Background

In 2003, an unprecedented event took place in Brazil. Ignacio Lula da Silva, a metalworker and union leader, became the first working class President to be elected in Brazilian history. The victory of this left wing candidate was not only a victory for his party the PT (Workers Party) but also for the millions who cast their vote in hope for a brighter future. Many considered Brazil's historic election to have been a popular judgment against the neoliberal economic project that has caused the increased impoverishment of millions of Brazilians.

However, the neoliberal agenda, pursued in the last two decades and backed and promoted by such supra-national global institutions as the World Bank, IMF and WTO, continues to push forward the mass privatization of state-owned industries, the explosion of low-wage factory zones, the wide-scale pillaging of Brazil's natural resources and the tripling of Brazil's international debt. Despite holding the tenth largest economy in the world, Brazilians have seen the rich get richer and the poor get poorer, with Brazil containing the widest disparity of wealth in the western hemisphere.

Regardless, Brazilian social movements are among the strongest and most organized in Latin America in challenging the social, racial, and economic injustices of the neoliberal system. The largest social movement in the hemisphere-- the Landless Workers Movement (MST)-- has succeeded in pressuring for land reform and land titles for more than 250,000 displaced families, and promoting sustainable and rational usage of land and resources. Ten million Brazilians voted in a popular referendum against the Free Trade Area of the Americas, despite the Brazilian government's favorable position in renegotiating the treaty with Washington. And Brazil is also home to the World Social Forum, which since 2000 has reunited the world's largest gathering of progressive social movements to make "Another World Possible."

Global Exchange's Brazil delegations will directly connect you with the communities, organizations, and people who are providing real answers to the extreme social disparities faced in Brazil.

Global Exchange programs to Rio de Janeiro area: while most tourists only see the resorts and beautiful beaches, hundreds of thousands of Rio's inhabitants live in the notorious favelas (or slums), often filled with drug trafficking and violence, and excluded from basic city services such as water and electricity. Meet with community organizations working for peace and justice from within the favelas. Visit organizations fighting to sustain Brazil's universal healthcare system for HIV patients. And meet with groups that work with Rio's street children who often fall victim to police violence, drug trafficking and sex tourism.

Global Exchange programs to Recife and Bahia do Salvador: you will learn about the black rights movement in Brazil's so-called "racial democracy" and hear varying perspectives from Afro-Brazilian women and men who struggle for representation and social equality. Meet with youth who use music and art as a form of political protest and expression. Visit quilombola communities of descendants of fugitive slaves, and explore the history of the African diaspora, racism, and black political participation in Brazil.

Global Exchange programs to São Paulo and Curitiba: compare one of the world's largest metropolitan areas with the building of sustainable cities. Learn how the race for Brazil's natural resources has threatened farmworkers and indigenous peoples, and excluded them from Brazilian society. Learn about the dominant agrarian model, displacement of rural workers, GMO crops, and agroecology. And meet with environmental organizations working to protect the Pantanal while supporting the fair trade economy.

Learn about some of the most challenging problems of the global economy in one of the world's most complex countries, while enjoying the stunning beauty of Brazilian music, dance, and the country's breathtaking landscape.