Stories that may fly under the radar in 2018

This coming year is set to be a big one in Brazil, with the federal election race set to dominate both national and international headlines. Human rights groups are already warning of potential clampdowns on the right to protest, as well as further land rights struggles. Women’s and quilombola (Brazil’s historic slave communities) rights may also face key legislative votes. And anti-corruption investigations like Operation Car Wash should make the electoral scene even more unpredictable.

But amid stories of high-level corruption and politics, other important questions which are currently up in the air may go unnoticed. The Brazilian Report has been speaking to analysts and specialists to find out what they think we might miss if we don’t pay close attention in 2018.

Maurício Santoro
Professor of International Relations, Rio de Janeiro State University (UERJ)

The question of the crises in state governments, especially in Rio de Janeiro and Rio Grande do Sul – which are facing unprecedented financial difficulties – will be something left to one side, ignored in favor of the national crisis. In the...