Editorial
RIO DE JANEIRO, BRAZIL – A new president has been elected in Brazil, and her name is Dilma Rousseff. Now the political mechanisms will churn towards the presidential hand-off on New Year’s Day 2011, and the public consciousness (at least for many) will shift towards more recreational endeavors.
For starters, summer is coming, maybe it’s here already. People are booking flights, and hotels rooms are filling up as the prospect of the holidays and Carnival take hold.
A recent Expat resident of Rio is looking to capitalize on this with the next generation of travel guides – a mobile app. Rob Coates, who writes for Rough Guides Travel Books has recently launched Rio! – now available on iTunes.
With a focus on Expats living in Rio (with a permanent visa status), we’ve reported this week on what small business structures exist in Brazil. As the B in BRIC becomes more attractive to foreign investment with it’s booming economy, it’s not just the fair-weather traveler trying to find a way to stay by the beach anymore.
Outside of Rio, in the north of Brazil, the people living in Amazonas have more serious concerns. The Rio Negro (Black River), one of the tributaries of the Amazon River, dropped to its lowest recorded level since the first measurements in 1902. Following a severe drought, the river reached 13.63 meters in Manaus, the capital of the state of Amazonas, and broke the previous record of 1962.
Which brings us back to politics, and many of our Readers took the time to vote in The Rio Times Election Polls. The first Election Poll had very balanced results: Marina Silva 31.6 percent, José Serra 32.08 percent and Dilma Rousseff with 33.49 percent (and “other” at 2.83 percent).
The Run-Off Round Election Poll had Serra over Rousseff, 52.75 to 47.25 percent… go figure.
