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Diogo Rodriguez

Rodriguez is a social scientist and journalist based in São Paulo.

election runoff Jair Bolsonaro managed to take the 2022 presidential race to a runoff stage, but he remains the underdog. Photo: Marcelo Fonseca/Folhapress
Power

Runoff result shows Bolsonaro is stronger than polls suggested

Recent polls suggested a first-round Lula landslide was on the cards, but Jair Bolsonaro stunned the political world by making the race closer than expected

10 hours ago • Cedê Silva
Sergio Moro wanted to run for president in 2022. Photo: Ettore Chiereguini/Shutterstock
Power

Sergio Moro’s fall from grace softened by Senate win

At the height of his fame, former celebrity judge and Justice Minister Sergio Moro thought he would be Brazil's president after the 2022 election — but he had to settle for seat in the Senate

13 hours ago • Fabiane Ziolla Menezes
Brazil goes to the polls in litmus test for the country's young democracy
Power

Brazil goes to the polls in a litmus test for the country’s young democracy

Jair Bolsonaro has consistently sought to dismiss the trustworthiness of Brazil's electoral system, and he has threatened not to accept the result should it not go his way on Sunday, leaving the country on alert

1 day ago • Gustavo Ribeiro, Euan Marshall and Amanda Audi
social media While watching the final presidential debate, a Jair Bolsonaro supporter makes a '22' sign with his hands, corresponding to the president's numerical code on voting machines. Photo: Joédson Alves/EFE/Folhapress
Power

How social media reacted to Brazil’s final presidential debate

The final debate before Election Day draws high viewership and engagement – but was most of Brazil just laughing at the spectacle?

3 days ago • Amanda Audi
lula bahia northeast kingmaker
Power

Why apparent underdogs keep winning for governor in Bahia

Bahia is Brazil’s fourth-most populous state, home to around 15 million people. And it has proven to be a reliable Workers' Party stronghold

3 days ago • Cedê Silva
UN: Brazil abstains on Putin's annexation of Ukrainian provinces
Insider

UN: Brazil abstains on Putin’s annexation of Ukrainian provinces

3 days ago • Cedê Silva
unemployment Over 39 million Brazilians are in informal or unregistered jobs. Photo: Lazyllama/Shutterstock
Insider

Positive jobs report brings good news for Bolsonaro

3 days ago • Ana Ferraz
job creation Labor Minister José Carlos Oliveira. Photo: Foto: Valter Campanato/Abr
Insider

Brazil adds more jobs, but figures are underwhelming

4 days ago • Ana Ferraz
Embraer SABER M60 radar. Photo: Tereza Sobreira/WikiCommons
Insider

Embraer delivers first units of new-generation radar to the Brazilian Army

4 days ago • Ana Ferraz
Lower fuel prices will continue to push Brazilian inflation down
Insider

Lower fuel prices will continue to push Brazilian inflation down

6 days ago • Ana Ferraz and Gustavo Ribeiro
flu spike são paulo
Coronavirus

Off-season flu spike in São Paulo sounds alarm for the rest of the country

2 weeks ago • Euan Marshall
covid vaccine children
Coronavirus

Health Ministry yet to publish plans to vaccinate young children

2 weeks ago • Cedê Silva
Covid vaccine mandates travelers
Coronavirus

Brazil waives Covid vaccine mandates for travelers

3 weeks ago • Cedê Silva
A Covid vaccine being developed by the Brazilian researchers at the Oswaldo Cruz Foundation may be ready for testing in humans next year.
Coronavirus

Brazilian Covid vaccine to be tested in humans in 2023

1 month ago • Henrique Simão
mask mandate planes airports
Coronavirus

Anvisa lifts mask mandate for planes and airports

2 months ago • Cedê Silva
governors claudio castro
2022 Race

Governors of 12 Brazilian states won re-election in the first round

11 hours ago • Amanda Audi and Ana Ferraz
Lula Bahia Jerônimo
2022 Race

Lula’s support takes Bahia governorship dispute to the second round

11 hours ago • Fabiane Ziolla Menezes
senate congress Former members of the Bolsonaro cabinet, Eduardo Pazuello and Damares Alves will be in Congress in 2023. Photo: Marcello Casal Jr./ABr
2022 Race

In the Senate, former Bolsonaro ministers come back with a vengeance

11 hours ago • Cedê Silva
political violence election 1
2022 Race

Political violence in Brazilian election not prevalent as initially feared

12 hours ago • Amanda Audi
lula-bolsonaro-runoff
2022 Race

Brazil election: Lula and Bolsonaro head to runoff

12 hours ago • TBR Newsroom
neobanks Even Nubank, Latin America's largest digital bank, had 7 percent of its revenues coming from interchange fees between July 2021 and June 2022, and will be hit hard by new changes.
Business

Market roundup: Brazilian neobanks face regulatory risk

Even Nubank, Latin America's largest digital bank, had 7 percent of its revenues coming from interchange fees between July 2021 and June 2022, and will be hit hard by new changes

3 days ago • Fabiane Ziolla Menezes and Ana Ferraz
Brazilians are drowning in debt, but rates will remain high
Business

Brazilians are drowning in debt, but rates will remain high

Financial data shows that families are struggling to make ends meet, which is particularly dangerous considering that borrowing costs will remain elevated

5 days ago • Ana Ferraz
milk price hike end
Business

Brazil’s milk price hike should come to an end

Milk prices have become prohibitive for millions of families since the pandemic broke out. But experts believe they will start to go down in the next few months

6 days ago • Ana Ferraz
petrobras stock prices
Business

Market roundup: 2022 has been kind to Petrobras

Despite a highly volatile market scenario, Petrobras shares remain positive this year

1 week ago • Ana Ferraz and Fabiane Ziolla Menezes
budget treasury brazil surplus
Business

The costs of Brazil’s projected primary surplus

The country is set to record a primary surplus this year for the first time since 2013, but it will come with punishing budget cuts and spending chaos

1 week ago • Ana Ferraz
whatsapp misinformation elections
Tech

What WhatsApp has done to combat Brazilian election misinformation

Virtually all Brazilian smartphones have WhatsApp installed. And the messaging app has for years been used as a tool to spread disinformation

18 hours ago • Fabiane Ziolla Menezes
auto tech Voltz Motors started producing its motorcycles by importing nearly 100 percent of parts from Chinese suppliers. Photo: Courtesy of Voltz Motors
Tech

Auto tech startups try to break through Brazil’s EV market

With big manufacturers sleeping on Brazil amid post-pandemic hangovers, domestic startups are hoping to seize the opportunity in the electric motorcycle market

4 days ago • Fabiane Ziolla Menezes
Brazil to test secondary markets for startups
Tech

Tech roundup: Brazil to test secondary markets for startups

Using its sandbox, the Brazilian Securities Commission (CVM) is testing a secondary market for securities issued or represented by tokens

7 days ago • Fabiane Ziolla Menezes and Ana Ferraz
Political discussions migrated from social media to messaging apps Political discussions are taking place in encrypted messaging apps. Photo: AdemAY/Shutterstock
Tech

Political discussions migrated from social media to messaging apps

Engagement around political candidates has fallen on major social media platforms, and it seems like these discussions are now taking place in a different venue

1 week ago • Amanda Audi
Tech roundup: The growing Brazilian market for used smartphone
Tech

Tech roundup: The growing Brazilian market for used smartphones

Expensive new devices, the arrival of 5G, and Brazilians' low purchasing power explain the momentum in the second-hand smartphone market

2 weeks ago • Ana Ferraz and Fabiane Ziolla Menezes
election lula bolsonaro
Podcast

Explaining Brazil #216: What to keep an eye out for on Election Day

We've reached the home stretch of the Brazilian 2022 election. On Sunday, October 2, Brazilians will hit the polls. Here's what you should keep an eye out for

5 days ago • Gustavo Ribeiro
employed Explaining Brazil #215: What if Bolsonaro really tries to stage a coup?
Podcast

Explaining Brazil #215: What if Bolsonaro really tries to stage a coup?

President Bolsonaro has hinted that he could try to stage a coup if he loses the upcoming election. If he really pulls that trigger, then what?

2 weeks ago • Gustavo Ribeiro
lula marina
Podcast

Explaining Brazil #214: The broad front gets broader

Marina Silva, who until recently was highly critical of Lula and his Workers' Party, has just endorsed the former president. For her, democrats' main goal should be unseating Jair Bolsonaro

3 weeks ago • Gustavo Ribeiro
independence series 4
Podcast

1822 Special, Ep. 4: Pomp under circumstance

In this fourth and final episode, we shed light on the multiple "Independence Days" across Brazil, each with its own significance

4 weeks ago • Eric Zalcman and Caroline Coutinho
independence pacifist myth
Podcast

1822 Special, Ep. 3: The pacifist myth of Brazilian independence

In the third episode of our special series, we look at Brazil's wars of independence, showing that constituting this new country was not as bloodless as many believe.

4 weeks ago • Eric Zalcman and Caroline Coutinho
hunger human capital brazil
Society

Hunger is not just a crisis today. It will hurt Brazil for decades to come

Studies show that malnourished youngsters face a series of physical, social, and mental issues, making it hard for them to ever reach their full professional potential in adulthood

1 week ago • Adriana Amâncio
Literacy pandemic schoolchildren
Society

Literacy learning drops among Brazilian schoolchildren

New data from standardized tests is the latest to point out the damage caused by Covid disruptions to Brazilians' learning process — which should have long-lasting consequences

2 weeks ago • Cedê Silva
indigenous bahia With flags of Bahia and Brazil, indigenous groups protest: "Invaders go away, demarcation [of their land] now." Photo: Aldeia Pataxó Boca da Mata Archives
Society

Murder of 14-year-old in Bahia highlights centuries-old indigenous land struggle

Residents of the Comexatibá and Barra Velha indigenous lands face the constant threat of violence from local farmers, and government inactivity has denied them protection

3 weeks ago • Euan Marshall
severe droughts have plagued brazil's northeast
Society

Campaign seeks to stop vote-buying in drought-ridden Northeast

In a region hampered by hunger and thirst, local politicians often seek to negotiate votes from the public by promising supplies of food and water, only furthering clientelism

3 weeks ago • Adriana Amâncio
hole indigenous
Society

Death of the world’s loneliest man spells the end of an entire people

The Man of the Hole, an isolated indigenous man who has been tracked and protected by the government for decades in the Amazon, has died — spelling the end of his people

4 weeks ago • Amanda Audi
Environment

Bolsonaro’s policies for the environment gave new meaning to ‘scorched earth’

Approaching the end of his presidential term, Jair Bolsonaro has overseen an environmental policy marred by widespread forest destruction, reduced oversight, and incentive for environmental crime

2 days ago • Euan Marshall
environmental offenders will run for office in Brazil's elections
Environment

Hundreds of environmental offenders will run for office in Brazil’s elections

Data from Ibama and electoral courts shows that 181 officials running for election this year have received fines for environmental infractions — as have a vast number of President Jair Bolsonaro's campaign donors

3 weeks ago • Euan Marshall
Massive Amazon protected area 'hanging by a thread' due to illegal dirt road
Environment

Massive Amazon protected area ‘hanging by a thread’ due to illegal dirt road

A new illegal road seeks to link two Brazilian deforestation hotspots and would cut the Xingu Socio-Environmental Corridor in two

4 weeks ago • Euan Marshall
gold trade brazil transparency
Environment

Brazil’s gold trade is toxic, but it doesn’t have to be that way

Researchers have only been able to confirm the legal origin of around one-third of the gold mined in Brazil, with loose oversight (based on good faith) leaving the door open to abuse

1 month ago • Constance Malleret
carbon credits Natural gas plant São João, Bahia. Photo: Joa Souza/Shutterstock
Environment

New decree intensifies tensions in the carbon credits market

The Bolsonaro government has issued a decree pushing back carbon credit targets for fuel distributors, and causing discontent in the biofuels sector

1 month ago • Ana Ferraz
Mauricio Claver-Carone’s nomination broke a 60-year IDB tradition of having a Latin American preside over the institution. Photo: Jeffrey Arguedas/EFE/Folhapress
Latin America

Sex scandal paves way for political changes at the IDB

As IDB president, Cuban-American hawk Mauricio Claver-Carone clashed with U.S. Democrats and left-leaning Latin American administrations. He has now been fired over sexual misconduct

6 days ago • Ignacio Portes
car wash Ricardo Martinelli served as Panama's president between 2009 and 2014. Photo: Christof Sonderegger/WEF
Latin America

The political after-effects of the Odebrecht scandal still echo in Latin America

The Brazilian construction firm was at the center of the massive Operation Car Wash investigation, but its dodgy dealings around Latin America caused even more disturbance outside its own borders

1 week ago • Lucas Berti
gustavo petro un general assembly
Latin America

Latin American leaders call out developed countries at UN General Assembly

From far-right Jair Bolsonaro of Brazil to left-leaning presidents in Colombia and Honduras, Latin Americans pointed the finger at the Global North for the climate crisis

2 weeks ago • Ignacio Portes
Guillermo Lasso has battled Congress and narrowly escaped an impeachment vote. Photo: Jonathan Miranda/Presidencia de la República
Latin America

Lasso calls for referendum from a position of weakness

The embattled Ecuadorian president’s attempt to regain the upper hand by appealing to the popular will is not an usual political move in Latin America — but it is one that could backfire on him

2 weeks ago • Lucas Berti
Vive President Cristina Kirchner of Argentina escaped an assassination attempt on Sep. 1. Photo: José Cruz/ABr
Latin America

Attack on Cristina Kirchner: Case closed?

The bizarre “Cotton Candy Gang” currently in custody could just be the tip of the iceberg in a larger plan to kill the Argentinian vice president

2 weeks ago • Ignacio Portes
The Chinese Communist Party congress approaches. Photo: Iamlukyeee/Shutterstock
Opinion

Why Brazil should pay attention to the next Chinese Communist Party congress

The congress will decide which broad political strategies China — Brazil's leading trading partner — will pursue for the next five years

2 weeks ago • Aline Tedeschi and Bruno Gomes Guimarães
congress bolsonaro
Opinion

How to bring balance to relations between Brazil’s Executive and Legislative branches

The secret budget introduced by President Bolsonaro has fundamentally shifted the balance of power between the Executive and Legislative branches in Brazil. Re-establishing a balanced relationship will be no easy task

3 weeks ago • Beatriz Rey
The assassination attempt against Cristina Kirchner is a warning for Latin America
Opinion

The assassination attempt against Cristina Kirchner is a warning for Latin America

The failed attempt to murder Argentina’s vice president is a worrying sign of how violent the region’s divisive politics have become. This is most evident in Brazil, where President Bolsonaro has shown no desire to ease political tensions

4 weeks ago • Andre Pagliarini
lula bolsonaro business investors executives
Opinion

Bolsonaro v. Lula reveals gulf between Brazilian and foreign executives

While Brazil's economic elites largely plan to vote for Bolsonaro, international investors tend to support Lula

4 weeks ago • Oliver Stuenkel
awards
Opinion

The Brazilian Report shortlisted in two categories for Online Journalism Awards

We have been shortlisted in two categories: General Excellence in Online Journalism and Excellence in Newsletters

1 month ago • Laura Quirin
ecotourism tourism parks
Tourism

Brazil missing out on billions in eco-tourism potential

Despite being home to some of the world's most beautiful beaches and parks, Brazil vastly underperforms as a tourist destination — one part of the sector says private capital is the answer

1 month ago • Ana Ferraz
tourism industry
Tourism

South American tourism industry hopes for boom from currency devaluation

A strong U.S. dollar has helped attract foreign tourists to Brazil and could make other South American destinations attractive to foreigners in the aftermath of the pandemic

2 months ago • Ignacio Portes and Ana Ferraz
cuisine "People became desperate to discover regionalities, to discover traditions," says Tuca Mezzomo, chef at Charco, a restaurant in São Paulo. Photo: Julia Rodrigues/Charco
Tourism

Rediscovery of local ingredients earns Brazilian cuisine international recognition

As globalized gastronomy seeks local ingredients and techniques, Brazilian food is reaping the rewards with its own culinary revolution

3 months ago • Eric Zalcman
travel industry
Tourism

War in Ukraine slowing down long-awaited recovery of Brazil’s travel industry

High oil prices, a still-unfavorable exchange rate, and inflation that bites into consumers’ discretionary spending mean the sector still faces a hard post-Covid road ahead

6 months ago • Ana Ferraz
gay tourism Farme de Amoedo Street, in Ipanema. Photo: Lazyllama/Shutterstock
Tourism

Brazil is an emerging gay tourism hotspot, but the government doesn’t want to know

Actions to promote gay tourism in the country have been actively ignored since Jair Bolsonaro came to power, despite Brazil having some of the world's best LGBTQ+-friendly spots

7 months ago • Amanda Audi
visa remote work
Guide to Brazil

Brazil creates a visa for foreign “digital nomads”

The country follows in the footsteps of dozens of nations around the world, offering temporary residence to people working remotely for foreign countries. Justice Ministry officials say it will attract foreign capital and boost tourism

8 months ago • Iure Pontes Vieira
october 12 People light candles to celebrate the day of Our Lady of Aparecida. Photo taken on Oct. 12, 2016. Photo: Nelson Antoine/Shutterstock
Guide to Brazil

October 12: a celebration of Brazil’s patron saint

According to legend, fishermen were inundated with fish to catch soon after finding an image of a black Virgin Mary. Since then, Our Lady of Aparecida has become Brazil's most popular and important saints

12 months ago • Euan Marshall
Rio's Christ the Redeemer. Photo: Ricardo Cohen/Shutterstock
Guide to Brazil

The story of Christ the Redeemer, 90 years old

Brazil's most popular tourist attraction, the story of how Christ the Redeemer came about is a fascinating one. This week's Rio celebrates the statue's 90th anniversary

12 months ago • Renato Alves
brazilian inquisition
Guide to Brazil

The lesser-known story of the Brazilian Inquisition

After terrorizing much of Spain and Portugal, the inquisition spread to many of these countries' colonies in Africa, Asia, and the Americas — including to Brazil

12 months ago • Renato Alves
Paulo Mendes da rocha
Guide to Brazil

Paulo Mendes da Rocha leaves behind incomparable legacy in Brazilian architecture

Among the most influential modernists in Brazilian history, Paulo Mendes da Rocha designed many of São Paulo's most famous tourist attractions and left a legacy of devoted followers

1 year ago • Renato Alves