Cartoons

Carnival 2020!

As our columnist Daniel Buarque wrote this week, the year in Brazil only properly begins after the Carnival holidays. The four-day period of colorful street parties takes over the nation, putting Brazil in the same rhythm. In a country so full of problems, as The Brazilian Report often depicts in our weekly cartoons, the celebrations turn Brazil into a “Country of Carnival.”

During the days of costumes and music, 1.36 million passengers are expected to travel between the 42 airports managed by state-owned company Infraero, 3 percent more than in 2019. Arrivals and departures are also expected to increase 4.5 percent to 11,556 — representing an injection of funds for the economy.

The state of Rio de Janeiro is expecting to generate BRL 2.6 billion this Carnival, which puts the state on the top of the ranking. Rio is also the place with the most short-term jobs created during the celebrations. Economist Fabio Bentes, from the National Confederation of Goods, Services, and Tourism, said the tourism sector would reach BRL 8 billion in 2020.

There’s also a good fight among states as to who has the “biggest Carnival”: in 2020, São Paulo has overthrown Rio de Janeiro and Salvador, two of the most traditional in Brazil. São Paulo leads the ranking of most-searched destinations. Experts say its an effect of the city’s numerous street parties, known as “bloquinhos.”