Jan Rocha – författare

Seen as a successful ‘emerging economy’, Brazil walks tall on the world stage and its voice is growing louder. Its success, celebrated in the 2014 Football World Cup and the 2016 Rio Olympic Games, is attracting millions of foreign tourists.Yet Brazil also faces huge challenges: to combine economic growth with measures to reduce the huge social inequality inherited from its slave-owning past, to respect ethnic and cultural diversity, to ensure a popular say in government, to meet energy needs while preserving the environment – especially the Amazon rainforest – and to adapt to climate change. Sporadic nationwide protests suggest that, despite the new prosperity and measures to redistribute income, the government has not done enough to satisfy the demands of the poor and emerging middle classes.But for all its problems Brazil is still the country of sun, sea, sand and sex; the exuberance displayed in carnival. This short book, based on the best-selling Brazil in Focus, provides an introduction to the country for the student and traveller alike, people who want to know more about the real Brazil than is found in an ordinary guidebook.

Brazil is depicted as a land of global superlatives, boasting the best football, the largest rainforest, and the world''s worst social and economic inequality. It''s vibrant culture is best known for Carnival and samba and attracts thousands of visitors each year. The Carnival capital of Rio also showcases Brazil''s contrasts, as the shanty towns of the dispossesed cling to the mountainsides overlooking the beach playgrounds of the rich.Brazil In Focus is an authorative and up-to-date guide to the giant of Latin America. It explores: - The history: Slavery and the sugar economy as a Portuguese colony; the dictatorship of Getúlio Vargas; the military government from 1964-85 and the return to democracy.- The people: The "social apartheid" of extreme inequality; discrimination against Afro-Brazilian and Indians; the women''s movement; street children and child labor; Christian and African religions.- The politics: Political parties and the government of Fernando Henrique Cardoso; the popular movements of the shanty towns and peasant villages.- The economy: Brazil''s historical role as a supplier of raw materials to the rich nations of the North; Industrialization after the Second World War; the debt of the 1980s; economic policy under President Cardoso.- The Amazon and the environment: Myths and legends of the Amazon; economic development and its impact on the environment; urban pollution. - The culture: Carnival and samba; Brazilian literature, cinema and architecture; soccer; gambling; the mass media and food.- Where to go and what to see: Must-see landmarks and historical sites as well as the authors expert tips on how to get the most out of a brief visit.Brazil In Focus is one on a series of guides covering the countries of South and Central America and the Caribbean.

Access to land is one of the key issues for developing countries - and Brazil has one of the most inequitable land distributions in the world, with vast tracts of land held by often absentee landowners. Meanwhile thousands of peasants live in marginal lands in cities and rural areas. The Brazilian Landless Workers' Movement (MST) has proved a huge success with the disenfranchised rural and urban poor in Brazil - becoming one of the largest social movements in the world. Cutting the Wire is the first account in English of the origins, history and current challenges faced by Brazil's poor majority. The authors have traveled the vast expanse of the country to record the words and actions of hundreds of activists who have taken their lives into their own hands. Cutting the Wire is how the MST describes the act of occupying the land, the cornerstone of their movement. It is the baptism of fire for the militant, an essential part of their identity and it plays a key role in the mistica, the moment of collective ritual that kicks off all MST events. Cutting the Wire is the story of the MST told in their own words, in vivid first-hand accounts of a continuing struggle.

In July 1993, near Haximu, a tiny hamlet in the Amazon rainforest, a fateful meeting between a group of young Yanomami Indians and Brazilian gold miners resulted in the massacre of the Yanomami. News of the tragedy shocked Brazil and the world. But mysteries remained: What exactly happened at Haximu? How many people died? Who killed the Indians and why? Using eyewitness accounts, this work tells the story behind the Haximu massacre. Set in the context of the Amazon gold rush, it describes the failings of Brazil''s official indigenous policy, the tragic cultural misunderstanding between the gold miners and Yanomami, and analyzes the role of gold fever in the destruction of the Amazon rainforest and its people.