Brazil in Focus

by Marcos Azambuja
President Dilma Rousseff has just completed her first state visit to Cuba. It would have been better if she hadn't gone there, at least not now. By going to Havana, she has put herself in a bind that even the most skilful diplomacy would be hard pressed to escape.  As head of one of the world's great democracies, Rousseff speaks and acts with the legitimacy of a leader who has come to power by the will of the people and for a constitutionally defined term, her victory determined unequivocally through the ballot box and in free and fair election. On more than one occasion, she has clearly stated her commitment to human rights.

Brazilian foreign policy goes adrift again

by Demétrio Magnoli
Syrian dictator Bashar Assad has found the ideal ventriloquist's puppet for telling the world his version of the bloody events underway there, and its middle name is Brazil. IBSA, an alliance of emerging nations representing India, Brazil and South Africa, recently issued a joint statement on the conflicted Middle Eastern nation. It's one of the most abject documents Brazil has ever signed.

Brazil's Stake in Washington's Debt Row 

by Luiz Felipe Lampreia

The incredible imbroglio over the United States debt and budget deficit that roiled Washington - and the rest of world - could bring opportunities that not even the most fervent optimists might have imagined: the beginning of the end for US agriculture's protectionist stronghold. Even as I write, time honored privileges of the agricultural sector are under heavy attack in the US Congress.

This is no ordinary legislative squabble. In the US, rural lobbies over the years have won massive political concessions. It's the same story across the Atlantic where European farmers employ a mere 2% to 3% of the workforce but have managed to swallow up more than 50%% of the EU budget.

A foreign correspondent returns

by James Brooke

When will Russians attain the political maturity of Brazilians? When will Russians, like Brazilians, be allowed to elect state governors and big city mayors, and to have free, competitive elections for congress and the presidency?

A Street-level guide for the perplexed

by Richard House

How do you forecast a major change in the economic weather? Or rather, whose forecasts do you believe in: those of Economists, The Economist or a humbler set of "non-experts" out there on the streets?When the president's chief of staff and key economic adviser Antonio  Palocci falls on his sword just six months into the job, you have to ask: "who's right about Brazil's economy? Is it tanking, or towering ever higher?" We know that when experts aren't getting it wrong, they're changing their minds.