海角大神

When Larry Rohter, then an aspiring China scholar, first dropped into Brazil in 1972, he saw a country on a path that few envied. It was in the middle of a 21-year military dictatorship and 鈥渨anted鈥� posters of young, long-haired 鈥渢errorists鈥� hung on the walls of the airport he entered. The press was censored. Brazilian debt to the International Monetary Fund (IMF) and other international lenders was spiraling. Inflation was the untamable 鈥渄ragon,鈥� as it was called in Portuguese slang, and totaled an approximate quadrillion percent cumulatively in the 20th century.

Now? The fertile and massive nation, whose Amazon region alone is bigger than all of Europe, is each day more seriously fulfilling its potential 鈥� though not without serious drawbacks. Rohter, a 14-year Newsweek and New York Times correspondent, traces the course of Brazil鈥檚 ascendancy in the alternately lively and hard-hitting Brazil on the Rise: The Story of a Country Transformed.

鈥淚n purely historical terms, 40 years is barely the blink of an eye,鈥� Rohter writes. 鈥淵et over the last four decades, Brazil has arguably experienced deeper and more profound changes than it did during some of the centuries when it was a Portuguese colony.鈥�

Two popular presidents have together carried out four terms since the return to stable, civilian rule. Among today鈥檚 developing countries, only China receives more foreign direct investment than Brazil. The country is immensely proud to be hosting the 2014 World Cup and 2016 Summer Olympics. It is now a creditor to the IMF with a new, strong currency. And to boot, its trade surplus, largely held in US Treasury notes, now makes it the fourth-largest creditor of the United States.

Rohter鈥檚 very contemporary narrative of the past four decades of Brazilian history is peppered with supporting tales and interviews from his reporting, which give texture to his monograph. The book is accessible to a first-time tourist but also balanced and analytical enough for any Brazilian (or Brazilianist).

In Rohter鈥檚 most uniquely thoughtful chapter 鈥� on the Amazon and Brazil鈥檚 forceful tugs to preserve it, use it, or guard it from a perceived threat of foreign takeover (鈥淭he Amazon is ours!鈥� is the refrain drilled into Brazilians) 鈥� he recounts what he calls 鈥渄evelopment gone awry, Amazon-style.鈥� He traveled with a young census taker along the Solim玫es River. She had taken the job because she couldn鈥檛 find teaching work. As they visited a small island with 100 children, none of whom attended school because one had never been built, she told him: 鈥淚鈥檇 give anything to be able to be the teacher here.... But the money never gets where it鈥檚 supposed to go. It always ends up in the pockets of the politicians and their friends.鈥�

In addition to probing its deep culture of corruption and clientelism, Rohter also criticizes Brazil鈥檚 cheery self-promotion as a 鈥渞acial democracy.鈥� About half of Brazil鈥檚 200 million claim African blood, making it the largest country of Afro-descendents after Nigeria. Still, Rohter says that 鈥淸r]ather than being a source of pride, race has, in reality, become Brazil鈥檚 secret, hidden shame.鈥�

Embedded in the language and culture of Brazil are a wider spectrum of colors than just the 鈥渂lack鈥� and 鈥渨hite鈥� that many Americans recognize. Rohter recalls multiple interviews with Brazilians who asked why Barack Obama was called America鈥檚 first black president. 鈥溾�橞ut he鈥檚 not black,鈥� they would object. 鈥楬e is a mulatto.鈥欌��

One unique explanation Rohter puts forth for Brazil鈥檚 long history and promotion of miscegenation runs counter to the rosier view that many Brazilians embrace. In the US, blacks were always a minority. But Brazil imported so many more slaves that in many areas of colonial Brazil, blacks outnumbered whites. Racial mixing was therefore encouraged as a way to 鈥渨hiten鈥� the largely black population.

The biggest topic Rohter skips is a serious discussion of the drug-war-fueled violence and the lack of security in Brazilian slums. It is an issue that still dominates foreigners鈥� perceptions of the country and merits analysis. 鈥淐ity of God,鈥� the dizzying 2003 portrait of violence in Rio de Janeiro鈥檚 favelas is arguably the most iconic film about Brazil, but in discussing the movie Rohter focuses on its artistic innovation. Violence is still prominent in daily life: Just last month, in late August, gunmen with grenades and automatic weapons took 35 hostages in one of Rio de Janeiro鈥檚 most upscale hotels. And it goes the other way: Police in Rio de Janeiro and S茫o Paulo have killed 11,000 since 2003, according to a December 2009 Human Rights Watch report, often in extrajudicial killings that were later covered up.

An interviewer with Brazil鈥檚 Portuguese-language magazine 脡poca also prodded Rohter on an incident that is treated succinctly in the book although it made Rohter a famous name to many Brazilians. In 2004 Rohter wrote a story for The New York Times reporting suspicions that President Luiz In谩cio Lula da Silva was drinking too much. The story 鈥� titled 鈥淏razilian Leader鈥檚 Tippling Becomes National Concern鈥� 鈥� caused Lula to order Rohter鈥檚 expulsion from the country, though a Supreme Court justice quickly opposed the move. The incident is 鈥渙nly worth one paragraph,鈥� he told 脡poca. In the book, he calls Lula鈥檚 reaction an 鈥渁uthoritarian outburst.鈥�

While critical and probing, 鈥淏razil on the Rise鈥� will largely leave the reader with an affectionate portrait of Brazilians, not to mention an arsenal of their slang. 鈥淭heir society is one of the most richly humanized I have ever experienced,鈥� Rohter writes, 鈥渂oth in terms of its many flaws and equally plenty virtues.鈥�

Taylor Barnes is this year鈥檚 recipient of the Inter American Press Association scholarship to support reporting in Rio de Janeiro.