Opinion, by Michael Royster RIO DE JANEIRO, BRAZIL – The protests continue apace, and the protesters seem to be growing in number. Brazilian media of all types are having a feast day if not a feeding frenzy. Why all this tumult over an increase in bus fares that is one twentieth (1/20 or five percent) [...]
Opinion, by Michael Royster RIO DE JANEIRO, BRAZIL – Elections will be held in October 2014 throughout Brazil, with contenders for federal Congress, Senate and President. Although that seems like quite a distance away, it is more than clear that the Presidential campaign has already started. There are four quasi-declared candidates, and one undeclared candidate. [...]
Opinion, by Robbie Blakeley RIO DE JANEIRO, BRAZIL – Not for nothing are Fluminense known as the Time dos Guerreiros (Team of Warriors). Since their epic survival against all the odds against relegation in 2009, the Tricolor have been awarded their battling nickname. And Sunday’s victory, a scrappy 2-1 success over Goías, epitomized what this [...]
Opinion, by Alfonso Stefanini RIO DE JANEIRO, BRAZIL – Dorothy Stang, the 73-year-old American killed in the Amazon Basin in 2005, is remembered by a famous picture where she wore a shirt saying “the death of the forest is the end of our lives.” Chico Mendes, Brazil’s most famous environmentalist who fought for human rights [...]
Editorial RIO DE JANEIRO, BRAZIL – It feels a little self-involved to write about ourselves in the editorial, but when else can we share the latest about what we’re up to? This month our Print edition has a new format on our cover, a full page photo to reflect the excitement of the 2013 Confederations [...]
Opinion, by Michael Royster RIO DE JANEIRO, BRAZIL – The Curmudgeon confesses: he has been to Singapore, and he liked it. The Curmudgeon thinks that Hizzoner, aka DuDu, Lord Mayor of Rio de Janeiro, must have been there too, and liked it. Hizzoner’s decided to try to make Rio over, into a form of Singapore. [...]
Opinion, by Robbie Blakeley RIO DE JANEIRO, BRAZIL – Blink and you might have missed it. The 2013 Campeonato Brasileiro, the country’s national league season, kicked off this past weekend to little fanfare, unfortunately par for the course in this corner of the world. One could argue the excuse of the imminent Confederations Cup – [...]
Opinion, by Robbie Blakeley RIO DE JANEIRO, BRAZIL – The scene was the immediate aftermath of the Campeonato Paulista final, the São Paulo state championship, in which Corinthians had just defeated Santos to lift the trophy. The reaction of the press was telling. As Santos starlet Neymar left the field and was customarily surrounded by [...]
Opinion, by Alfonso Stefanini RIO DE JANEIRO, BRAZIL – I will do my best to refrain myself from using a white elephant idiom in the next couple of hundred words, though tough, I will try. Futebol, aka “soccer,” is the most popular sport in Brazil for good reasons: people love it and it is part [...]
Editorial RIO DE JANEIRO, BRAZIL – It may be a sign that I’ve been an expatriate too long (or long enough) that the word “football” means soccer to me – as it is internationally known. For better or worse being American comes with a lot of stereotypes, and although I wouldn’t change where I’m from, [...]
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