Brazil slum housing needs lcoal solutions and long-term renovation

Demostenes Moraes, Katerina Bezgachina – The Guardian, 01/03/2013

In October 2012 citizens across Brazil followed the news as police officers, backed by armoured cars and helicopters, moved to take control of two Rio de Janeiro slums notorious for drug crime. These raids were part of a policy known as “pacification”, designed to help state authorities gain a greater presence in the country’s shantytowns. At the same time, Brazil has been trying to clean up its most dangerous regions ahead of the 2014 football World Cup and 2016 Olympic Games.

It’s no secret that slums and informal settlements are one of the biggest global housing problems and as the rate of urbanisation continues to rise we will face even bigger challenges in our largest cities. Recent surveys ranked São Paulo as the 10th most expensive city in the world, with Rio de Janeiro in 12th position. At the same time, Brazil has up to 8 million fewer residential properties than it needs, with the poorest communities feeling the impact of this housing deficit.

It is estimated that more than 50 million Brazilians live in inadequate housing. Most of these families have an income below the minimum wage of R$675 (about US$330) a month. Roughly 26 million people living in urban areas lack access to potable water, 14 million have no refuse collection service and 83 million are not connected to sewerage systems.

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Brazil, Peru Foreign Ministers sign agreements on crime, jobs

Dow Jones/WSJ, 11/01/2011

The foreign ministers of Peru and Brazil signed Monday a series of agreements intended to promote cooperation between the neighboring countries in the areas of new job creation, fighting drug trafficking, digital television, social development and health.

Peru is a “strategic ally” of Brazil and both countries are committed to increasing and improving regional cooperation, Brazilian Foreign Minister Antonio de Aguiar Patriota told reporters.

In addition to signing agreements, Patriota and Peru’s foreign minister, Rafael Roncagliolo, discussed several subjects of bilateral interest, including cooperating on social programs, fighting drug smuggling and other forms of cross-border crimes, and strengthening the Organization of South American Nations, or UNASUR in its Spanish abbreviation.

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Analysis: “Lulismo” appeals in Latin America but hard to copy

Stuart Grudgings and Terry Wade – Reuters, 06/22/2011

It was a political pilgrimage that surprised no one.

Within days of winning Peru’s presidential election, Ollanta Humala flew to Brazil to learn more about its success over the past decade and meet former President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva, who inspired Humala’s journey from the radical left toward the political center.

Humala’s election victory was the latest sign that Lula’s mix of market-friendly policies and social programs for the poor, credited with turning Brazil into an economic powerhouse, is going international. Call it the Brasilia Consensus, or “Lulismo.”

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Peru’s president-elect: want to use Brazil as an example

Rogerio Jelmayer – Dow Jones Newswire/WSJ, 06/13/2011

Peru President-elect Ollanta Humala on Friday said that his country has made good economic progress, but needs more social inclusion, and Brazil can be a good example.

“The Peruvian economy is very solid and we need to move to a second step which is social inclusion, and we want to use Brazil as an example which has already had plenty of success in this respect,” Humala told reporters after a meeting with Brazil’s former president, Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva.

Speaking alongside Humala, Lula said that “the easiest thing and the one which costs the government the least is to help the poor.”

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