Trading old errors for new errors? The impact of electronic voting technology on party label votes in Brazil

In the mid-1990s, Brazil introduced electronic voting technology that reduced residual ballots and consequently expanded de facto enfranchisement. We employ a regression discontinuity design similar to that of previous studies of the Brazilian electronic voting technology to show that electronic technology also caused a sharp rise in party label votes (votos de legenda) that can only be explained by voting error. We show that this error offsets a large portion of the gains in enfranchisement, highlighting the fact that even generally positive changes in voting procedures can have negative effects. Our results also suggest that party label votes should not be considered a measure of party strength in the Brazilian context.     

Defence cooperation between Brazil and Namibia: Enduring ties across the South Atlantic

This article addresses the nature of transatlantic relations between Brazil and Namibia in the last two decades and argues that, in stark contrast with any other relationship regarding the African continent, Brazil's motivation in deepening ties with Namibia was largely built upon an extensive military-to-military cooperation partnership. By focusing on long-standing bureaucratic interests, the article demonstrates how Brazilian–Namibian relations were driven over the years by strategic affinities, business opportunities made available by the security sectors of both countries and, more recently, growing concerns over the sovereignty of their respective maritime areas in tandem with renewed interest for security developments within the the South Atlantic region.     

DNA databases as a tool to improve the search for missing persons in Brazil

In 2019, based on the publication of Law No. 13,812/2019, the National Policy on the Search for Missing Persons was created in Brazil. In this context, on March 2, 2020 the Steering Committee of the Integrated Network of DNA Databases (RIBPG) created the Working Group on Genetic Identification of Missing Persons. In 2021, the first National Campaign for the Collection of DNA from Relatives of Missing Persons was launched. This action provided the collection of relatives of more than 1700 missing people throughout Brazil. Since the beginning of the work, the number of genetic profiles related to the search for missing persons has increased by 216 % in the National DNA Database. So far, RIBPG has already managed to solve 223 disappearances throughout Brazil.     

Golden BRICS

正THE BRICS countries have transformed since the turn of the 21st century from a group of emerging markets to a substantive cooperative mechanism of developing economies with growing global influence.Brazil is host of the fi rst Summit of the second cycle of BRICS Summits–the Sixth BRICS Summit–in mid-July.The event denotes the maturity of this cooperative mechanism.Expectations among the fi ve participating countries signify the group’s remarkable progress as regards pragmatic cooperation.Since 2013,when the Durban Summit decided to establish the BRICS Development Bank,the program has steadily progressed with support from all member countries.Preparatory work has been completed,so paving the way for the Brazil summit which will consolidate the BRICS mechanism and strengthen BRICS international development and cooperation.     

Immigration in Brazil

Abstract

The 100-year period between 1872 and 1972 saw significant migration movements to Brazil, particularly of people from Portugal, Italy, Spain, and Germany. The early migrants from Europe were drawn to the vast expanses of land, where they established colonies. The 20th century attracted two large waves of Japanese immigrants, the first being agricultural workers and the second, after World War II, workers in urban industries. While some migration to Brazil of groups from other South American countries continues, migration in the latter part of the 20th century and into the 21st century has declined substantially. The country is faced, rather, with the emigration of large numbers of Brazilians to the United States, Japan, and Europe. Implications of the migration flows are discussed.     

European health regulations and Brazil nuts: Implications for biodiversity conservation and sustainable rural livelihoods in the Amazon

Abstract

The Brazil nut industry comports with the principal objectives of European policy on development co‐operation (poverty reduction linked with environmental protection) and forest conservation (maintaining forest cover). However, European Regulation 1525–98 EC, which decreases acceptable levels of aflatoxins in Brazil nuts to 4 parts per billion, may cause a crash in the Brazil nut trade. Thus, European policies on food quality, development co‐operation and forest conservation are likely to operate a cross‐purposes. Brazil nut producer countries have questioned the legal basis of the Regulation in terms of scientific justification for the stricter limits on aflatoxin content and lack of conformity with international standards set by Codex Alimentarius. The EC has countered by invoking the precautionary principle. This article documents the debate in the context of the World Trade Organisation's Sanitary and Phytosanitary Agreement and discusses the implications for the relationship between agendas of trade, environment and sustainable development.     

Analysis of eight mtDNA coding region polymorphisms for characterization of the female lineages ancestry in Alagoas,Brazil

In this work we evaluated eight mitochondrial DNA coding region polymorphisms (8281–8289d, 1736, 13263, 4883, 3594, 10873, 10400, and 12705) in order to identify lineages of African, Amerindian and European origin in Alagoas, Northeastern Brazil. Seven of these polymorphisms were detected by multiplex minisequencing with SnaPshot. For validation purposes a sample previously characterized by sequencing of the HVI and HVII regions was analyzed. Good agreement was observed between the phylogenetic results obtained in this work and the HVI and HVII regions sequencing. The results obtained suggest that the set of markers evaluated in this study can be used in ancestry studies of Brazilian populations.     

Gated communities: The new ideal way of life in natal,Brazil

Abstract

Gated communities have been growing quickly in Brazil's urban and suburban areas since the 1980s, bringing challenges to society through their privatization of public space, conflict with planning norms, and interference with the integrated planning of the cities in which they are built. My article analyzes this phenomenon to establish a clear basis for purposeful public policies in Brazil. The analysis is based on a case study of the first three closed condominiums in Natal. It involves 31 semistructured interviews focusing on legal, urban/architectural, and segregational factors and their implications.

Federal and local governments have contributed, deliberately or unwittingly, to the development of such enclosed complexes, which have social and spatial impacts and guarantee that the upper class will remain wealthy. There also seems to be a close relationship between the spread of fortified residences and the promotion of a “culture of fear.”     

War and Splendour

Abstract

Collective performances cannot be understood only from the intentions of the organizers, participants and bystanders, and from their historical, political, economic and ideological contexts. Cultural performances close in on themselves and evolve with their own logic: that of ceremony and festival in which their own scenes of splendour, dance and war adjust to one another.     

Leveraging South–South cooperation for Africa's development

Optimising the development opportunities presented by emerging powers' growing interest in trade, investment and diplomatic engagement in Africa seems a priority for the continent in the context of a changing global system in which power is more diffuse. Taking into account a reconceptualisation of aid effectiveness as development effectiveness, this paper focuses on the manner in which African states understand and approach new opportunities for cooperation with emerging powers, especially China, India and Brazil, including the crucial issue of whether they seek joint development initiatives with both traditional partners and emerging powers. The central argument is that South–South cooperation, which is value-neutral although rhetorically reflecting the principles of solidarity and mutual benefit, must be part of an effective strategy to draw emerging economies into the national or regional development objectives of African states and the continent at large.