While much of the West has seen the danger in abusing psychoactive drugs such as Valium, sales of these drugs in Brazil are skyrocketing, and doctors warn that it’s out of control.
Source: FOLHA DE S. PAULO
Founded 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.
For the Greek philosopher Diogenes, self-control and self-sufficiency were the essential values. He lived a life with no possessions, except for a cloak, a purse and a barrel made out of clay in which he would sleep. Intrigued, the emperor Alexander The Great went to visit him. “I’m the most powerful man in the world. […]
Do Sao Paulo’s public transport woes bode badly for this year’s World Cup?
The capital’s unique harbor has driven Cuba’s economy for centuries. But with Brazil’s help, the building of a new commerical port of Mariel marks a turning point in the island’s history.
How did the Argentine economy arrive at a point of complete exhaustion, asks Brazil’s leading daily. Here’s a checklist of the errors made over the past decade.
SAO PAULO — With the arrival of the summer season and hot temperatures in South America, a new revolution has begun in the Brazilian workplace — for the right to wear bermuda shorts at the office. Author and fashion consultant Gloria Kalil calls the would-be movement this season’s “sensation.” To encourage and convince directors and […]
A quick farewell to the USS Forrestal, after its symbolic link to the Brazilian military coup and a part of John McCain’s eventful biography.
Six months from kickoff, two economic assessments, pro and con, as the world’s most popular sporting event lands in the ‘B’ of BRICS.
BRASILIA — The Brazilian government doesn’t like to talk about it publicly, but top officials are worried about the impact that Uruguay’s decision to legalize the production and sale of marijuana — the first nation to do so — will have on its larger neighbor to the north. Brazilian President Dilma Rousseff talked about it […]
-Editorial- SAO PAULO — It’s the image that became the symbol of Nelson Mandela’s memorial in Soweto: the handshake between U.S. President Barack Obama and Cuban President Raul Castro. And it’s only fitting that this is the image that remains. The United States and Cuba have been living in open animosity since the Cold War. […]
A poor education ranking in the latest international PISA report failed to humble the country’s top education official, who instead hailed the outcome as a “great triumph.”
Google is leading a project in Brazil to use balloons to bring Internet connection to the remote corners of the Amazon.
-Op-Ed- SAO PAULO — Globalization is an inescapable process. It’s even affecting the new forms of protest against different governments and in different social contexts on our vast, beautiful planet. The problem is that this copycat trend is happening out of context. The Brazilian “black blocs” and Mídia Ninja (a group of independent journalists) are […]
A Brazilian viewpoint in the wake of the Edward Snowden revelations on widespread NSA surveillance.
SAO PAULO — A Brazilian version of Ronald McDonald, the famous clown mascot, has taken to visiting nursery schools, kindergartens and primary schools. The well-known face of the fast food chain has been performing shows for young children and even babies, at both public and private schools. But not everyone is so amused. A growing […]
RIO DE JANEIRO — Two minutes to midnight were long past when, at the end of Iron Maiden’s concert in Rio this past Sunday, lead singer Bruce Dickinson slipped backstage to get a cold beer after two hours of jumping from one side of the stage to the other. But what he cracked open wasn’t […]
Will Brazilian President Dilma Rousseff call off a state visit to Washington?
Universal health care in Cuba has led to one of the lowest infant morality rates in the world. But as doctors flee to work abroad, the ones remaining complain of difficult working conditions.
Greenwald was on vacation in Brazil when he met his partner Miranda and traded in his NY law career for journalism. Now the couple are both in the spotlight over the Edward Snowden leak.
BRASILIA — “I threw on a helmet and rode the motorcycle through the streets of Brasilia,” a content Brazilian President Dilma Rousseff recently, and casually, told the country’s Minister of Mines and Energy Edison Lobão, who listened in disbelief. The minister said that he was shocked at first, just like the reporter to whom he […]
SÃO PAULO — When Jorginho wakes up in the morning, he has a breakfast of fruits and yogurt to get his bowels moving. Then he takes an anxiolytic to ease the worries of a stressful day ahead in the big city. Around the corner is Bino, who has a weekly session of acupuncture on his […]
Even President Dilma Rousseff has now chimed in on the fate of the “E.T. of Varginha.”
-Op-Ed- Andrés Gioeni, a 41-year-old Argentinian man, served as a priest in Mendoza, Argentina, for more than two years before giving up the cassock. Now working as an actor, director and writer of children’s plays, he lives with his boyfriend of more than nine years, Luis, in Greater Buenos Aires’ San Isidro. He recently wrote […]
Not just cheap — but *free* public transport — deserves a proper public hearing. A look at the irony of those now in power, and their desire to silence legitimate debate.
While some from the poor island nation still dream of emigrating to the US, others see a new promised land in Brazil. Still they face many challenges when they arrive.
A probe finds Dilma’s government taking shortcuts to achieving competitiveness for the country.
PIAUÍ – A scientific article by French and Brazilian researchers brings major new findings to the discussion on the date humans arrived to the American continent. It analyzed three archeological sites in Piauí, in northeastern Brazil, and shows evidence that the region was inhabited by humans 22,000 years ago. The researchers’ discoveries, published in the […]
SAO PAULO – Even though it’s getting ready to host the World Cup next year and the Summer Olympic Games in 2016, Brazil still has no specific law for fighting terrorism. But specialists, who ask not to be identified, say that the country’s neutral position in recent international conflicts does not assure that it is […]
As Sunday’s election looms, Folha de S. Paulo sits down with, and gets a ride from Nicolas Maduro, the fiery former bus driver and heir apparent to Hugo Chavez.
RIO DE JANEIRO – Cleide Oliveira, a 45-year-old beauty salon owner specialized in straightening curly hair, says she’ll soon be forced to find a new job. Since November 2011, when a Unidade de Polícia Pacificadora or Police Pacifying Unit (UPP) was created in Rocinha — Brazil’s biggest favela near Rio de Janeiro — she has […]
It’s simple economics: people with math skills have higher-paying job offers than teaching.
For one grandfather, disaster has struck again — 30 years later.
Sebastião Salgado’s blue eyes have seen a bit of everything in this world – and this might not even be an exaggeration. For the past eight years in particular, the 69-year-old Brazilian photographer has traveled to more than 30 isolated regions of the world, collecting images of dozens of remote tribes, endangered animals and unusual […]
Press blackout be damned, Cardinal Raymundo Damasceno Assis spoke with Folha de S. Paolo about papal candidates, including fellow Brazilian Scherer. Assis expects a short conclave, but is packed for a long one.
![Mico-leão-dourado [Golden Lion Tamarin]](https://worldcrunch.com/assets/uploads/2025/03/mico-leao-dourado-golden-lion-tamarin-1568x1175.jpg)
RIO DE JANEIRO – Every Olympics needs a strong mascot. But for the 2016 Summer Games, the two animals leading the pack are in a rather weak position. Each of the two primates being considered to become the face of Brazil’s first-ever Olympics is in risk of extinction: the mico-leão-dourado (golden lion tamarin) and muriqui […]
The Holy See has said that the final report on the scandal plaguing the Vatican would only be delivered to the new pope. But some of those voting for the pontiff want to know the truth.
Pennies may not change anyone’s life, but at least it helps President Dilma fulfill a campaign promise.
SÃO PAULO – It was February 10th, 2011, Penitentiary No. 2 in Presidente Venceslau, a rural town in Brazil’s São Paulo state. At 4:51 P.M., a secret conference call began by mobile phone with two prisoners and three criminals on the outside – the conversation would go on without interruption for nine hours and 38 […]
BRASÍLIA – Brazil’s indigenous people increasingly live an urban existence. Televisions, DVDs, refrigerators, gas ovens and cellphones are all consumption goods that have been integrated into the daily lives of many tribes. And the dream for young Brazilian native people: going to university. These are among the findings from a survey conducted by Datafolha and […]