Good morning! Today, several big Brazilian cities are as congested as they ever were. Number of asylum seekers dips, returning to ‘normal.’ Eletrobras privatization comes back into focus.
Traffic is coming back to Brazilian metro areas
Many people driving in major Brazilian cities have felt that the level of traffic is back to the pre-pandemic normal — and they’d be correct. In many of the country’s biggest metro areas, such as São Paulo, Rio de Janeiro, or Belo Horizonte, traffic congestion is on par with 2019 levels, according to the TomTom Traffic Index 2021.
- However, major tourist destinations such as Salvador are still experiencing congestion levels way below those of pre-pandemic times.
What is happening. At the beginning of the pandemic, when everyone able to isolate themselves was doing so, congestion all but disappeared from the roads in Brazil’s big cities. But as the economy reopened, traffic patterns came back to normal.
- In 2020, many Brazilian cities saw a new “late morning peak” at 9 am, but last year rush hour returned to the regular slots of 7 to 8 am, and 5 to 6 pm.
Why it matters. The return of traffic patterns to normal in the country’s biggest...