Pictures from the Olympic Games in Rio de Janeiro have been beautiful. But underlying the beauty, there is unrest in Rio and many other parts of Brazil. The country is in the middle of a political and economic crisis. Many Brazilians are feeling the pinch, and hurting economically. That is especially true for those who live in Rio’s poorest neighborhoods, called “favelas.” Huberto Sousa spent most of his life renting beach chairs to people visiting Copacabana beach. In October 2010, he decided to open a bar in the favela of Cantagalo, where he was born and raised. Sousa said he always wanted to work for himself, instead of having to depend on others. He said he enjoyed choosing his own hours. In Cantagalo, Sousa is known as “the King.” So, he called his bar “King’s Castle.” The business was successful. Times were good for many businesses in Brazil in 2010. The economy was growing and many Brazilians entered the middle class for the first time. The median household income grew 87 percent between 2003 and 2013. Sousa said, during the best times, middle class people would come and socialize with people in the favela. He said this created an interesting mix of people. “That was the best time, but it started to drop off about (in) about 2014,” he said. Since that time, Brazil’s economy has struggled. Some blame increasing debt and cuts in government spending and investments. The sharp drop in oil prices also might have hurt the economy. Brazilian economist Rodrigo Magalhaes said people who recently moved up into the middle class were hurt most by the economic slowdown. “When the recession began, it broke the expectation of these people because in the last 10 years they had seen the situation getting steadily better and then it all collapsed,” he said. Hospitals, schools and other public services also have been hurt. This year, there have been teachers’ strikes in Brazil. Students also have “occupied” schools for weeks, in some cases, to protest problems in the education system. Fabiola Camargo is a teacher. She told VOA teachers have not received a pay raise since 2014. Camargo says the strikes and student occupations have helped each other. “The occupations are supporting the strikes just as much as the strikes are supporting the occupations because they both were wanting improvements in education,” she said. Brazil’s political crisis is another consideration. Early Wednesday, the Senate voted 59 to 21 to move forward with the impeachment trial of President Dilma Rousseff. Lawmakers suspended Rousseff in May over accusations of hiding budget deficits before her reelection in 2014. Her trial is expected to take place late this month. Holding the Olympics in Rio de Janeiro has lifted the spirits of many Brazilians. The beautiful images of Rio’s bay and Olympic facilities have given many a much-needed lift. But the economic situation remains difficult. Preparations for the games have cost the city billions of dollars. Unemployment in Brazilian cities has reached eight percent and the jobless rate for the whole country is higher. The economy is predicted to shrink by more than two percent in 2016. I’m Mario Ritter. Jeff Swicord reported this story for VOA News. Mario Ritter adapted it for VOA Learning English. George Grow was the editor. _____________________________________________________________ Words in This Story feeling the pinch – idiom, to feel pain because of something unpleasant median – n. the middle value among a series of values or numbers, the value right in the middle adjust – v. to make a change or a correction that accounts for something factors – n. things that influence results impeachment – n. to charge a high official with a crime while in office
from Voice of America http://ift.tt/2bqWwmh
via IFTTT
الاشتراك في:
تعليقات الرسالة (Atom)
المشاركات الشائعة
-
As President of the United States, Donald Trump shakes a lot of hands. But look out. If you shake Trump’s hand, you might get pulled off y...
-
Even in the world of medicine, what is old is new again. Thousands of years ago, Egyptians used it to sterilize drinking water. Ancient Roma...
-
00:00:02 OPRAH WINFREY: "Hattie Mae, this child is gifted," and I heard that enough that I started to believe it. 00:00:08 ...
-
Olayemi Samson is a Nigerian entrepreneur. He is turning plastic waste into useful things like clothing, school bags, car covers and shoes...
-
Learn from your hosts, Anne and Jonathan the meaning of momentous. from Voice of America http://ift.tt/2a2yXS4 via IFTTT
-
Zimbabwe wants small business to be able to get credit to start or grow a business. If the country’s Parliament approves a bill proposed l...
-
An unpublished United Nations report says that North Korea sent materials that could be used in chemical weapons to Syria and missile techno...
-
South Korea’s government proposed on Monday to hold military talks with North Korea to reduce tensions between the two countries. The South ...
-
Tensions between North and South Korea have increased sharply since the North’s announcement that it tested a nuclear weapon for the fourt...
-
The first-ever direct China-to-Britain freight train arrived in London last week. It was the latest evidence of China’s efforts to redevel...
ليست هناك تعليقات:
إرسال تعليق