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Friday, September 18, 2026
News and Views from the Global South
CLIMATE CHANGE: Despite Brazil’s Strides, Activists Press for Greater Efforts
Brazil is proudly celebrating Wednesday's entry into force of the Kyoto Protocol, because it played a decisive role in bringing about this event, and is actively contributing to combating climate change, Science and Technology Minister Eduardo Campos told IPS.RIGHTS-BRAZIL: Army Intervenes in ‘War’ Over Land
The 2,000 army troops that Brazil began to deploy Wednesday to the northern state of Pará will not be sufficient to control the tension in the Amazon jungle municipalities where four people have been killed in disputes over land in the past four days.RIGHTS-BRAZIL: State of Para Produces Another ‘Martyr of the Land’
The murder of U.S.-born Catholic nun and activist Dorothy Stang, which has had international repercussions, highlights the need for a government policy that would effectively reduce the violence surrounding conflicts over land, especially in the northern state of Pará.ECONOMY-BRAZIL: High Interest Rates a Deadly Trap, Say Experts
Ten years after taming hyperinflation, the Brazilian economy is facing a new demon: the high interest rates that are crimping economic growth and heightening the country's already drastic inequalities.BRAZIL: Trillion-Dollar Social Debt
Brazil would have to invest close to 7.2 trillion reals (2.7 trillion dollars), the equivalent of over four years of its gross domestic product (GDP), in order to attain a standard of living comparable to the developed nations by the year 2020.BRAZIL: The Debate Over Keeping Historical Documents Secret Indefinitely
Can "national interests" or "state security" justify keeping certain documents secret indefinitely? These are the reasons invoked in Brazil to keep under wrap the records pertaining to the 1865-1870 War of the Triple Alliance, in which the population of the neighbouring country of Paraguay was decimated.WORLD SOCIAL FORUM: The Risks Posed by Success
The World Social Forum could become a victim of its own success, as loud calls for translating ideas and talk into action and practical results threaten to generate divisions and frustration.WORLD SOCIAL FORUM: The Risks Posed by Success
The World Social Forum could become a victim of its own success, as loud calls for translating ideas and talk into action and practical results threaten to generate divisions and frustration.WORLD SOCIAL FORUM: Porto Alegre Puts Mumbai’s Lessons to the Test
Returning to its original venue of Porto Alegre, Brazil, this year's fifth World Social Forum (WSF) will attempt to incorporate some of the lessons learned from the 2004 edition, held in Mumbai, India.WORLD SOCIAL FORUM: Indigenous Peoples Claim Their Own Space
''We are the other world,'' declared the organisers of the indigenous segment of this year's World Social Forum in Porto Alegre, Brazil, the fifth global gathering of non-governmental groups under the theme, ''Another world is possible''.WORLD SOCIAL FORUM: Pan-Amazonian Meet Highlights Diversity
Many will be arriving by water, after travelling for days in dug-out canoes or other rustic watercraft. The novel form of transport is just one of the peculiarities that sets the Pan-Amazonian Social Forum apart from the other social forums held around the world since 2001.ENVIRONMENT: River of National Integration Is Dividing Brazil
''This will be Lula's Iraq,'' predicted Apolo Heringer Lisboa, underscoring his rejection of President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva's government plan to divert some of the water from the Sao Francisco River to the semi-arid lands of northeast Brazil.BRAZIL: Civil Society Wants Even Greater Participation in Lula’s Government
The government of Brazilian President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva highlights the establishment of mechanisms for dialogue with civil society as one of its most significant achievements.ECONOMY-BRAZIL: GDP Surge Outdoes All Forecasts
With GDP growth of around five percent, the Brazilian economy out-performed all forecasts in 2004.
River of National Integration Is Dividing Brazil
The Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva government in Brazil decided this year to divert water from the Sao Francisco River to the country's northeast. A broad range of groups oppose the project, saying it will benefit only large landowners and the business sector.BRAZIL: Lula’s Pragmatism Cost Him Allies but Growth Has Kept Him Popular
Brazilian President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva's shift towards the centre of the political spectrum over the past two years and his "pragmatism" have cost him allies on the left, although he remains relatively popular thanks largely to the unexpectedly strong economic growth of around five percent for 2004.POLITICS-BRAZIL: New Mayors, Old Problems
Francisco da Costa Vale, the new mayor of the small Brazilian town of Aroazes in the northeastern state of Piauí, began to govern this week from a jail cell, where he is currently being held on charges of orchestrating the murder of one of his predecessors.CHALLENGES 2004-2005: Mercosur Stronger on the Outside, Weaker on the Inside
The past year brought significant advances for Mercosur on the global front, with new trade agreements signed with the Andean nations, India and the Southern African Customs Union. At the same time, however, growing internal conflicts have weakened the bloc's unity and negotiating power.SOUTH AMERICA: Mercosur Summit Brings Expansion as Well as Delays
The Mercosur trade bloc expanded at this week's summit to the point where it now encompasses nearly all of South America, in a show of vigour that stands in sharp contrast to the complaints of "assymetries" between its members and the difficulties in reaching agreement on the prompt implementation of certain key decisions.ENVIRONMENT-BRAZIL: High Hopes over Rising Demand for Fuel Alcohol
Brazil is fully exploring the intoxicating prospects for the export of fuel alcohol, in view of the potentially huge markets opening up in China and the wealthiest, most industrialised nations of Asia, Europe and North America.SOUTH AMERICA: Integration Faces New Challenges in Mercosur Summit
Minor advances are being highlighted in an attempt to downplay the tensions sparked by trade-related frictions at the twice-yearly Mercosur Summit, being held Wednesday through Friday in the southern Brazilian cities of Belo Horizonte and Ouro Preto.« Previous Page — Next Page »
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