yom Phillips | Wednesday, August 11, 2021

Over Half of Brazilians Spend More Than They Earn – Survey

THE RIO TIMES: Debts are also a common issue among many Brazilians. A quarter of respondents (25%) have debts exceeding what they can afford to pay.

RIO DE JANEIRO, BRAZIL - A survey of workers in Brazilian companies showed that more than half (or 55%) spend more than their salaries, while another 45% spend "a little less" than they earn.

The survey was conducted by financial consulting fintech Leve. In total, 700 employees from 16 companies were heard.

The goal was to draw a profile of workers' finances. According to Leve, the study drew a worrisome picture of Brazilians' lack of financial control. According to the survey, 35% of workers were only able to maintain their living standards for 3 weeks after ceasing to work. » | The Rio Times | Thursday, July 29, 2021

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The Way He Looks (2014) – Tender Gay Kiss

Oct 28, 2015 • The Way He Looks is a sweet Brazilian film about first love. It involves a blind boy named Leo (Ghilherme Lobo) who has developed feelings for his school friend Gabriel (Fabio Audi).

One night after a party, a drunken Gabriel kisses Leo and then pretends to have blacked out. Finally, as it always does, the truth eventually comes out.

The Way He Looks is the perfect film for any teenager, gay or straight, who yearns to find someone to accept him, regardless of his disabilities or flaws.

Brazil’s Homosexual Couples May Be Prioritized in Housing Program

THE RIO TIMES: Bill 1947/21 includes homosexual couples with their union recognized by the State among the groups to be prioritized in the selection and ranking of beneficiaries for the 'Casa Verde e Amarela' housing program.

RIO DE JANEIRO, BRAZIL - Under analysis by the Chamber of Deputies, the draft amends Law 14.118/21 which deals with the program and currently provides that priority is granted to families in a risk or vulnerable situation, where a woman is the head of the household or that include disabled or elderly people.

"In practice there is pure veiled discrimination, whereby LGBT families have tremendous difficulties in being selected," says the bill's author deputy Rafafá (PSDB-PB).

"The delays in getting answers expose the subtle and perverse discrimination to which these citizens have been submitted," he points out . . . » | The Rio Times | Monday, July 19, 2021

Subscriptions to ‘The Rio Times’ are available here

A Conversation with H.E. Eduardo Leite*, Governor of the State of Rio Grande do Sul

Apr 27, 2021 • Rio Grande do Sul has suffered, as all states have, during the COVID-19 pandemic. RS was in full fiscal adjustment and economic recovery after a debt restructuring agreement with the Federal Government going into the pandemic. Consequently, the Gross State Product (GSP) dropped 7% in 2020, despite a sharp rebound in the second half of the year. Amidst having to fight the virus by providing extra support to hospitals and to those most in need, the Leite administration pressed forward with reforms. Through extensive negotiations, the government was able to reform the state’s civil servant social security system, with immediate effects on the deficit. The government also returned to privatizing roads and other concessions.

* Eduardo Leite recently came out on TV. You can read about his coming out here [Multiple links.]

Brazilian Potential Presidential Candidate Announces He Is Gay

AL JAZEERA: Governor Eduardo Leite of Rio Grande do Sul could challenge Jair Bolsonaro, who has espoused anti-gay rhetoric.

Brazilian governor and potential major party presidential candidate Eduardo Leite, a prominent critic of President Jair Bolsonaro, came out as gay in a TV interview.

Leite, governor of the southern state of Rio Grande do Sul, would be the first openly gay presidential candidate in Brazil. Anti-gay rhetoric has been a staple of speeches by Bolsonaro, who once declared that if he had a gay son, he would rather the child died in an accident. “I have never spoken about a subject related to my private life,” Leite told Brazilian journalist Pedro Bial in a TV interview on Thursday evening. “But during this moment of low integrity in Brazil, I have nothing to hide, I am gay. I am a governor who is gay, not a gay governor, as former President Obama in the US was a president who was Black, not a Black president. And I am proud of that.” » | Source: Al Jazeera and news agencies | Friday, July 2, 2021

CORREIO BRAZILIENSE: Governador do RS, Eduardo Leite namora médico capixaba há nove meses »

Related: Brazilian Presidential Hopeful Comes Out as Gay ahead of Jair Bolsonaro Challenge »

Brazilian presidential hopeful Eduardo Leite comes out as gay: “I’m proud of this” »

A Quarter of Global COVID-19 Deaths Have Been in Latin America | COVID-19 Special

Jul 8, 2021 • A quarter of the world's coronavirus deaths have been in Latin America. A third of new infections are happening in the region - a region where just three percent of the population is fully vaccinated.

In some countries people blame their governments - for making the wrong moves, or making them too late. Poverty, too, is playing its part, making social distancing impossible. Healthcare systems are overwhelmed and economies are shrinking.

So what hope is there for Latin America?