Explaining Brazil

Jair Bolsonaro fought tooth and nail to keep his Covid-19 tests a secret. Johns Hopkins professor Filipe Campante explains what was at stake in this case.  Read show notes. —  Send us your feedback Support the show

Links to paramilitary mafias, poor economic results, controversial cabinet firings … and a botched pandemic response. None of this has dented Jair Bolsonaro's core group of supporters. Until now. Read show notes. —  Send us your feedback Support the show

Sergio Moro's resignation has left the Bolsonaro government in a delicate situation: it has lost its anti-corruption poster boy, and Moro's revelations could lead to a presidential indictment. Read show notes. —  Send us your feedback Support the show

While not a perfect nickname, Bolsonaro has often been referred to as the “Trump of the Tropics”, a comparison that he's always welcomed and fueled himself. And Covid-19 has made the two far-right leaders even more alike. Read show notes. —  Send us your feedback Support the show

Despite Brazil releasing updated figures on Covid-19 cases and deaths every day, inconsistencies in the data have left policymakers in the dark over the real spread of the virus. Read show notes. —  Send us your feedback Support the show

Amid the worst pandemic in a lifetime, President Jair Bolsonaro has gone after his own Health minister, stopping just shy of sacking him. Read show notes. —  Send us your feedback Support the show

Brazil's employment rates will be decimated by the Covid-19 pandemic. Read show notes. —  Send us your feedback Support the show

While the world goes into self-isolation and governments pass stimulus packages to save their economies from collapse, the Brazilian president resists such moves, and wants "business as usual." Read show notes. —  Send us your feedback Support the show

Brazil has recorded its first Covid-19 death, and cases are growing exponentially. Authorities warn it will get much worse before it gets any better. Read show notes. —  Send us your feedback Support the show

The coronavirus outbreak is cooling off the global economy—but the Brazilian government resists the use of stimulus packages. Read show notes. —  Send us your feedback Support the show

By asking supporters to take to the streets and ask for the shutdown of Congress and "the end of the Supreme Court," Jair Bolsonaro may finally have gone too far. Read show notes. —  Send us your feedback Support the show

The implementation of 5G in Brazil still has many obstacles in its way, not least pressure from the country's two leading trading partners. Read show notes. —  Send us your feedback Support the show

New revelations show the CIA sold encryption tools which allowed them to spy on South American dictatorships during some of the most brutal and deadly periods of the continent's recent history. Read show notes. —  Send us your feedback Support the show

Heavy rains and other extreme weather events have become the norm in Brazil, with much of the blame lying with climate change and poor urban planning. Read show notes. — https://brazilian.report/podcast/2020/02/12/explaining-brazil-podcast-95-brazil-climate-crisis-already-begun/ Send us your feedback Support the show

The start of the legislative year kicks off the political calendar in 2020. And President Bolsonaro has plenty on his plate: pressing reforms, a Supreme Court vacancy, and much intrigue. Read show notes. —  Send us your feedback Support the show

The risks of a coronavirus outbreak in Brazil are less substantial for the country's public health, and more for its struggling economy. Read show notes. —  Send us your feedback Support the show

The PCC has just staged a Hollywood-esque prison escape in the Brazil-Paraguay border. We explain how a union of prisoners founded by eight men has become Brazil's (and South America's) biggest drugs gang. Read show notes. —  Send us your feedback Support the show

Brazil is inaugurating a new research base in Antarctica. The country's top researcher in the field explains to us why the South Pole is as important for Brazil's climate as the Amazon rainforest. Read show notes. —  Send us your feedback Support the show

Taking stock of the first 12 months of the Jair Bolsonaro government, we speak to two experts to break down what has gone right, and what has gone wrong. Guests: Carlos Goes (Ph. D. researcher at UCSD, formerly at IMF) and Claudio Couto (Fundação Getulio Vargas). Read show notes. —  Send us your feedback Support the show

Slavery was abolished in Brazil in 1888, but there are still thousands of modern slaves working around the country. Guests: Camilla Costa (BBC), and Augusto de Arruda Botelho (Human Rights Watch). Read show notes. —  Send us your feedback Support the show

Recent crises in Latin America show how the Armed Forces remain key power brokers in the democratic game. But using the Army as a legitimizing force brings back old demons from Latin America's not-so-distant past—when most of the region was ruled by military dictatorships. And this puts civilian leaders in an immensely fragile position. Read show notes. —  Send us your feedback Support the sh...

President Jair Bolsonaro has broken away and launched the only overtly far-right party in Brazilian politics. This week we look at the rise of extremism and polarization in Brazil's political arena. Read show notes. —  Send us your feedback Support the show

The Brazilian Republic is 130 years old. The democratic dream remains not entirely fulfilled, but Brazil has made many strides. So we ask: what is the state of our union? Read show notes. —  Send us your feedback Support the show

Love him or hate him, there's one thing you can't take away from Brazilian former President Lula: his story epitomizes Brazil more than any other politician. Guest: André Pagliarini, a lecturer at Dartmouth College. Read show notes. — https://brazilian.report/videos/2019/11/18/explaining-brazil-85-how-lulas-story-explains-brazil/ Send us your feedback Support the show

Brazil is known for its mammoth bureaucratic system. But blockchain could help business in Latin America's top economy. Read show notes. —  Send us your feedback Support the show