Summary

Climate – Parched pasture land, empty reservoirs, dead cattle or barely standing up. The drought, which began in 2010, is unrelenting. Yet, in Brazil’s northeast not all is suffering and desolation. When one least expects, there is a water source and a year-round producing orchard. The creativity of the northeasterner is growing real green islands in regions battered by the drought.

Economy
• Car factories in Brazil will have invested R$ 71 billion by 2017 in new assembly lines, expanded production facilities, technological development, and locally manufactured auto parts. With this gigantic capital outlay, the auto industry will substantially increase the sector’s supply, today at 3.6 million units per year.
• With 11.37 million inhabitants and a major industrial center and home to giant corporations, São Paulo has consolidated its position as a top services and business center. Over the next 12 years, the capital of the state of São Paulo will be a leading global metropolis in terms of competitiveness.

Pollution – Urban noise in big metropolises has been proven to cause auditory diseases and stress, besides affecting animal behavior and causing irritability in human beings. According to the World Health Organization (WHO), São Paulo is one of the noisiest cities in the world, along with Rio de Janeiro, New York, Tokyo, and San Francisco.

Culture – In 1810, Prince Regent John I ordered the setting up of the Royal Library in the then capital of colonial Brazil, Rio de Janeiro, with the donation of a small collection brought from Portugal. Thus the history of the National Library Foundation, one of the most important of its kind worldwide, began to be written.

Science – Yes, dinosaurs have roamed around Brazil too and, every now and then, paleontologists announce the finding of skeletons of these gigantic reptiles in different parts of the country. The first Brazilian dino, discovered in 1936 in Rio Grande do Sul, inhabited the national territory in the mid Triassic, extending from 251 to 199 million years ago.

Interview – Known by his acid critiques of the federal government’s economic policy, economist Alexandre Schwartsman states that the country will not grow while inflation will be above the target. He says that, “In 2011, Brasilia bolstered demand and allowed inflation to gain momentum”.

Health – Genital infection by HPV (human papillomavirus), the most common sexually transmissible disease, only recently gained notoriety with the discovery of its ties with uterine colon cancer. Studies show that at least 80% of all women aged 50-under have already been infected by this virus.

Art – She is a true example of tenacity, having dedicated more than half of her life to the visual arts, but today, on the eve of turning 100, is still focused on her painting and sculpture works. Tomie Ohtake keeps a healthy routine, totally Zen, working and reading a lot, tending to her garden, and feeding the birds.

Memory – An intuitive, self-taught musician who could not play any instrument yet was able to reproduce with his mouth and hands the sounds of an entire orchestra. This is a good definition for Lamartine Babo, aka Lalá, a composer of carnival hits and anthems who died early, in June 1963, at the age of 60.

Comics – Since 1959, when he published his first comic strip in “Folha da Manhã“ newspaper, until today, Mauricio de Sousa has given life to over 300 characters. His business, Mauricio de Sousa Produções (MSP), has become the comic book leader in Brazil with an 86% market share, in addition to having licensed products to more than 120 domestic and foreign companies.

Books – The world is restless: millions of people are taking to the streets to protest because, among other factors, the political systems ruling the life of nations no longer meet their yearnings and needs. In book Governança Inteligente para o Século XXI [“Intelligent Governance for the 21st Century”], published by Editora Objetiva, American political scientist and publisher Nicolas Berggruen and German-American investor Nathan Gardels have decided to take on the issue.

Thematic panels
• Physicist José Goldemberg, a former president of energy company Companhia Energética de São Paulo (Cesp), speaks on the issue of electric energy in Brazil.
• Economist Zeina Latif emphasizes that the country’s economic growth needs a new agenda, since the traditional formulas are no longer working.