Rio Welcomes New UK Consul General
By Doug Gray, Senior Contributing Reporter RIO DE JANEIRO – This week marks the arrival of Paula Walsh to head up the UK’s Rio office as Tim Flear, the outgoing Consul General, leaves after four years in the post. After a handover week which began under testing circumstances with the events at the Intercontinental Hotel [...]
2014 World Cup City Focus: Brasília
By Robbie Blakeley, Contributing Reporter RIO DE JANEIRO – Brazil’s fourth largest city, and the capital since 1960, lies in the Central-West region of the country and is famous for the famous “fifty years in five” quip from president Juscelino Kubitschek; his ideal was to make Brazil’s economy grow as much in his five year [...]
Marina Silva and Green Politics
By Sibel Tinar, Contributing Reporter RIO DE JANEIRO – In the last of the three profiles of the leading presidential candidates, The Rio Times looks into the life and achievements of world-renowned environmentalist Marina Silva of Partido Verde (P.V., Green Party). Despite being consistently ranked in third place behind Dilma Rousseff and José Serra, Silva [...]
José Serra: Continuity or Change?
By Sibel Tinar, Contributing Reporter RIO DE JANEIRO – With an unwavering and sizable voter support for his bid for presidency, José Serra refuses to be the underdog, despite the ever-growing numbers for his main rival, Dilma Rousseff. In the second of three profiles of the leading contenders, The Rio Times looks into Serra’s life, [...]
2014 World Cup City Focus: Cuiabá
By Robbie Blakeley, Contributing Reporter RIO DE JANEIRO – Situated right in the very middle of South America lies the capital city of the state of Mato Grosso, Cuiabá, also known as the “Green City”. More famous for its excellent museums and beautiful rural landscape than its football, it will nonetheless come into its own [...]
Law Bans Satirization of Candidates
By Jaylan Boyle, Senior Contributing Reporter RIO DE JANEIRO – A controversial law dating back to 1997 was brought into the limelight this weekend after the government banned the media from satirizing presidential candidates in the run-up to the elections. The ban led to a protest fronted by comedians from popular TV shows CQC and [...]
Amazon Deforestation Slows
By Mira Olson, Senior Contributing Reporter RIO DE JANEIRO – The Brazilian government announced on August 9th that levels of deforestation of the Amazon rain forest have fallen by as much as half in the last year, compared to the 2008/2009 monitoring period. Based on data generated by the real time deforestation detection system DETER, [...]
Dilma’s Road to the Top
By Sibel Tinar, Contributing Reporter RIO DE JANEIRO – According to the recent opinion polls, Dilma Rousseff, the candidate of Partido dos Trabalhadores (PT, Workers’ Party), now appears closer than ever to becoming Brazil’s next president. In the first of three profiles of the leading contenders, The Rio Times looks at her path from imprisoned [...]
Keeping Rio’s Roads Safe
By Sibel Tinar, Contributing Reporter RIO DE JANEIRO – The safety of the roads and highways in Rio is again in the headlines following the recent death of eighteen year-old Rafael Mascarenhas, the son of actress Cissa Guimarães, who was killed in the Acústico Tunnel in Gávea after being hit by a car while skateboarding. [...]
First of Four Debates for 2010 Elections
By Sibel Tinar, Contributing Reporter RIO DE JANEIRO – The first televised presidential debate prior to elections took place in São Paulo on August 5th, organized and broadcast by Rede Bandeirantes, with the participation of the four candidates whose parties are represented in the Câmara dos Deputados (Chamber of Deputies); Dilma Rousseff (PT), José Serra [...]