Numbers of the week: Oct. 24, 2020

but the campaign season has been cut short due to the Covid-19 pandemic. Moreover, the looming job apocalypse and news about the coronavirus have monopolized the news. With less time to think of candidates, and less focus on them, voters have been unable to decide how they will cast their ballots. According to pollster Ibope, 40 percent of Brazilians don&#8217;t know who they will vote for in mayoral and city council races.&nbsp;</p> <hr class="wp-block-separator"/> <h2>46 million doses of CoronaVac</h2> <p>This week, the Health Ministry announced that the federal government would buy 46 million doses of CoronaVac, the potential Covid-19 vaccine being developed by Chinese pharmaceutical firm Sinovac Biotech and the São Paulo-based Butantan Biological Institute. But President Jair Bolsonaro, who has been staunchly opposed to the purchase of the vaccine, pulled rank on his Health Minister Eduardo Pazuello and cancelled the agreement. The president <a href="https://brazilian.report/cartoons/2020/10/22/brazils-vaccine-wars-are-a-political-affair-the-brazilian-report/">opposes the prospective vaccine</a> because it is backed by São Paulo Governor João Doria — who tries to position himself as a <a href="https://brazilian.report/podcast/2020/10/21/podcast-electoral-calculations-around-covid-19-vaccine/">challenger to the president&#8217;s re-election plans</a>.</p> <iframe src="https://open.spotify.com/embed-podcast/episode/6LARIDOEXVhTrD8W1Ct4a4" width="100%" height="232" frameborder="0" allowtransparency="true" allow="encrypted-media"></iframe> <hr class="wp-block-separator"/> <h2>43 percent of most innovative Latin American companies</h2> <p>According to a <a href="https://globalclient.visa.com/lac_innovation">report</a> by Visa and AMI, Brazil is home to 43 percent of Latin America&#8217;s most innovative companies. The report shows that the region experienced a 24-percent increase in &#8220;advanced&#8221; and &#8220;mature/born innovative&#8221; companies since 2018. At a high level, the most innovative companies fit a different profile from their peers, says the report. They develop twice as many proofs of concept, push new products to market 24 percent faster, form 60 percent more partnerships, and double the number of APIs.</p> <hr class="wp-block-separator"/> <h2>14-percent unemployment</h2> <p>Brazil&#8217;s <a href="https://brazilian.report/business/2020/09/24/brazils-unemployment-rises-as-isolation-goes-down/">official unemployment rate</a> has reached a new record this week, at 14 percent — meaning that 13.5 million people are out of a job in the country. However, <a href="https://brazilian.report/business/2020/10/23/brazil-unemployment-hits-new-records-but-worse-is-yet-to-come/">the worst is yet to come</a>, says economist Daniel Duque — a researcher at think tank Fundação Getulio Vargas. The researcher ponders that companies may have closed or “gone into hibernation” without informing the government of their total number of hires and dismissals — while those who remain in operation are showing positive net results for job creation.</p> <hr class="wp-block-separator"/> <h2>1 in 4 Brazilians are obese</h2> <p>According to a survey by the Brazilian Institute of Geography and Statistics, over 1 in 4 Brazilians were <a href="https://brazilian.report/society/2020/04/20/covid-19-is-exposing-brazils-obesity-epidemic/">obese</a> last year. Between 2003 and 2019, the rate more than doubled among adults. In 2019, 22 percent of men and 26 percent of women were classified as obese and 6.7 percent of adolescents are obese in Brazil. Meanwhile, 60 percent of the Brazilian population over 18 years old were considered overweight, according to the survey.</p> <hr class="wp-block-separator"/> <h2>6.4-percent growth</h2> <p>From January to September, the tax collected from tobacco companies grew 6.4 percent from the previous year, according to the Federal Revenue Service. Industry titan Philip Morris announced a 12-percent growth in sales until September. This increase is explained by the closure of&nbsp;Brazilian borders, which hindered the smuggling of cigarettes, largely from Paraguay.</p> <hr class="wp-block-separator"/> <h2>Pelé turns 80</h2> <p>Edson Arantes do Nascimento, Pelé, turned 80 on October 23. Known as the King of Football, Pelé <a href="https://brazilian.report/podcast/2020/06/23/special-how-pele-the-king-of-football-got-his-crown/">gained legend status</a> while playing for São Paulo club Santos, where he spent most of his career. At 17, he became the youngest player ever to win the World Cup, scoring a hat-trick in the semi-final and two goals in the decisive match against Sweden. He is also the only player ever to have won three World Cups, to go along with two Intercontinental Cups and an impressive haul of 1,279 goals. On his birthday, editor Euan Marshall asked: <a href="https://brazilian.report/sports/2020/10/23/pele-turns-80-is-the-king-of-football-still-the-greatest-of-all-time/">is Pelé still the GOAT</a>? We certainly think so.