WorldcrunchFounded in 1921, the “Sao Paulo Gazzette” became Brazil’s leading daily in the 1980s
by applying standards of openness and objectivity to its coverage of the country and
Latin America as a whole.
PORTO ALEGRE — Sitting on the bed in her white hospital gown, Jéssica Almeida was devouring a hamburger. But the scene is deceiving. In total, the 17-year-old spent a month in the hospital and lost 10 kilograms (22 pounds). Such weight loss, which might indicate malnutrition, is common among hospital patients in Brazil, and it […]
Kaciane do Nascimento’s love of reading led to her open a library in the backyard of her house, in a low-income housing development in São Paulo state. Now she’s working on a book of her own.
A new Brazilian report shows that far more babies born with microcephaly and other conditions linked to the Zika virus are black or mixed race. There are troubling explanations for this fact, including access to (illegal) abortion.
Little is known of what Dilma’s successor actually plans to do to lift Brazil out of its crisis. Temer, whose career has been defined by discretion, must now show his hand.
-OpEd- As I walk through central London, I see many women wearing burqas passing me by. And as I’ve always felt in that sort of situation, I was uncomfortable. Physically and morally uncomfortable. They say you’re not supposed to feel such things. Nor to write about them. What right, indeed, do I have to impose […]
-Analysis- RIO DE JANEIRO — Andrew Zimbalist’s Circus Maximus is a book well worth a read. In it, the author — a U.S. economist specialized in the sports industry — argues that there’s a growing consensus among economists that playing host to a mega-event like the Olympic Games or the FIFA World Cup is a […]
Rio de Janeiro may have pulled off its Olympic feat, but Brazil’s everyday problems remain unaddressed.
In a number of Brazilian states, judges are ordering those guilty of domestic violence to join group discussions. Participants say they’re resistant at first, but eventually find the experience to be a real eye-opener.
The secretive Freemasons usually recruit through word-of-mouth, which is why a recent Facebook ad, seeking applicants for a São Paulo branch, is such a source of curiosity.
Violent death is a regular ocurrence in Rio’s infamous slums. But that doesn’t make it any less excruciating for the families of the departed.
SAO PAULO — The brains of highly trained athletes function more efficiently than others. Sports players activate only the parts of the cortex — the outer layer of the brain — necessary for specific movements like dribbles, tackles or saves such as those employed by soccer goalkeepers. “These athletes activate a smaller part of their […]
SÃO PAULO — Daniel Okamoto has bad memories of the 2014 World Cup, but not because of Brazil’s historical and humiliating 7-1 defeat to Germany. “My company went virtually bankrupt because of the World Cup,” the businessman says. The firm, Dahouse Events, won a modest bid for a 300,000-real contract ($83,000) to make costumes for […]
-Analysis- SAO PAULO — Brazil’s leftist Workers’ Party always liked to think of itself as a crusader for the poor. Yet in the wake of the party’s 13 years in power, there are still 73,327,179 citizens living below the poverty line in the country — a staggering 36% of the population. Don’t take it from […]
OCUMARE — It’s midday on this Thursday, and hundreds of people are squeezing inside a supermarket in Ocumare, a poor city about an hour’s drive south of Caracas. Armed police officers are allowing people in, but just a few at a time, infuriating the multitude massed outside since dawn to buy corn flour at a […]
-Essay- On Mothers’ Day, mothers are recognized and receive praise from their families and society at large. It’s a special day that nobody should forget to celebrate, right? My homage will consist of a few requests and some words of gratitude. Cultivating patience is the first thing I would ask mothers to do. They would […]
A temporary ban on the Facebook-owned messaging service sent countless Brazilians into a momentary panic, revealing how rapidly communication habits have evolved.
SAO PAULO — João left Brazil to study abroad and expand his horizons thanks to the national program Science Without Borders. He intended to return home afterwards, but something unexpected changed the script: While he was studying in Europe, his dreams, his ambitions and his beliefs changed as Islamic militants tried to recruit him for […]
Ahmad Derwish, an ISIS soldier imprisoned in Syria, offers a rare glimpse into the realities on the ground for the jihadist organization.
Regardless of when or how she exits the political stage, the Brazilian president will leave chaos in her wake.
More than 70 years after the end of World War II, Uwe Steinz wants to bring the Nazis’ “lower clergy” to justice.
Paralyzed by scandal and the threat of the president’s impeachment, Brazil can only be governed successfully with new — and irreproachable — leadership.
Japanese baths, Indian massages and other alternative care methods — along with old-fashioned babysitting — help families in Brazil facing the illnesses caused by the Zika virus.
The Brussels attacks are a reap-what-you-sow moment for Europe, after biding its time and coddling its dangerous allies for too long.
-Editorial- SAO PAULO — The appointment of such a major figure as Brazil’s ex-President Lula da Silva as Dilma Rousseff cabinet’s chief of staff could be seen as just an expression of the government’s terminal state of despair, stuck with incredibly low popularity poll numbers — and with little support in Congress to fend off […]
Former President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva was detained as part of a widespread corruption scandal at state oil giant Petrobras. But the probe could actually prove to be the spark to help him succeed Dilma Rousseff.
When a feminist argues that male courtship rituals toward women are a form of gender subjugation, a Portuguese journalist takes his own kind of offense on behalf of the male sex.
-Analysis- LA PAZ — As of Sunday, Bolivia is once again divided in two. It had taken President Evo Morales almost a decade to build a consensus around him, a consensus that had enabled him to be re-elected for a third five-year term in 2014 with 61% of the vote. But his failure this week […]
Science and medicine have yet to demonstrate exactly how and when Zika affects the brain of a fetus, yet people are rushing to conclude that abortion is the logical choice. A journalist with his own physical limitations weighs in.
SÃO PAULO — As dengue and the fear of the Zika virus continue to spread, local authorities across Brazil are desperately looking for doctors as they set up field hospitals to treat patients infected by the Aedes aegypti mosquito, which transmits both diseases. In cities of the states of São Paulo, Minas Gerais, Mato Grosso […]
What the World Health Organization has declared a global public health emergency is being met with inept government reaction. The enemy is a mosquito whose existence was once under control.
RIO DE JANEIRO — If the much-criticized but equally awaited Rio Summer Olympics have had one advantage, it’s that they have shielded the Rio de Janeiro construction industry from the massive layoffs seen elsewhere in Brazil. But as the August launch of the Games approches, so does the fear that some 35,000 workers are going […]
More than 50 cities have canceled or drastically cut traditional Carnival extravaganza due to public cutbacks. But some say killing the party will only make things worse.
CARACARAÍ — When a 21-year-old indigenous woman gave birth to her fourth son in this small settlement in northern Brazil, she noticed that the newborn was suffering from a malformation in his leg. She knew what that meant, but still consulted with the leaders of her Yanomami tribe in a desperate hope for an exception. […]
SAO CARLOS — At 23, Sara Winter is in a mothering phase. Three months ago, she gave birth at home to her first son, Hector Valentim, and in December she published her first e-book, “Vadia, Não! Sete Vezes que Fui Traída pelo Feminismo” (I’m No Bitch! Seven Times I was Betrayed by Feminism.) As the […]
-OpEd- SAO PAULO — Imagine the following situation: You go to the bathroom, but because you’re in a hurry, you head toward the exit without washing your hands. As you try to open the door, you notice that it has locked automatically. An alarm bell sounds. Only then you understand that the door won’t open […]
SÃO PAULO — When the dam at the iron ore mine in Mariana burst more than a month ago, killing at least 15 people, it was quickly described as Brazil‘s worst ecological disaster ever. The 40 billion liters of toxic mud unleashed in the central state of Minas Gerais, destroyed houses, roads, and left many […]
Why can’t Brazil’s largest city keep its graveyards clean?
-Editorial- SAO PAULO — We Brazilians have rarely faced an economic downturn of this magnitude. From April 2014 to September 2015, the country’s GDP contracted by 5.8%, and there are no signs that a turnaround is forthcoming. We haven’t seen anything like it since the “lost decade” that began in the early 1980s or, before […]
SÃO PAULO — She has an automatic SUV; he has a normal five-speed sedan. She drives to make a bit of money on the side; he does it for a living, 12 hours a day. She’s an Uber driver; he’s an old-fashioned cabbie. As such, they stand on opposite sides of what has been a […]
Like cases reported in India, Afghanistan and some Middle Eastern countries, gender-based violence that leads to mutilation and disfiguration is also a brutal reality in Brazil.