Explaining Brazil

the conservative wave that swept across the country marks a major rupture. Or, instead, a critical transition - a concept developed by professors Carlos Pereira, of Fundação Getulio Vargas, Bernardo Mueller, of the University of Brasília, Marcus Mello, of the University of Pernambuco, and Lee Alston, of Indiana University in their book Brazil in Transition: Beliefs, Leadership, and Institutional C...

It is common to point out the problems with Brazil's failed public security system. We've talked to an institution that is proposing possible solutions for the violence crisis. Read show notes.   Send us your feedback Support the show

We analyze the reasons for the conservative tsunami that swept Brazil's 2018 election. Three main factors come into play. Read show notes.   Send us your feedback Support the show

In the last episode of our special podcast about Brazil's Constitution, we will talk about how the Constitution has endured the test of time. Read show notes.   Send us your feedback Support the show

In the third episode of our special podcast about Brazil's Constitution, we will talk about its biggest lasting legacies: human rights for all - and a unified healthcare system. Read show notes.   Send us your feedback Support the show

In the second episode of our special podcast about Brazil's Constitution, we will talk about the institutional framework created in 1988. Read show notes.   Send us your feedback Support the show

Brazil's Constitution is 30 years old today. We have prepared a podcast mini-series to discuss how this document came to be, its impact on the Brazilian people, and its legacy to our present - and future. Read show notes.   Send us your feedback Support the show

The race heads to the final days before Brazilians cast their ballots. What are the moves each candidate must make to raise their stock? Read show notes.  Send us your feedback Support the show

In the 1990s, the center-right seemed to be Brazil's dominating political force - embodied by the Social Democracy Party (PSDB). Now, many of the party's leaders are either tarnished by corruption or have fallen into irrelevance. Read show notes.   Send us your feedback Support the show

As Brazilians head to the polls in two and a half weeks, we've got to ask: What's the state of Brazilian democracy? Read show notes.   Send us your feedback Support the show

After Jair Bolsonaro's stabbing and the substitution of Lula as the Workers' Party official candidate, Brazil's presidential race has turned another corner. We explain what should happen next. - Part 1: The attack on Jair Bolsonaro - Part 2: Fernando Haddad, the new Lula? Read show notes.   Send us your feedback Support the show

On Sunday (September 3), the National Museum’s decay took a dramatic turn, with the building becoming consumed – and almost entirely destroyed – by flames. We have talked to the museum's deputy director, Luiz Fernando Dias Duarte, who joined us from Rio de Janeiro. Read show notes.   Send us your feedback Support the show

While 70 percent of the population has access to the Internet, 63 percent still get their news from television, will social media remain this much of a factor as we approach election day? The Brazilian Report talks to Fernando Vega, the Latin American Social Solutions Manager at comScore, a company specialized in gathering and analyzing data about audiences on several media platforms, especially t...

Now, eight years after the end of his second term, Lula is in prison, serving a 12-year sentence for passive corruption and money laundering. His Workers' Party suffered major defeats in the 2016 municipal elections, losing in many key municipalities, including their crown jewel - São Paulo. Barring the legal equivalent of a miracle, Lula will not be on the presidential ballot. So, where will...

Brazilians will elect a new president, 27 new governors, 513 congressmen, and over 1,000 state lawmakers. But how exactly do Brazilian elections work?  Read show notes.   Send us your feedback Support the show

We have reached out to presidential campaigns and requested interviews with all candidates. Our first sit down was with Guilherme Boulos, of the Socialism and Liberty Party (Psol). As we were not in our regular studios on Rua Augusta, in São Paulo, audio quality was not optimal at certain points and we apologize for any sound issues. Here are the main takes Send us your feedback Support the show

In two months, Brazilians will choose a new president. This past weekend, though, it was our candidates' turn to choose their running mates. We explain why that matters. Of Brazil’s 37 presidents, eight of them took the job after being elected vice president – for various reasons: death, resignation or impeachment. Read show notes.   Send us your feedback Support the show

As Brazil prepares to analyze the issue of abortion rights, we talk to the Center of Reproductive Rights about the possible impacts of legalizing abortions in Brazil.   Read show notes.   Send us your feedback Support the show

This week, the leaders of the five countries meet in the 10th BRICS Summit, in Johannesburg. This summit is taking place at a pivotal time, with Brazil struggling to recover from its worst recession on record, Russia facing accusations of meddling in the American 2016 election, and China waging a trade war with the U.S. We're joined by Oliver Stuenkel, a professor at Fundação Getulio Vargas,...

Two years after the World Health Organization declared the Americas free of measles, the disease could be about to make a comeback. To discuss the issue, Explaining Brazil hosts Dr. Rosana Richtmann, an infectious disease specialist at the Emilio Ribas Institute, in São Paulo. Read show notes.   Send us your feedback Support the show

Sunday was a day that killed any argument that Brazil's institutions are working properly. Appellate judge Rogério Favreto tried to release former president Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva from prison at all costs, while the judges who convicted Lula worked tooth and nail to keep him behind bars, despite being on vacation. Read show notes.  Send us your feedback Support the show

We shed light on initiatives that fight for the social inclusion of gays, lesbians, and trans individuals. Explaining Brazil hosts Paolo Capistrano, an English teacher who founded English to Trans-form, which helps trans people to improve their skills for the workplace, trying to curb the segregation so often imposed by society.  Read show notes.   Send us your feedback Support the show

Between 1999 and 2015, opioid consumption in Brazil has jumped by 465 percent, according to a study recently published by the American Journal of Public Health. Tthat should be cause for concern, say experts. Read show notes.   Send us your feedback Support the show

The 2018 FIFA World Cup kicked off on June 14. One week later, Brazil still doesn't seem to be in the mood for football. Unlike other editions of the event, you don't see many Brazilian flags waved out from windows, nor many people dressed up in yellow and green. Why is that? That's what we debate with Brazilian historian - and football fanatic - Matias Pinto. Read show notes.   Sen...

In 2012, Brazil established nuclear power as a priority. Since then, however, Brazil's economy took a nosedive, power company executives were convicted for corruption, and projects on nuclear energy have stalled. So, what's the state of Brazilian nuclear as of now? That's what we will talk about this week with the president of Eletronuclear - Brazil's state-owned nuclear power...