Explaining Brazil
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Explaining Brazil
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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371 episodi
2026 election: A year away, what do polls say? (preview)
President Lula’s popularity has risen. We examine how this might impact the political landscape ahead of the next presidential election.
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Brazil's tax system fuels income inequality (preview)
Brazil’s Congress is discussing a proposal for income tax reform. Backed by the Lula administration, the bill seeks to make the country’s system more...
Self-serving politics (preview)
Crowds on Sunday fanned out across Brazil’s 27 state capitals to denounce two measures moving through Congress: a constitutional amendment proposal th...
The PCC’s sprawling presence in Brazil’s economy (Preview)
A massive police operation exposed how deep Brazil's largest criminal organization has penetrated the legitimate economy.
Rafael Alcadipa...
Bolsonaro: from the barracks, to the presidency ... to prison? (preview)
The Brazilian Supreme Court has reached a majority to convict former President Jair Bolsonaro of leading a conspiracy to overturn his 2022 electoral d...
Brazil's trial of the century (Preview)
The final stage of Jair Bolsonaro’s coup trial kicked off on September 2 in Brasília. After months of evidence-gathering, arguments and testimonies, t...
Can Brazil own its digital destiny? (Preview)
At a time when US President Donald Trump is pressuring Brazil on both trade and military fronts, the country’s digital vulnerabilities have come into...
The battle for control over Brazil's Congress (Preview)
A political drama has unfolded inside Congress. It started with a show of force: after former President Jair Bolsonaro was placed on house arrest, law...
Supreme Court places Bolsonaro under house arrest (Preview)
In this edition of #InsiderTalks, we’ve invited experts on law, democracy and electoral trends to analyze the trial of Bolsonaro and his allies for an...
US tariffs: Brazil is negotiating with an “elected autocracy” (Preview)
Professor Felipe Campante of Johns Hopkins sees little room for success in negotiations between Brazil and the US, as only the former is following the...
Trump declares (trade) war on Brazil (Preview)
In this episode of Explaining Brazil Plus, we analyzed Donald Trump’s threat of a 50% tariff on Brazil and its possible impacts on the country's econo...
Social security scandals, Brazil's emissions beef and a papal funeral
A major social security scandal causes a government headache. Brazil’s beef sector needs major changes to hit emissions goals. And Lula is off to Rome...
COP 30: are locals ready to shape policies? (Preview)
In this Explaining Brazil Plus episode, Lise Tupiassu of the Federal University of Pará gives us her on-the-ground perspective on what should be in th...
Penal populism, agro jobs and Bolsonaro under the knife
Rio’s mayor looks to El Salvador for inspiration on public security. Brazil’s agro jobs are less and less done on farms. And Bolsonaro goes under the...
Trump’s decline, Embraer’s rise, and Lula in a gun fight
Trump and the US become less popular in Brazil. Embraer wades into the aerial arms race. And the pro-gun caucus wants to take firearms away from Lula’...
Tariffs, loans and spy games
Brazil learns its tariff fate amid Trump’s Liberation Day announcement. Major demand for a new loan program offers hope for Lula’s popularity. Brazil...
Brazil braces for Trump's tariffs (Preview)
US President Donald Trump promises a significant tariff announcement on April 2. We gathered a team of experts to discuss how the looming threats of t...
Bolsonaro charged, egg exports rise, Brazil rethinks defense ties
The Supreme Court decides that Jair Bolsonaro will face trial over coup-plotting allegations. Brazilian producers are exporting eggs to the bird flu-h...
Tax exemptions, rate hikes and voluntary exile
Lula announces major income tax exemptions. The Central Bank hikes interest rates once more. And one of Bolsonaro’s sons flees to the US. This episode...
Inflation, digital transformation and trade war frustration
Inflation data shows little in the way of good news for Brazil. The country’s planned digital currency moves through testing phases. And Trump’s metal...
How Brazil can navigate the Trump trade storm (Preview)
We’re launching Explaining Brazil Plus — a premium service bringing you exclusive content every month. As a subscriber, you’ll get access to special e...
Oscar wins, fake coffee and fiscal fiascos
Brazil bags its Carnival Oscar glory with “I’m Still Here.” Consumers get rattled as “fake coffee” makes its way onto supermarket shelves. And a court...
Carnival, cabinet and crisis
Carnival is here, and it’s big business. Lula pulls the trigger and sacks his health minister. And STEM degrees are becoming less and less common in B...
Bolsonaro indictment, Trump's lawsuit and a shocking shift
Bolsonaro faces criminal charges for coup plotting. Trump’s media group is suing a Brazilian Supreme Court justice. And Brazil’s organized crime group...
Steel, drought and neopentecostalism
How Trump’s steel tariffs are expected to affect Brazil. A year after historic floods, Rio Grande do Sul now suffers from drought. And how Brazil’s ev...
Trade wars, health alerts and oil
As Trump's trade threats reshape global commerce, Brazil grapples with a mounting yellow fever outbreak ahead of Carnival. Meanwhile, controversial Am...
Brazil's Congress elects new leaders
Our podcast is back! For our first episode of 2025, we bring you a crucial topic for Brazil’s political landscape: the upcoming elections for the lead...
Delaying the EUDR?
The EU had approved a law demanding that products exported to the bloc would have to prove they are deforestation-free. After much adaptation and prep...
Lula in a currency chokehold
The Brazilian real is plummeting, borrowing costs are climbing, and market confidence has been in free fall.
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The tax reform gridlock
Many thought the tax reform regulations would clear Congress before the October elections. With just a few weeks left in the 2024 calendar, many wonde...
Taking stock of the G20 Summit in Rio
With the G20 Summit and Brazil’s presidency of the group now at an end, we look back at the results of the major international gathering in Rio de Jan...
The Amazon at war - To Be Read: Where authors translate Brazil
In our book club, journalist Marcos Colón talks about the existential crisis that criminals, multinational companies and also the State have historica...
How the U.S. election influences Latin America
As the U.S. selects its next leader, the choice will reverberate through Latin America, influencing political and economic landscapes across the regio...
A Brazilian MAGA?
Jair Bolsonaro is working to reshape Brazil’s Liberal Party into a political vehicle firmly under his influence — much like Donald Trump has redefined...
The Pantanal's jaguars
A particularly harsh wildfire season in Brazil's Pantanal has caused major impacts on the population of jaguars, the biome's most emblematic species....
Brazil has a gambling problem
Seemingly from nowhere, the online sports betting market has swept across Brazil like a tsunami, and the pernicious effects of gambling addiction are...
What to make of Brazil's municipal elections
Brazilians in almost 5,600 municipalities went to the polls to pick new mayors and city council members. The dispute was settled on Sunday in all but...
Has Lula's star dimmed?
For Lula's third term as president, international prominence and influence was set out as a priority — but a Pew survey shows that things are moving i...
Musk flinches in X standoff
X has been banned in Brazil for more than three weeks now, with billionaire CEO Elon Musk refusing to comply with Supreme Court demands. He seems to n...
Brazil on fire
Smoke-filled skies, wildfires, lack of rain, and scorching heat that have lingered for weeks offer a glimpse of what’s in store for Brazilian cities a...