Mario Osava

BRAZIL: Realignment of Political Forces

With the decision adopted by two political parties to pull out of President Luiz Inácio "Lula" da Silva's coalition government, Brazil's political forces are beginning a process of realignment with a view to the 2006 presidential elections, and the changes will have serious consequences for the second half of Lula's term.

BRAZIL: The War on Corruption

By Mario Osava

Corruption - and not drug trafficking, as many believe - is the largest source of "dirty money" in Brazil, accounting for 70 percent of laundered funds, according to some specialists.

HUMAN RIGHTS DAY-BRAZIL: Relatives of Disappeared Find Little to Celebrate

By Mario Osava

There was little to celebrate this International Human Rights Day for the relatives of those tortured, killed and "disappeared" during Brazil's 1964-1985 military dictatorship, as their attempts to gain access to secret military archives were frustrated once again.

CLIMATE CHANGE: Deforestation Inflates Inventory of Gases in Brazil

By Mario Osava

Brazil is responsible for three percent of global emissions of greenhouse gases, and tropical deforestation is to blame for three-fourths of the country's emissions.

SOUTH AMERICA: Brazil’s Business Community not Keen on Integration Plan

By Mario Osava

The enthusiasm shared by the Brazilian government and other proponents of the South American community of nations that began to emerge Wednesday contrasts with the scepticism and opposition of Brazil's business community towards the ambitious integration plan.

/ARTS WEEKLY/FILM-BRAZIL: Lula Double Feature

By Mario Osava

President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva is a central character in two newly released Brazilian documentaries - despite the fact that he does not actually appear in one of them.

CLIMATE CHANGE: Brazil Seeks Clean Energy – in the Garbage

By Mario Osava

Making it economically feasible to generate energy from garbage could be one of the first concrete results of the Kyoto Protocol, which goes into effect on Feb. 16.

WORLD AIDS DAY-BRAZIL: New Offensive Against Drug Patents

By Mario Osava

The Brazilian government announced Tuesday that it would break the patents on several medications to prevent the financial collapse of its widely praised public health programme that provides antiretroviral drugs free of charge to people living with HIV/AIDS.

DEVELOPMENT: Sexual and Reproductive Rights Missing in Millennium Goals

By Mario Osava

The Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) should incorporate sexual and reproductive rights, which were ignored in the targets and indicators adopted by the international community in 2000, along with the recommendations of U.N. conferences on population and women.

DEVELOPMENT-BRAZIL: Goat’s Milk Boosts Local Economy

By Mario Osava

"Before, the richest guy around here was an old pensioner, but now it's me," proclaimed a proud campesino living on a seemingly barren hill in the Brazilian region of Carirí. And the reason for this change of fortune is goat's milk.

RIGHTS-BRAZIL: Focusing on Men to Combat Violence Against Women

By Mario Osava

Brazilian television viewers witnessed an unusual scene on Thursday: a soccer player commits a foul, not against a member of the other team, but rather against one of his own team-mates, and mayhem erupts on the field. "Wherever there's violence, everyone loses," declares a voiceover.

/ARTS WEEKLY/TELEVISION-BRAZIL: Latest Soap Opera Keeps Viewers Glued to Seats

By Mario Osava

A woman from the impoverished Brazilian northeast who triumphs as a business owner in Rio, a newspaper shut down by the military dictatorship, the 20-year search for a kidnapped daughter, homosexuality and corrupt politicians are just a few of the plot threads keeping Brazilians glued to their TV sets waiting for the next episode of the latest hit soap opera, Senhora do Destino (Lady of Destiny).

ENERGY-BRAZIL: Innovations to Overcome the Shortcomings of Biodiesel

By Mario Osava

A frenzy of research, innovations and projects to develop biodiesel in Brazil has been dampened by the need for subsidies to make production of the new environmentally friendly fuel economically feasible.

BRAZIL: Indians’ Genetic Material Sold on Internet

By Mario Osava and Stephen Leahy

The Brazilian government has asked Interpol, the international police, to intervene in what it says is the illegal sale of genetic material from its indigenous peoples by a U.S. research centre.

BRAZIL: Closer Ties With Asia a Mixed Blessing

By Mario Osava

China appears to be following in Japan's footsteps by outsourcing to other countries the production of materials that require high levels of energy to produce, such as aluminium. And Brazil, especially its Amazon jungle region, is an obvious choice.

Indians' Genetic Material Sold on Internet

By Mario Osava, Stephen Leahy, and - -

Genetic material from members of the Karitiana and Suruí indigenous communities in Brazil can be purchased for 85 dollars through the Internet. The Brazilian government is demanding an end to what it says are ''illegal sales'' conducted by the U.S.-based Coriell Institute, which holds the world's largest collection of human cell cultures.