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Wednesday, October 28, 2026
News and Views from the Global South
TRANSPORT-BRAZIL: Casualties in War on Unlicenced Vans
Casualties have already occurred in the all-out offensive unleashed by the city government of Sao Paulo, Brazil's largest city, against the "peruas," the local name for vans providing unauthorised urban transport.ECONOMY-BRAZIL: Pharmaceutical Transnationals Under Fire
Brazil's pharmaceutical industry, dominated by transnational companies, faces charges of forming a cartel and propagating abusive price increases. The sector is also under investigation by a parliamentary commission and faces pressures from the nation's Health Ministry.ECONOMY-BRAZIL: Growing Concern over Denationalisation
The denationalisation of the Brazilian economy, a phenomenon previously opposed solely by leftist opposition parties, is now causing concern among the ruling coalition, and the business and banking sectors as well.RIGHTS-BRAZIL: Judicial Reform Sways Between Economics and Law
The economic objectives the World Bank has established for Brazil could spoil the Judicial branch reforms currently under consideration in the national Congress, warns a judges organisation./ARTS & ENTERTAINMENT/PAINTING-BRAZIL: Mental Patients-Cum- Artists Win Acclaim
Paintings by patients from Rio de Janeiro's psychiatric hospitals form an important part of the extensive "Brazil 500 Years" exhibit, a panorama of the plastic arts created throughout the nation's history.LABOUR-BRAZIL: Nearly All New Jobs in Informal Sector
The official verification that new jobs created in Brazil are almost all found in the informal sector has finally put an end to the contradictory discourses of the government and trade unions.SPORTS: Goal-Makers Dominate Once-Democratic Game
This year's selection of Player of the Year by FIFA, the internacional football federation, confirmed an unfair trend in the most democratic of all team sports: the dictatorship of the goal-makers.TRADE-LATAM: Mercosur Embroiled in Industrial Conflicts
Trade tensions between Argentina and Brazil have reached another crucial point for regional integration, impacting the distribution of industries throughout the Southern Common Market (Mercosur), which also includes Paraguay and Uruguay.ENVIRONMENT-BRAZIL: Oil Spill Destroys Environment and Jobs
Tourism, the fishing industry, animals and vital ecosystems are all victims of the worst oil spill in Rio's Guanabara Bay since 1975, which has now reached the bay's mangrove swamp environmental preserve.ENVIRONMENT-BRAZIL: Concern over Contraband of Transgenic Soya
Farmers in southern Brazil participating in or benefiting from the smuggling of seeds of genetically modified soya from Argentina are actually acting against their own interests, according to environmentalists.TRANSPORT-BRAZIL: Helicopters, Motorcycles as Alternative Taxis
Helicopters are in increasing demand as taxis for the well-heeled in Brazil, especially in mega- cities like Sao Paulo and Río de Janeiro, where traffic jams and demand for alternative means of transport have opened up new spaces in the market for entrepreneurs.COMMUNICATION-BRAZIL: Mobile Phone Use Jumps 10-Fold in 5 Years
Brazilians will have 35 to 40 million mobile telephones in their hands by the end of 2002, ten times the number existing when privatisation of the service began in 1997, predicts Communications Minister, Joao Pimenta da Veiga.//UPDATED REPEAT//COMMUNICATION-BRAZIL: Mobile Phone Use Jumps 10- Fold in 5 Years
Brazilians will have 35 to 40 million mobile telephones in their hands by the end of 2002, ten times the number existing when privatisation of the service began in 1997, predicts Communications Minister, Joao Pimenta da Veiga./RELATE TO FINANCE-BRAZIL: Private Banks to Face…/
Brazil's stock exchanges jumped Monday in reaction to the announcement that the "jewel" among state-run financial institutions, the Sao Paulo State Bank (Banespa), will soon hit the auction block.ECONOMY-BRAZIL: Hopes High for New Year
The new year has brought hopes and expectations of a new cycle of economic growth for Brazil, after two "lost" decades, according to analysts.RELIGION-LATAM: ‘Church of the Poor’ Growing Without Fanfare
The so-called "progressive" current of the Roman Catholic Church is not only surviving in Latin America but growing, albeit quietly, according to Brazilian priest José Oscar Beozzo.TECHNOLOGY-BRAZIL: Technicians Battle-Ready for Y2K Bug
Brazil's Defence Ministry has prepared a veritable war plan to confront the gamut of possible problems arising from potential computer failures at midnight Friday, Dec 31 as the nation greets the year 2000 (Y2K).POLITICS-BRAZIL: Movement for Parliamentary System Picks Up Steam
The movement for a parliamentary system of government has been picking up steam in Brazil in recent months, as Congress has gained in strength and the popularity of President Fernando Henrique Cardoso has plummeted.TRADE: Sugar Producers Urge Market Liberalisation
Private sugar producers from a dozen countries have joined forces to fight the trade barriers and subsidies they say obstruct international sugar markets and negatively affect the world's poorer regions.POLITICS-BRAZIL: Air Force, Civilian Defence Ministry Clash
The first disciplinary measure taken in Brazil by a civilian minister against an armed forces commander threatens to trigger a crisis within the air force./REPEATING TO SOME POINTS/ POLITICS-BRAZIL: Crime and Violence Spur More Gov’t Reforms
Public safety has become a crisis, tied to wide-spread violence and the expansion of organised crime, and has reached the point where it is forcing Brazil to undergo a second round of government reforms.« Previous Page — Next Page »
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