Summary

Ecotourism – For their spectacular natural scenery, the Brazilian national parks might turn the country into a world power in the ecotourism field. Besides not being exploited properly and without due care and attention, they are objects of environmental aggression. There are no investments in infrastructure and staff. The federal government was not interested in developing the national parks so far, but it has been signaling that it may adopt a partnership policy with the private sector. It aims to convert Brazil in a reference to this kind of tourism.

Economy – The model was the Grameen Bank, an organization created 30 years ago in Bangladesh on the premise of providing small loans to the very poor. It was the way the Banco do Povo has been created, and today it is established in about 80 counties in the state of Sao Paulo. The low-income entrepreneurs in need of microcredit for starting or improving their businesses are the most benefited from this banking system.

Traffic – The Brazilian great city streets show a state of chaos. The collective transport, which should be prioritized, gives way more and more to private vehicles. This is the result of the country’s option for automobile industry, which was considered the government’s top priority to economic development. There are no city planning and public transport system investments, and these are aggravating circumstances, which have made the car drivers lives hell.

Education – The Fundaçao Abrinq for the Rights of Children and Natura Cosmeticos, aware of the fact that 19 million illiterates is a heavy burden to the country, have joined a partnership to promote an educational program for improving the primary school. As a result of this initiative begun in 1995, last year 124 projects were developed benefiting around 750,000 children enrolled in about a thousand school institutions.

Photography – Cristiano Mascaro, disciple of Cartier-Bresson, is a very talented photographer. Unconventional, based on his experience as a skilful photographic reporter and on his knowledge of architecture, he makes black-and-white pictures of apparently unimportant fragments of reality.

Immortal author – Eça de Queiros is a Portuguese writer, born in 1845. His admirers and lovers of good literature are celebrating the centenary of his death. There are many reasons for that. Eça is one of the most distinguished writers of Portuguese literature. Great observer and critic of the society of his time he left masterpieces such as the novels "Os Maias" and "A Tragedia da Rua das Flores". He studied Law in the famous city of Coimbra, but he preferred the intellectual and bohemian way of life offered by this city, which inspired him as a subject matter of his many books.