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The Economist.com puts it simply:
“…in some ways, Brazil outclasses the other BRICs. Unlike China, it is a democracy. Unlike India, it has no insurgents, no ethnic and religious conflicts nor hostile neighbours. Unlike Russia, it exports more than oil and arms, and treats foreign investors with respect. Under the presidency of Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva, a former trade-union leader born in poverty, its government has moved to reduce the searing inequalities that have long disfigured it. Indeed, when it comes to smart social policy and boosting consumption at home, the developing world has much more to learn from Brazil than from China. In short, Brazil suddenly seems to have made an entrance onto the world stage.”
I started this blog nearly a year ago by commenting on the rather disappointing website (now changed) of Portugal’s main agency for the promotion of the internationalization of the Portuguese economy – AICEP, and on general aspects related to institutions and good governance (read). Still on Portugal, I dedicated a post to the efforts the country is making to take a leading role in the renewable energies industry (read). A report analysing possible areas of cooperation between Portugal and each one of the Portuguese-speaking African countries was here published too (read – in Portuguese).
Turkey’s troubled EU accession was here discussed in two different moments, from a pessimist (read) and from an optimist (read) perspective.
A day listening to Brazilian music led me to write about Brazil’s path to development as seen by the country’s samba-rap musicians, relative to the academic researchers (read).
The book ’Cod: the fish that changed the world’, offered to me as a present, proved to be not only enjoyable but also an insightful journey through the history of a fish that actually changed the world. It resulted in a post because the book shows one face of the disruptive impact of raising consumption on the sustainability of the planet (read).
In another post I comment on the impressive numbers behind bottled water consumption as well as a clever idea on how to fix that problem (read); the the decision of Shell to stop investing in wind energy was also commented but from a CSR perspective (read).
Overall, and unfortunately, not so many visitors passed by, and not that many comments were generated. Such is understandable given the irregular character of the blog. All that will change soon, as the focus will be readjusted.
I hope to see you around.
Seu Jorge: Musician/part-time policy advisor
The recurrent case study for International Business and Development Studies scholars – Brazil - is analysed differently by the country’s Samba-rap musicians. The well performing clusters, such as the footwear cluster of Sinos Valley, was analysed by Humphrey and Schmitz (2002) regarding its functional upgrading triggered by US’ demand and value chain governance on one hand and by China’s competition on the other hand. The brazilian rapper De Leve describes - amid the well blended sound of drums, reco-reco, pandeiro and cavaco - “Trabalho em multinacional, escravidão high-tech” (I work for a multinational, high-tech slavery).
Brazil is, with no doubts, an interesting case study. Few arguments convince: a large economy 6 times bigger than the one of its former european colonizer, Portugal, and as great as that of the entire Scandinavian region; its market is wide - more than 170 million people – and its working force counts with more than 100 million souls; furthermore, despite being a funny-speaking nation (Portuguese) for the rest of Latin America, Brazil is the continent’s most influential nation (you can watch a series of video reports exploring the relations between Brazil and each one of its neighbours: BBC Brasil – Brazil in the eyes of Latin America - unfortunately only in Portuguese). Its growth rate allows it to score greatly on the fight against poverty, but “the problem is not the economy” as Marcelo D2 clarifies with a rhyme, “the problem is the corruption”.
Seu Jorge, Marcelo D2, De Leve (Voltair) and many others are not published in the International Business academic periodicals but they reach many millions with argumentation that is as empirical as it can be. The topic is similar for rappers all over the world. They align the timbre of the socio-economic troubles of their own country or city, but Brazilians rhyme it specially well; my guess: the dazing amount of such problems, afecting in general the whole Latin America, provides limitless inspiration that is skilfully blended with the joyful nature of their music, that only Brazilians can do.
Seu Jorge says melodiously: “North America will samba again, beautiful american with those blue eyes, come and move with me South America. You can shake your pigtail, but do not overheat, the night is just starting…”
References:
De Leve e Voltair “Quer dançar”
Marcelo D2 “Carta ao Presidente”
Seu Jorge “América do Norte”
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