Boom or Bust

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.


From Syria to São Paulo

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?


Smile, You’re in Rio

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.