South America - Brazil, Peru, Argentina

Why South America?

MIAMI Airport -- From my recent trips to India, Vietnam, Cambodia, Thailand, South Africa, Botswana and Zambia, I have found that I'm absolutely fascinated to see how each country is developing (or not) their economies to be competitive in the 21st century. [OK - I'm a geek]

In the near future I want to explore in particular the economies of the BRIC countries - Brazil, Russia, India and China - although I think there are many useful things to learn from the smaller more focused countries like Vietnam.

At any rate, this trip is Brazil. And since I'm going all that way - 15 hours in the air - I concluded I should look around South America a bit while I'm there, so Peru and Argentina are on the itinerary.

Most economic commentators seem to believe that the BRIC countries will be America's most formidable competitors in the 21st century, in addition to Japan which is already killing our auto industry.

India, China and Russia are the most frequently discussed - India as the largest democracy in the world with a deep emphasis on education in math and science.  China, the most populous country, with its decision to allow private property ownership and to encourage economic freedom. And Russia with the collapse of Communism, introduction of market freedoms and a well educated populace.

Brazil is less obvious and much less known to most Americans, beyond Carnival. In fact, Brazil is the fifth most populace country in the world with 188M citizens, exceeded only by China, India, America and Indonesia. The official language is Portuguese.

It has the 9th largest economy in the world - slightly larger than Russia's - at $1.6 trillion, but less than half of Japan's and India's economy, 25% of China's GDP and way behind the USA's $12.4 trillion.

My first stop is Rio de Janeiro, the second largest city in Brazil with 12 million inhabitants - slightly smaller than Mumbai, India. I've decide to rough it at the Copacabana Palace on the beach.

I land Rio at 8am on Feb 8th. My first research project - thoroughly understand the "beach economy".

Brazilian Beach Economy

In the intense global competition for 21^st Century leadership in the New Beach Economy, Rio de Janeiro is clearly world class.

The city is blessed with abundant comparative advantages – miles of gorgeous white sand beaches, alluring warm ocean waters, exquisite restaurants, pulsating nightclubs -- all surrounded by a towering, lush mountain backdrop. Few countries in the world will ever compete at this level.

Moreover, Rio possesses cultural advantages not known in other areas of the world. While Brazil has the largest population of Catholics on the planet – seen by many neo-beach economists as a drag on growth  -- much was apparently lost in the Latin-to-Portuguese translation. Thus the Cariocas, as Rio’s locals are known, experience greater fluidity in their beach economy when compared to other cultures. 

Thomas Friedman was first to bring America’s attention to this crisis in beach economic competition with his book Brazilians Are Not Flat. Friedman wryly noted that US college students cannot stay competitive with the Cariocas simply doing more of what has worked for Americans in the past -- wild frat parties, binge drinking and rowdy spring break revelry.

Noted social commentator Richard Florida added to the debate with his book – Flight of the Bodacious Class -- observing that Rio had become a magnet for exactly the young people other countries cannot afford to lose – the beautiful, bronze and buff  – those very citizens capable of winning in the 24/7/365 hard partying of the 21^st century.

In Beachonomics, rogue economist Steven Levitt plumbed vast databases of seemingly unrelated information to tease out unexpected insights to Rio’s extraordinary achievement. In his chapter, “Why The Boom, Boom?”, Levitt observed the inverse correlation between textile use in Rio and population growth. 

Now, things have really snowballed: Bill Gates announced he was no longer going to invest in the US beach economy; Oprah hinted she was going to build a beach school in Brazil; the Lilly Endowment hired Battelle to do a study, and President Bush promised to use the rump end of his presidency to push Congress for a “No Behind Left Behind” beach economic development program.

On this trip I decided to see Rio for myself, providing an unblinking photographic record of whatever I saw. The accompanying album confirms the pundits’ worst fears and illustrates the sad sight of an American attempting to beat the Brazilians on their home beach.

Hang Gliding Over Rio

Inspired by the spectacular mountains just behind Copacabana and Ipanema beaches, I decided to try a tandem hang gliding experience. Since this is a totally unregulated activity, my guide suggested selecting one of the older pilots, someone who had passed the Darwinian "licensing" process.

So, I selected a pilot either with 22 years of experience or who had moved to Rio 22 yrs ago -- my Portuguese language skills are nil.

So, after a harrowing ride up the mountain in a 1969 VW Beetle, he gave me three quick pre-flight instructions:

1- "no matter what, when run down the launch ramp do not stop. You stop, we dies."

2- "do not hold too tight my neck. You hold too tight, I not able to turn, we dies."

3-"do not touches the bar for steering. You touches, I lose control, we dies."

With complete clarity of communication established, we gleefully raced down the ramp and into the sky over Rio.

Energy Independent Brazil

Brazil is the first major nation to achieve energy independence. And a key factor in doing so has been the massive conversion of gasoline cars to hybrid gasoline and natural gas, most by ordinary citizens.

Every car in which I rode had a yellow tank in their trunk for natural gas.

Not only is natural gas one-third the cost of gasoline, it is more effiecient in powering the vehicle.

Car owners pay for the conversion kit, which with installations costs between $1,000 and $1,500 - a lot of moeny for most Brazilians.

But they recover the cost over time. And natural gas has the added benefit of minimal environamental impact. In a city of 6M, the air is smog free, fresh and clean.

Now, if Brazil can do this...

Favelos in Rio de Janiero

Favelos are where the poor and low income people live in Rio. They are not slums, at least not today. They are in the mountains overlooking the city, beach and ocean - prime real estate in most other cties.

They came about decades ago as the poor fled the northern countryside looking for work in the city and their numbers have swelled to over 1 million people spread across about 150 different favelos neighborhoods.

They squatted in these mountains and built shanty towns. Over the years, the favelos had become so large - some as big as 150,000 people that the government was forced to recognize their rights and begin to provide basic services.

While the people are poor their homes have improved substantially over the years. The men in the families all work in the contructon industiries or the trades and so they know how to build a sturdy house. The materials are stolen from job sites and brought up the mountain to add 2nd, 3rd and even 4th floors to the houses.

Private donors a well as government have created small schools within each favelo to educate the children for a better life. The favelos are NOT safe at night and even during the day you are advised to go with an experinced guide.

The favelos are small functioning economies with shops and tint restaurants to serve the locals and stores to sell handmade crafts to visitors. I felt very comfortable and entirely welcome while we were there.

What is most stricking is the proximity of the poor to the super-rich in Rio. I saw this clearly when I was hang gliding -- literally one block away from the favelos edge would be a $2-3M mansion with land, a huge pool, tennis courts and a circular driveway -- ringed by high walls with barbed wire and guards posted around the grounds.

The challenge of finding meaningful employement and improving the lives of Rio's poor is constant. So much of their economy is service based - i.e. -- tourism, so it is hard to see how much can be changed without movement into light manufacturing or technology. The inhibitor is Brazil's horrible edcuation system, which I will comment on in a later post.

Black Hawk Over Rio

After the hang gliding I decided I really wanted even more of a bird's eye view of Rio. I chartered a helicopter and took a sweeping tour over the beaches and mountains.

Unfortunately, clouds started to roll in and I was unable to get the prized "Christ The Redeemer" photo which I had hoped to capture.

Still Rio by chopper is a magnificant site.

Friends in Vinhedo & Brazilian Education

While in Sao Paulo, I took the opportunity to visit a close college friend whom I had not seen in 23 years – Lark Meadows D’Aurio.  Lark had married a wonderful Brazilian man, Julio, in 1984 and had moved to Brazil where they have lived ever since. They have two terrific sons, Tiago (15) and Giorgio (13).

The D’Aurios live about 90 minutes to the northwest of Sao Paulo in a gorgeous town called Vinhedo. This city spreads over lush green rolling hills, punctuated by plowed fields of rich deep orange soil. Vineyards, farms and forests are in every direction as far as the eye can see.

Julio has his own telecommunications company in Sao Paulo (and commutes there several times a week) and Lark is a teacher at the local international schools – with students of every nationality in her classes.

It was a pleasure to spend time in her classroom meeting children from Spain, Korea, Argentina, Japan, the US and of course Brazil. The international school is very expensive and not representative of Brazilian education, so I asked Lark  -- as well as Julio – to share their observations of the Brazilian public education system.

Indian and Asian education IT IS NOT. Though Thomas Friedman has anointed Brazil as one of the important rising economies of the 21st century – their success will be propelled by natural resources (minerals, oil and agriculture), not by a well-educated highly motivated, entrepreneurial population.

My tour guides, drivers and others throughout my Brazilian travel, consistently echoed the D’Aurio’s views on the public education system:

1-    Brazil’s primary and secondary public schools are terrible – the teachers are poorly paid, the students are not motivated, the facilities are dilapidated.
2-    Teacher’s Unions dominate the education agenda – and they are not interested in raising standards, holding teachers accountable or lengthening the already too short school day and school year.
3-    Teachers’ strikes are frequent enough and forceful enough to daunt even the most determined reformers.
4-    As a people, Brazilians are more outdoor-oriented, not really a culture of readers and are less motivated by long term planning. Of course, with the Brazilian government's historical corruption and incompetence, long term thinking doesn't work very well.
5-    English – the international language of business – is NOT taught in Brazilian schools; only Portuguese. In India and Vietnam, where English is taught early and rigorously, I could have basic conversations with kids in the countryside as well as the city. In Brazil, I found rudimentary communication very difficult, resorting mostly to sign language.

Needless to say, I won’t be starting “Brazilian Math Online” anytime soon. (see www.indianmathonline.com for contrast). But I would return to Brazil -- the land is gorgeous, the people are friendly and delightful.

Feijoaga Woes

Feijoaga (prounced “fej wa da”) is a fabulous traditional Brazilian dish served regularly everywhere in Rio.

The meal consists of sliced, spicy dark sausage (of unknown anatomical origin) steamed in its own juices, black beans, rice and a dry light green leafy vegetable that looks like seaweed run through a paper shredder. The meal is finished with peeled whole sweet oranges.

I tried feijoaga on my last afternoon in Rio and I’m now publishing Robert’s Revised Rules When Eating Foreign Food:

1-    Three servings is excessive. No matter how delicious a new food may be, NEVER have more than one helping in per digestive cycle. On an initial tasting one cannot reliably predict one’s digestive reaction.
2-    Steam trays are more ideal microbial incubators.
3-    Do not be among last customers to eat feijoaga on a hot day in Rio.
4-    Skipping the dessert oranges is not advised – apparently the citric acid provides important microbial countermeasures.

Less than an hour after boldly enjoying lots of feijoaga, my driver picks me up and heads for the airport. Though I feel a slight queasiness in my stomach and a bit light headed, I board then plane for my next stop – Sao Paulo.

Sao Paulo - All Business All the Time

In stark contrast to the hedonistic atmosphere of Rio, Sao Paulo is all about business. With 20 million inhabitants, Sao Paulo is the second largest city in the world, tariling only Mexico City.

I must give the Brazilians enormous credit however for their environmental actions – Sao Paulo’s air is clear and clean thanks to all of the natural gas powered vehicles. The air quality is strikingly fresher than much smaller US cities and dramatically cleaner than say Mumbai or Ho Chi Minh City. Brazil sets the world standard for air quality.

My time was limited in Sao Paulo and unless you have business there, it is just an enormous, endless metropolis. To appreciate the magnitude of this behemoth of a city, I had a very elegant buffet lunch (single servings only) at the top of the largest building in town – the Edificio Italia. From that vantage point, I shot a 360-degree series of pictures of Sao Paulo.

A popular place among wealthy businessmen in the city, the Terraco Italia’s food was unbelievably delicious and expensive. Based on the clientele around the restaurant, Tuesdays must be “bring your adult daughter to lunch” day in Sao Paulo.

Later that evening, at one of the premier Samba bars, I discovered it was also “take your adult daughter out drinking and Samba dancing at midnight” day. 

Midnight Healthcare in Sao Paulo

By the time I’d landed in Sao Paulo, all hell had broken loose – so to speak – in all directions. The airline staff – though empathetic and caring – refused repeated requests to “please just shoot me” and instead delivered me by wheelchair to my next guide.

The drive from Sao Paulo airport to the 5-star Farano Hotel in downtown is just shy of an eternity. My driver kindly stopped the car periodically to allow me to inspect sidewalks and pavement along the way.

Sick as a dog at midnight in Sao Paulo, unable to speak Portuguese (or even English at that point), might cause one to feel concerned. Not at the Farano Hotel.

Within 30 minutes of arrival, a wonderfully competent doctor was at my bedside, quickly diagnosing “feijoaga overdose”, administering IV meds and calling multiple prescriptions into the all-night pharmacy (meds delivered 15 minutes later).

Doctor’s bill: $300
Cost of medications: $25
Value of staying at the best hotel you can afford: Priceless