Explaining Brazil - podcast cover

Explaining Brazil

The Brazilian Reportbrazilian.report

News from Brazil, by The Brazilian Report — an independent media outlet uniquely positioned to offer an insider’s view of current affairs in Brazil.

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Episodes

Bolsonomics

The government has delivered very little and has been a source of instability for the Brazilian economy. So what keeps market agents from turning on Bolsonaro? Read show notes. — Send us your feedback Support the show

Sep 15, 202129 min

How to react to Bolsonaro?

Bolsonaro is threatening to disregard Supreme Court rulings from now on. So how should the political system react to a president who doesn't want to play by the rules? (This episode was recorded live on Tuesday, Sep 7.) Read show notes. — Send us your feedback Support the show

Sep 08, 20211 hr

A nation holding its breath

In six days, pro-Bolsonaro supporters will stage demonstrations in multiple cities. The unfolding of Brazil's political crisis depends on how big the turnout will be. Read show notes. — Send us your feedback Support the show

Sep 01, 202124 min

Will Brazil have its own January 6 riots?

Many fear September 7 could be Brazil's own version of the January 6 U.S. Capitol riots. Given the scenario in Brazil, a similar movement could have much bloodier consequences. Read show notes. — Send us your feedback Support the show

Aug 25, 202127 min

Should Brazil reengage in Haiti?

While President Jair Bolsonaro seems to have very little interest in foreign affairs, serving in peacekeeping missions is a badge of honor for the Brazilian military — which holds enormous influence with Bolsonaro. Read show notes. — Send us your feedback Support the show

Aug 18, 202124 min

Companies face fines for data protection misdeeds

Brazilian data protection watchdog ANPD, the National Data Protection Authority, is now able to punish companies who mishandle customer data. But many questions around regulators still linger. Read show notes. — Send us your feedback Support the show

Aug 11, 202121 min

Getting vaccines to the heart of the Amazon

With sparse transport infrastructure and precarious health services, getting medical supplies to Brazil's Amazon population is a huge challenge — something laid bare by Brazil's coronavirus vaccination push. Read show notes. — Send us your feedback Support the show

Aug 03, 202120 min

Coup or No Coup

Struggling in the polls, President Jair Bolsonaro has threatened to ignore next year's election results. But is the risk of democratic rupture real? Or is the far-right simply crying coup? Read show notes. — Send us your feedback Support the show

Jul 28, 202130 min

Little transparency around presidents' health

President Bolsonaro has recently been discharged from the hospital. While he was in, however, conflicting reports about his health made the Brazilian public suspicious. Read show notes. — Send us your feedback Support the show

Jul 21, 202119 min

Bolsonaro's Evangelical justice

Jair Bolsonaro is using a Supreme Court nomination to rally his base. We explain the effects of his appointment on Brazilian justice and politics. Read show notes. — Send us your feedback Support the show

Jul 14, 202130 min

Leite is no Milk

Governor Eduardo Leite of Rio Grande do Sul came out as gay. But don't expect him to be a Brazilian Harvey Milk. Instead, he might be closer to Pete Buttigieg. Read show notes. — Send us your feedback Support the show

Jul 07, 202124 min

Cash for jabs

I n an ironic twist, the Jair Bolsonaro administration is facing its most severe crisis — not over the vaccines it did not pursue, but over the ones it did. Read show notes. — Send us your feedback Support the show

Jun 30, 202120 min

The Anti-Bolsonaro dilemma

Detractors of President Jair Bolsonaro are now taking to the streets to pressure him, but doing so means creating massive gatherings that are health hazards in themselves. Read show notes. — Send us your feedback Support the show

Jun 23, 202120 min

The future of work in Brazil

In Brazil, the remote work solution was never easy, as the country has an extremely informal economy. This week, we discuss the future of work in Brazil. Read show notes. — Send us your feedback Support the show

Jun 16, 202123 min

Bolsonaro opens a military Pandora's box

Under pressure from President Bolsonaro, the Army refused to punish active general Eduardo Pazuello for taking part in a political demonstration, causing uproar and stoking fears of military interference in the 2022 election. Read show notes. — Send us your feedback Support the show...

Jun 09, 202125 min

A crisis in Angola threatens Bolsonaro

President Jair Bolsonaro is battling multiple domestic crises — but one dispute across the Atlantic could cost him the support of a valuable ally. Read show notes. — Send us your feedback Support the show

Jun 02, 202122 min

More variants, fewer vaccines

As vaccine rollouts stumble in multiple Brazilian regions, health officials confirm the country's first cases of the Indian variant. Read show notes. — Send us your feedback Support the show

May 26, 202116 min

A president without a party

Jair Bolsonaro has seen his popularity dip in recent months, now polling behind Lula. But he has an even more immediate concern: the president needs to find a party. Read show notes. — Send us your feedback Support the show

May 18, 202127 min

Testing Bolsonaro's endurance

The Covid hearings have exposed a laundry list of malfeasance by the Bolsonaro administration during the pandemic. Will that be enough to bring him down, though? Read show notes. — Send us your feedback Support the show

May 11, 202123 min

Vaccine diplomacy in Latin America

When Latin American countries received their first vaccines, they didn't get them from Western powers — but from China and Russia instead. But these deals often came with strings attached. Guests: Flávio da Fonseca (Brazilian Virology Society) and David Fidler (Council on Foreign Relations). Read show notes. — Send us your feedback Support the show...

May 05, 202128 min

The Brazilian Epstein?

A new exposé shows how one of Brazil's biggest business success stories may have covered a child sexual abuse ring, in a case with eerie parallels to that of notorious American pedophile Jeffrey Epstein. Read show notes. — Send us your feedback Support the show

Apr 27, 202120 min

Bolsonaro fighting on multiple fronts

The next few weeks are packed with the definition of the 2021 budget, the start of the Covid hearings, and Biden's climate summit. Read show notes. — Send us your feedback Support the show

Apr 21, 202121 min

What to make of South America's Super Sunday

Elections in Ecuador and Peru were filled with surprises. Latin America correspondent Lucas Berti breaks down what they mean for the region. Read show notes. — // Music in this podcast: Infados by Kevin MacLeod (CC BY 4.0 license), Fall of the Solar King by Twin Musicom (CC BY 4.0 license). Send us your feedback Support the show...

Apr 14, 202121 min

A Brazilian vaccine on the way?

With coronavirus deaths on the rise, a massive vaccination campaign seems to be Brazil's only way out of the pandemic crisis. President Jair Bolsonaro and São Paulo Governor João Doria are in a race toward the first coronavirus vaccine fully produced in Brazil. Read show notes. — Send us your feedback Support the show...

Apr 07, 202123 min

When political crisis becomes military crisis

Brazilian President Jair Bolsonaro carried out a massive cabinet reshuffle on Monday, raising fears that his administration could take an undemocratic turn. Read show notes. — Send us your feedback Support the show

Mar 31, 202131 min

RIP Car Wash, Part 2: Clash of titans

Lula has regained his political rights and is set to face off against Bolsonaro next year. What can we expect from this clash of titans? Read show notes. — Send us your feedback Support the show

Mar 25, 202118 min

RIP Car Wash, Part 1: A tarnished legacy

The Supreme Court ruled that Sérgio Moro — the former judge who led Op. Car Wash — was biased in his trial of former President Lula. The judicial achievements of the anti-corruption task force are being undone, but what legacy does it leave behind? Read show notes. — Send us your feedback Support the show...

Mar 24, 202131 min

Four ministers and 280,000 funerals

President Jair Bolsonaro has changed Health Ministers for the third time since the start of the pandemic. Army General Eduardo Pazuello is out, cardiologist and ally Marcelo Queiroga is in. Read show notes. — Send us your feedback Support the show...

Mar 17, 202118 min

Brazil's pandemic nadir yet to come

Brazil has become something of an open-air laboratory, showing how new variants can develop when left to spread unchecked. Most, if not all states are inching closer to a health collapse, but far-right President Jair Bolsonaro continues to speak out against lockdowns and vaccines. Read show notes. — Send us your feedback Support the show...

Mar 10, 202127 min

The Brazilian people v. big mining

Mining giants have been let off scot-free from the consequences of environmental disasters. Brazilians are going after them on their own turf. Guest: Pedro Martins, partner at law firm PGMBM Read show notes. — Send us your feedback Support the show...

Mar 03, 202121 min
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