Brazil won the bid for the 2014 Soccer World Cup. This section focuses on the preparations for the World Cup and Brazilian life in general, i.e. culture, mannerisms, customs, etc.) We have highlighted the links/videos of special interest in red. The links/videos are in English unless noted otherwise. Merely right click with your mouse on the "play" symbol or the URL link.
Brazil wins the bid for the 2014 Soccer World Cup...
This is the link to an article about how far behind Brazil is with the preparations for the 2014 Soccer World Cup. Life in Brazil does not move at the same pace as in other countries. The sense of time is much more relaxed and it is impossible and unrealistic to impose an external value system upon Brazilian culture...
Brazil has won five Soccer World Cups (more than any other team in the world) and many consider Brazilians to be the most passionate fans in the world. Soccer is a way of life in Brazil. During the World Cup games the entire country (government offices and stock market) shutdown! The streets are desserted as public transportation comes to a halt. If you are riding a public bus, the driver pulls over to the nearest TV (usually in a bar,) the bus unloads and everyone watches the game! The main city streets are completely desserted. It is a pretty amazing experience! The following is an article and video from CNN.
The first, second and third articles are about how drugs for personal consumption have been made legal in Brazil. This includes ALL drugs. Brazilian jails were overflowing with people arrested on drug charges. It is still illegal to sell, buy, or traffic in drugs. The fourth link (in Portuguese) is the actual law from the Subcommittee for Legal Affairs. According to Brazilian law (LEI No 11.343) put into effect on the 23 of August 2006, "The possession of any drug in Brazil, for personal consumption, entails a warning, community service and education on the effects of drug use. The same applies for the planting and/or preparation of small amounts of any drug." Part of the solution or part of the problem - depends how you look at it...
To make the goals and dreams of the B.C.C. a reality - click here
Some of the most powerful drug gangs in Brazil are mentioned in these articles - the Comando Vermelho ("Red Commandos",) Amigos dos Amigos ("Friends of Friends",) Terceiro Comando ("Third Command,) and PCC ("First Command of the Capital.") It was common for gang leaders to order hits while incarcerated. They would order these assassinations live via cell phone from prison and the hit would take place as they listened. On another occasion, (in 2002) two gang leaders were incarcerated in the same prison, but separated (by locked doors) on different sides of the prison. One gang leader (Comando Vermelho) got access to a gun, a prison guard opened the dividing doors and murdered the other gang leader (Amigos dos Amigos) and his associates. If this goes on in prison, what is life like on the outside? The following articles from CNN answer this question. In the first article, the Commando Vermelho takes the city of Rio hostage for a day. This has happened on repeated occasions between 2002 and 2008. In the second article the PCC takes the city of São Paulo hostage for five days. Pretty powerful stuff...
Google has released a new tool called the Government Requests Tool. It is a visual representation of the request Google received from government agencies to remove content or provide information about users of their services and products. The map shows the number of requests that Google has received between July 1, 2009 and December 31, 2009. The numbers are slightly misleading as they refer to single requests which may have asked for the removal of more than one URL or disclosure of more than one user. Brazil tops the data request table with 3663 single requests followed by the United States with 3580 requests and the United Kingdom with 1166 requests. Brazil again tops the chart with 291 removal requests followed by Germany with 188 and India with 142. The United States are fourth in the listing with 123 removal requests. A click on any country in the list will display additional information about that countries data and removal requests with the removal requests broken down to Google services. Pretty scary stuff...
Despite popular belief, prostitution (without the use of a Pimp or Madam) is legal in Brazil and it is estimated that 1 million people ply the trade. If fact, upon retirement, individuals that worked as prostitutes receive a pension like any other profession. Condom use is common but the industry is not regulated for diseases and roughly 6% of prostitutes are infected with HIV. According to Wikipedia, "The Brazilian anti-AIDS program, which employs prostitutes to hand out information and free condoms, is considered by the United Nations to be the most successful in the developing world." However, child prostitution is illegal and Brazil is considered to have the worst child sex trafficking record second only to Thailand. This article discusses the estimated 250,000-2 million child prostitutes in Brazil. The government is presently engaged in an aggressive campaign to curb sex tourism and child prostitution in Brazil.
There are an estimated 750,000 cases of HIV in Brazil. According to Wikipedia, "The Brazilian experience is frequently cited as a model for other developing countries facing the AIDS epidemic including the internationally controversial policies of the Brazilian government such as the universal provision of antiretroviral drugs (ARVs), progressive social policies toward risk groups, and collaboration with non-governmental organizations. The Brazilian anti-AIDS program, which employs prostitutes to hand out information and free condoms, is considered by the United Nations to be the most successful in the developing world." According to Brazil's Health Minister, José Serra, in 2001, "Our example could serve as a model for other countries in Latin America, the Caribbean, even Africa. Everyone in the world has the right to access these therapies." The Economist echoed a position of the United Nations "no developing country has had more success in tackling AIDS than Brazil. Good job Brazil!!! The B.C.C. educates our clients in the use of condoms and the effects and prevention of diseases. The following is an article that documents the history of the HIV treatment program in Brazil from the first known case (1982) to the present.
To help sponsor future B.C.C. events - please click here
As of 05/01/2010, there had been 258 kidnapping in São Paulo over the last three months. This has been (and continues) to be a serious problem in São Paulo. The targets are mostly Brazilians. Recently, someone attempted to extort money in a fake kidnapping scheme from the Vice President of Brazil (José Alencar Gomes da Silva.) This problem is rare in Rio de Janeiro. The article from the New York Times and is a little older, however it touches on all of the important points about the kidnapping problem in São Paulo.
In 2004, Brazil began switching it's automobiles from gasoline over to "flex." Flex technology allows cars to run on both gasoline and ethanol. Brazil was the first country in the world to make this change. The article from MSNBC addresses this and many other interesting issues about Flex technology in Brazil. Before 2004, living in an apartment next to any busy street (like Avenida Atlantica in Copacabana) was a very dirty affair. If you opened the windows of the apartment, within one hour there was a thin coating of dark pollution soot on everything. Obviously, this was not healthy for the inhabitants of Rio. After 2004 this all changed. Good job Brazil for being so future focused on the environmental needs of the world and for the health-needs of it's inhabitants!
In 2007, Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva (the President of Brazil) showed up 30 minutes late to a meeting of the Union of South American Nations (UNASUR) being held at the Copacbana Palace Hotel in Rio de Janeiro. The headlines of the local and national papers read, "Look! Lula is Brazilian, he showed up 30 minutes late to the conference!" In Brazil, it is customary to be 30 minutes late to dinner and up to one hour late to social occasions or not show up at all! Don't arrange to meet people on street corners, you may be waiting a while! This can make for a frustrating experience when meeting clients.
This is an add for SKOL beer - one of the top sold beers in Brazil. In this add, four Argentineans become three Brazilians. It all starts with the typical stereotypes of Argentineans by Brazilians - hair, Tango vs. Samba and soccer. Notice how they tear off their Argentina national team jerseys and put on the Brazilian national team shirts. This is a very non-p.correct video, however it demonstrates the rivalry between Argentina and Brazil and the passion felt by Brazilians for being Brazilian - it is in Portuguese and pretty much self explanatory.
To become part of the solution - please click here
This article mentions how Lula and Pele were weeping after Rio was announced as the winner for the 2016 Olympic bid. Showing of emotion is a way of life in Brazil and it is not uncommon to watch men and women weeping. After Brazil lost in the 2006 Soccer World Cup, people were crying in the street for hours. An emotional people makes for a fiery culture and never a dull moment. Brazilians wear their hearts on their sleeves - you always know what you are about to get. Positive or negative it can be pleasantly refreshing.
In this video (Portuguese,) the police in São Paulo are fighting one another! The Policia Militar and the Policia Civil are involved in still another argument, guns are drawn and many more police from each side show up. This was the third such scuffle in five days. The worst part is that this incident happened just blocks from one of the worst crack areas in São Paulo. During the confusion, four people died in gang related violence as the police were not present to "keep the peace."
This video (in Portuguese) is from Havaianas - an add for a Brazilian brand and one of the top sellers of flip-flops and sandals in the world. In this add two Brazilians are passionately arguing about Brazilian life, culture and politics. When an Argentinian tries to put in his two bits, both of them gang up on him. They yell at him, saying, "How dare you question the Brazilian way of life!" - until he leaves. Then, after he leaves, they continue to (passionately) ridicule him - how dare he intrude on Brazil? This is how life is in Brazil, Brazilians or people that live here are allowed to question the system, otherwise get out! Brazil is a collectivist culture in a Western system. A beautiful anomaly...