Brazil Archive

Editor’s note: This article is part of an ongoing WPR series on a range of countries’ space priorities and programs. Brazil’s space agency recently announced plans to develop a microsatellite launch vehicle that would take satellites weighing up to 1 kilogram into orbit. The first test launch is scheduled for late 2018. In an email interview, Robert Harding, the head of the political science department at Valdosta State University, discusses Brazil’s space program. WPR: What are Brazil’s space capabilities, in terms of its domestic public and private space-industrial complex, and who are its major international partners, in terms of space […]

For too long, there has been little accountability in Brazilian politics. Corrupt politicians often benefit from both an intricate and lax judicial system and public opinion that seems to be, in many cases, overly lenient toward cases of corruption. The proverb that “Caesar’s wife must be above suspicion” could apply to every Brazilian politician—and not just their spouses. Many suspicious or even formally suspected figures lurk in the sizable shadow of doubt that looms over the country’s political landscape. Almost 40 percent of Brazil’s lawmakers are currently under some kind of investigation. Beneath this blanket of impunity, though, some promising […]