Olympics not to be held in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil?

Rio de Janeiro having trouble getting ready for the Olympics 2016.

According to the latest news from the Olympic committee the preparations for the next Olympic Games 2016 in Rio de Janeiro is having the worst ever. And there is even talks of having London as a backup plan…

In 2014 Brazil will also host the FIFA World Cup, and we have seen the exact same issues – bad preparations.

http://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/early-lead/wp/2014/05/09/should-london-host-the-2016-summer-olympics-instead-of-rio/?tid=hpModule_04941f10-8a79-11e2-98d9-3012c1cd8d1e

However on the other hand, many countries have been there and still managed to pull it off – I believe both big events will be amazing and will bring lots of positive attention to Brazil.

My concern is more on HOW Brazil is using this.

If Brazil win the World Cup, Brazilians will be happy and probably support Dilma in the presidential election later in 2014 – if they perform purely I think we will see lots of protest and the present president will have trouble keeping the seat.

Let’s see…

Unsafe in the Capital

The violence is not dealt with

Almost everyday I read about a new crime here in Brasilia, or in the suburbs. I may have been living protected in Denmark and Copenhagen, and for the last year here in Brasilia as well.

However, it’s still awful to read about the average person being shot dead for small petty thefts. Or all the incidents I hear where are being kidnapped, just for some hours, stripped off valuables and car and left outside city. A road cyclist training outside city got holdup with a gun and had to give up bicycle and other valuables, just when out training. The person that put gasoline in your car get shoot and killed during a robbery for small money. There really is a very little respect for human lives.

There are really many stories of this kind, but the worst are the ones people get killed for almost nothing.

With my background I really haven’t lived with that fear and violence that close, so that makes me a bit unsure and very observative wherever I go. This is so different from Denmark. Now I am living with my wife and too small children, which makes me think of the children here has to grow up being very protected. Strange. In my childhood I was all over the small city, running around playing with everyone everywhere… so much freedom.

Where is the Police? Well just a few days ago they were on strike. Yes – with leaving the streets to the criminals – unbelievable. Surprise surprise the crime rate has gone up explosively. Even when the Police should be working I don’t see them on the street, they tend to drive around in their new 4×4 Police cars, looking cool of course. But help the people – not really.

I guess my Danish advice to avoid trouble, with walking determent, being a little big and maybe looking a bit tough is not enough here – damn hard to avoid being recognized as a foreigner with blond hair and blue eyes. I must try to fit in.

For now it’s best to avoid the dark places even more, and be even more cautious… annoying !

5 things Brazil needs to get right

Step up, please…

5 things Brazil needs to get right

- in order to move on from being an Emerging country

1. Banks needs to be coordinated

You can have a loan in one of the big banks, but you can not pay the bill in another of the big banks… so if you should have several loans or bills to pay you have to go to different banks (or somehow fix it online). WTF ?  This was a big surprise for me. So imagine me waiting in one bank for 45 min (waiting time is unbelievable long) and when I finally got to talk with the cashier I found out the hard way. After that I went to the correct bank, waited forever again and at the cashier I could not pay with credit card (read: the cashier could not change from her counter??!!). So I to go to their cash machine only to find out that the machines didn’t accept foreign credit cards…. Unbelievable… we live in 2013 so come on !

2. Corruption among politicians and public worker needs to stop

Almost every week there is an episode in the news about a politician or highly ranked public worker court up in corruption. And we are only seeing the tip of the iceberg. What amazes me the most is that these people can continue, at some level, or just change job even after being convicted of a corruption crime… Politicians can, if they get caught, resign that specific position and then also the punishment and run for an another public position – and get it ! Unbelievable…

You have a famous politician who is wanted by Interpol for dirty money in an American bank (money he stole from public projects), but as long as he stays in Brazil he will not be handed over to US or get his punishment. In fact the politician is famous here for publicly announcing that he accept bribes and steals money from public projects – but defends himself with that he at least gets the public projects done… People are still voting him into public office anyway – Why?

These days there are discussions in Federal Supreme Court of whether some dirty politicians (who already is convicted in 2012) should be able to get a rerun in Supreme Court (even though its a Supreme) – due to some technicalities. Even though they got sentenced last year they are yet to step into jail… Come on here !

3. Product development needs to increase

Brazil, and President Dilma Rousseff, enjoy some very high import taxes on almost all products. Resulting in lots of products being produced in the country, beneficial the economy – but not all the countries that wants to export into Brazil. All those goods are very expensive. This is good for Brazilian economy but not good for the people interested in safety, environmental correct production and newest developments.

This is seen very clearly in the automobile industry. All imported cars get +100% taxes… and at the same time some of these models are being produced inside Brazil, by the big producers, as Volkswagen, Peugeot, Citroen, Fiat and others (even more to come). The big problem is that even though Brazil produces the same model as in Europe or Asia the quality is much lower and so is the security development.

According to this article thousands of Brazilians die due the bad quality and 4 out of 5 most popular cars simply failing crash test. I know from being a smaller car (Citroen C3) that it is common to have the cheapest model without airbags or ABS (anti-blocking-brakes). At the same time in Europe you have smaller cars 4-6 or even 8 airbags – all with some kind of anti block brakes. But another problem is simply the construction that technically is too bad quality. It is so easy to make the new cars so much more safe – demand higher quality (comes with higher education of workers though).

4. Get the most intelligent people out of public service

Once hired in the public sector you will receive a high salary, membership of private clubs (for low fee), health security, dental insurance, lifetime employment and great pension schemes (though pension schemes has been adjusted lower). Previously there was even more corruption than now and one way to put an end to this, was to hold competition, so the best qualified would get the job – no personal judgement involved. As this in general sounds good there are some very bad side effects.

You have the smartest people (in general) in the public sector that doesn’t produce anything for the country – they might make business easier, more equal opportunities, helping poor people etc. But you also have people with the highest intelligent, many with little motivation to work, locked up in an office not producing anything, but mostly talking, discussing and maybe help. As we have seen some many have to much time to steal money from the people.

The way out has to be fewer people, being able to fire low efficient workers, better control (maybe even external and publicly) with salary and money, and move all these intelligent people out and enhance production and development throughout the country.

5. Higher minimum wage

The minimum wage here is R$ 678 (with 13 salaries per year) but its still way to low (resulting in very poor people and high crime – and desperate crimes that is. In the capital, Brasilia, you have a lot of people working in the public sector so the city is very different, due to the unnatural amount of well paid employees so the prices inside the city is very high too. This means that all the people on the low minimum salary has to live outside the city. Strange really. Working for the public sector you will receive a much higher salary, p

Second most expensive square meter in Brazil

Just like living in a bubble.

It’s expensive here

A brand new survey reports that the Federal District, which only have the capital Brasiilia, now has the second most expensive square meter price in the country. Only Rio de Janeiro is more expensive.

Read more about it here: Correio Braziliense (Its in portuguese though)

Like a bubble

I am lucky enough to live here inside the center of Brasilia. Everything in here is nice and clean, not that much crime, good hospitals, nice schools etc. and of course a lot of public employees… and here is the issue. Here you have all the federal employees as well. All these public employees here are getting really good salaries, lifetime employment, great pensions schemes etc. so it is very “un-brazilian”. But just a little bit outside the center you have suburbs with a more normal brazilian living standard, more violence and crime and all that follows. But inside its a different.

Public employees earning too much ?

If the city with all the federal employees are having the highest square meter price in the country – don’t they receive too much then? (Brasilia also has the highest income per capita of the big cities in Brazil).

There is on thing though – there are strict rules about construction of new buildings (and the city is a UNESCO World Heritage Site) so there can not be built more apartments inside the city. The city wer built for 5-700.000 people but there lives around 2,5 mill. So the square meter price has to go up… and so the public employees probably demands more money…

So relative to the condition of the whole country – public employees earns too much money !

Greatest destroyer of wealth

Eike Batista lost 99% of his fortune

In 2012 Eike Batista was to be worth $34,5 billion and now it’s estimated that he is worth around $ 200 mill. So in one year loosing $34,3 billion – that’s a lot of money… (this is in worth not in cash). Read more at Bloomberg.

He is still rich though

Richest man in Brazil

He is an entrepreneur and business magnate from Brazil, who made his fortune in mining and later oil and gas industry. But he has been building many companies through his life.

For a long time he has been the richest man in Brazil, and lots of people here are admiring him.

Living on a big lie?

It all went downhil when the market discovered that his announcements and estimations of oil productions in his companies, were found as fraud. Announcing huge oil productions (but only made 2% of it), announcing having license to big oil fields of the coast of Brazil but didn’t have really. So since 2008, when OGX went public, they have announced and publicated lots of wrong information – and cheated a lot of people to invest. And now as the truth reveils, its all coming down…

Will it stop here? I don’t think so.

O papa Francisco, The Pope is here !

The Pope is here!

He is for sure in Brazil and he is making a super good impression. Brazil is a big catholic country so no wonder why the country is making so much out of his visit.

It’s great.

He is a nice guy.

From interviews, pictures and live video footage he really seems like a very nice man, with some very nice messages. Compared to the last couple of popes he is very young at heart, and that is a relief (and I guess necessary for the catholic church to be updated – otherwise they will loose too many members).

Lack of security

The Pope decided himself to drive around in an open car, and to get very close to people. On both sides of the convoy with his car there were security people running. All controlled by Policia Federal. On one occasion the Policia Federal decided to change his path away from planned, with out telling the local police – lack of communication. This resulted in a caos as the cars in front of him had to stop, they were mixed in with busses and his car couldn’t move (and had open windows). So if you imagine several hundred thousand people wanted to get closer, and he can’t get away…. many people handing inside the car to him, trying to touch him… super risky.

How these security people are still employed today is a mistery.

Can you imagine if something would happen? what to do??

It wouldn’t happen to the American President

Yes, he is a total different security risk, but this would never ever happen to him. Where ever he goes or travel everything is timed and planned, and nothing becomes uncontrolable. They would always have a plan to get out of the situation.

I was at Copenhagen Airport when Barack Obama visited Denmark, and the whole week before there were security people checking everything, bomb dogs sniffing around, 24 hours guards, seperate US army area and so much control everywhere.

Nothing would be misunderstood.

So I think it was unbelievable that there wasn’t somebody responsibly taking action on this. I hope they don’t have any misunderstanding towards the World Cup, Olympics or any other big events.

Believe or not to believe

As I am an atheist I believe all religions are very good stories, that have more “control of people” instead of reality – so I don’t believe in them. I don’t really care what other people believe in, it’s a private matter, and should be kept that way. I hate when people are trying to convience me of some religious way.

Anyway it’s awesome to see this great person influencing so many people in a positive way.

Petrobras - Weak earnings (or corruption scandal?)

Weak earnings in oil business

I am amazed.

As it says in this article – Weak earnings in Petrobras.

An oil producing company that has problem making money. OK…. This must be the first in the world. I am not only seeing a “lower than expected” earnings but the company having problems making money. There is a sentence I didn’t see coming.

I guess one cause is that it is state owned. Already there it flags too much administration and ineffectiveness. They are even being favorized by the government and still can’t make it.
This must be the perfect opportunity for consultants to make a turnaround, if the government dare to open the books. I don’t think so.
Too many people there gets too much money – and there you have the result.