Since at least the late nineteenth century, the Middle East has been an intrinsic part of our national narrative of racial and ethnic blending.

Antonio Patriota, the Brazilian ambassador to the United Nations, speaks on the Middle East crises, American spying, domestic protests, and the 2014 World Cup.

Some thirty years ago, dictators ruled and inflation soared. Today, Brazilians freely elect their presidents, while millions rise from poverty. The South American nation can teach the world something about building a prosperous democracy.

Half the population of the planet will tune in to the 2014 World Cup in Brazil. It’s not only a sport we love. It’s the game that explains who we are.

Hosting the finals of the Fédération Internationale de Football Association brings glory to Brazil. But the globalization of the tournament also challenges the sporting culture of a nation whose name is synonymous with football.

South African officials claimed that the 2010 football tournament would strengthen national cohesion and bolster the economy. There’s scant evidence that it did either.

With commodities no longer booming, Brazil’s economy is in a slump. The good news is that whether or not President Dilma Rousseff wins re-election this year, economic reform is coming.

Something important happened last June: hundreds of thousands of Brazilians began marching for better public services and government accountability—and against police brutality. The question is not only whether the unrest will disrupt this year’s World Cup, but also how it may change Brazilian politics.

Long a national pillar above party politics, the Brazilian Ministry of External Relations has fallen under heavy public scrutiny. It must resolve crises in three areas: ideological neutrality, bureaucratic harmony, and social legitimacy.

Middle Eastern immigrants began arriving in the 1850s, and Brazilian governments have long promoted a narrative of harmonious relations between Arabs and Jews. Is this a myth? Is it a basis for a more robust Brazilian foreign policy for the region?

When the author arrived in 1995, she purchased an armored car and retreated to a gated community. Rio de Janeiro was a city at war with itself: elites of the wealthy enclaves versus the urban poor of the favelas. Society is now changing for the better, in ways that cannot be undone.