Posts under "Politics"

So how did Obama’s visit to Brazil go? Many will argue it was somewhat “worthless,” in terms of international politics, while others call it a great step in Brazilian-American diplomacy.

One of the highlights of the visit was the speech made at Teatro Municipal in Rio de Janeiro last night. There are many videos online that you can watch, but here’s one of the beginning of the speech where you can clearly hear Obama and the interpreter so you can hear the English vs the Portuguese pretty well.

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Did you read up or see anything else about his visit to Brazil? What impact did you this the visit had, if any?

President Barack Obama is headed to Brazil this week in his first ever visit to Brazil, and in his first official trip to Latin America. He will spend a day in Brasília, where he will meet with President Dilma Rousseff and government officials, and then he will spend a day in Rio de Janeiro, where he will visit tourist attractions and give a public speech before flying to Chile for the second leg of the trip.

Let’s read a bit more about his visit from the Brazilian press to test your reading skills.

From Último Segundo:

“O presidente dos Estados Unidos, Barack Obama, fará um discurso aberto ao público na Cinelândia durante sua visita ao Rio de Janeiro, marcada para o próximo domingo (20). A Embaixada dos Estados Unidos no Brasil não deu informações sobre o conteúdo do discurso, mas afirmou que ele será direcionado a todo o povo brasileiro. O acesso ao local será liberado a partir das 11h30. Não será permitida a entrada com bolsas e mochilas, e a organização recomenda que o público leve apenas documentos ao local. Haverá tradução simultânea.”

Question: What is one of the rules for people who want to attend Obama’s speech?

From Estadão:

“As medidas de segurança vão, evidentemente, se estender aos outros pontos programados para receber Obama – até esta tarde, não oficializados, mas praticamente certos. A ida ao Corcovado do casal presidencial americano é vista como programa “familiar” e, pelas características do local, terá acesso restrito, mesmo para equipes de imprensa. Uma possibilidade é que apenas um grupo de jornalistas credenciados como setoristas na Casa Branca e uns poucos representantes dos órgãos de imprensa brasileiros – em torno de dez – tenham acesso permitido. Em todos os eventos, segurança do presidente será feita pelos americanos, mas o Batalhão de Operações Especiais (Bope)e o Batalhão de Polícia de Choque (BPChoq), cuidarão do entorno.”

Question: Aside from Obama’s security team, which local teams will provide security?

From Globo:

“No Planalto, Obama e Dilma assistirão a um desfile militar, com execução de hinos dos dois países e tiros de canhão. O presidente americano subirá a rampa do Planalto e terá encontro com Dilma. O formato da reunião ainda não foi definido, podendo ou não haver uma conversa reservada entre os dois presidentes, antes da audiência de trabalho propriamente dita, da qual participam ministros e assessores dos dois governos.”

Question: What event will take place before Obama and Dilma’s official meetings?

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On January 1st, Dilma Rousseff took office as Brazil’s first female president. In Brasília, she gave an inspiring speech and outlined her plans for her new administration.

Watch her speech below:

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Here are some excerpts:

“Continuaremos fortalecendo nossas reservas externas para garantir o equilíbrio das contas externas e bloquear, e impedir a vulnerabilidade externa. Atuaremos decididamente nos fóruns multilaterais na defesa de políticas econômicas saudáveis e equilibradas, protegendo o país da concorrência desleal e do fluxo indiscriminado de capitais especulativos….”

“…Queridas e queridos brasileiros e brasileiras,  considero uma missão sagrada do Brasil a de mostrar ao mundo que é possível um país crescer aceleradamente, sem destruir o meio ambiente. Somos e seremos os campeões mundiais de energia limpa, um país que sempre saberá crescer de forma saudável e equilibrada…”

“…Seguiremos aprofundando o relacionamento com nossos vizinhos sul-americanos; com nossos irmãos da América Latina e do Caribe; com nossos irmãos africanos e com os povos do Oriente Médio e dos países asiáticos. Preservaremos e aprofundaremos o relacionamento com os Estados Unidos e com a União Européia.”

You can also read the full text of her address here.

What types of verbs does she repeat throughout the speech? The answer after the jump.

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Last week, President Lula took a moment to discuss Wikileaks and his thoughts on the controversial website. There are subtitles available in English, Spanish, Italian, and Portuguese but you can also watch the video without them to practice your listening comprehension. Have a look and see if you can answer the questions.

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Questions

1.  What is “liberdade de expressão?”

2. How does Lula plan to protest?

3. According to Lula, who is guilty in this kind of scenario?

4. What is the word for nonsense or rubbish that he uses?

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Last night Brazilians elected their first female president and outgoing president Lula’s hand picked successor, Dilma Rousseff. Although it’s a pretty epic event for the country, these elections have been fairly controversial. While Dilma had never held an elected office before, José Serra never stays for a full term in the positions he’s held.

But alas, Dilma Rousseff was the favorite with about 56% of the votes! Last night, she announced what her plans are for the next four years, which, to the public’s appplause, includes “knocking on Lula’s door for help,” and eradicating poverty from Brazil.

See a little bit of her speech and what she has to say about poverty, pre-salt, Lula, Brazilian women, social and sustainable development in the video below:

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How does she plan on eradicating poverty?

What are her plans for pre-salt exploration?

What does she think about working with Lula?

What are her plans for women in Brazil?

and most importantly…

What do you think of her being elected Brazil’s next president?

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