By Sara Moreira In a country which has experienced constant political instability, how can civil society mobilise itself to prevent further coups d’état and to build a participative democracy based upon its communities? Some possible ways forward were suggested [1] [pt] by a group of 70 young people at a meeting promoted by the Movimento Ação […]
Brazil: Petroleum, elections and poverty matters
On Friday 15th of May, the Brazilian Congress launched an investigation into the giant state-run oil company Petrobras. The initiative was started by government leaders of the opposition PSDB party. They set up what Brazilians call a Parliamentary Inquiry Commission (CPI is the abbreviation in Portuguese) to scrutinize supposed irregularities in the company. Meanwhile, on […]
Amid Brazil’s Flood, Bloggers Form Solidarity Networks
by Paula Góes There have been three months of intermittent rain in Santa Catarina and there are now nearly 79,000 displaced people and 110 deaths. Of a population of 5.9 million, 1.5 million people have been directly or indirectly affected by the floods. There are 12 cities in a state of emergency. The rain is […]
Chaos and Hopes Mark First Election in 16 Years
At last Angola went to the polls last Friday September 05. The electorate attended the polling stations in an orderly way and provided their votes hoping for a better future for the country. After sixteen years, Angolans had waited for this historic moment with excitement and some fear. Soba L [pt] says voting was as he had always dreamed: […]
‘Rent A Blog’ Debate Heats Brazilian Blogosphere
Posted by Paula Góes to Global Voices Online The highly sensitive Brazilian blogosphere is fizzing after a famous brand of beverage decided to invest in blogs as the main vehicle to market its latest product. Nine prominent bloggers were cherry picked and received a fancy USB mini fridge with a new product to be tested […]