In an unprecedented ruling, in 2018, the Brazilian Consumer Protection Authority applied a fine to a popular online travel company named Decolar.com for allegedly favouring foreign consumers over Brazilian residents during the 2016 Olympics held in Rio de Janeiro. The accusation was that Decolar.com had offered hotel reservations at different prices according to the consumer’s location as identified through their internet protocol address, or IP address.

To our knowledge, this is the only case thus far in Brazil that reviewed the practice of charging different prices from different consumers based on their specific characteristics.

Behind the black boxes of algorithms promoting or adding friction to posts, technical design decisions made to affect behavior, and institutions stood up to make decisions about content online, it can be easy to lose track of the heteromation involved, the humans spreading disinformation and, on the other side, moderating or choosing not to moderate it. This can be aptly shown in the case of the spread of misinformation on WhatsApp during Brazil’s 2018 general elections. Since WhatsApp runs on a peer-to-peer architecture, there was no algorithm curating content according to the characteristics or demographics of the users, which is how filter bubbles work on Facebook. Instead, a human infrastructure was assembled to create a pro-Bolsonaro environment on WhatsApp and spread misinformation to bolster his candidacy. In this paper, we articulate the labor executed by the human infrastructure of misinformation as hetoromation.

This chapter focuses on Brazil’s ’Agreement on Cooperation and Facilitation of Investments’ (ACFIs), which has received significant attention in the context of foreign investment facilitation. It describes the genesis and evolution of Brazil’s ACFI practice since 2015, from modest bilateral initiatives to leadership in plurilateral negotiations at the World Trade Organization (WTO). The chapter adopts a three-pillar framework of the ACFI model and details the corresponding governance structure and supporting institutions established domestically within Brazil to implement the commitments and principles laid out in its ACFIs. The study highlights Brazil’s institutional reforms designed to effectively implement its ACFI obligations, emphasizing the concept of ’investment facilitation’ as the key driving force behind Brazil’s investment regulations. The chapter concludes with possible lessons for domestic governance challenges that states participating in a future WTO plurilateral agreement may encounter.

This chapter examines the politics of the negotiations surrounding the Investment Facilitation for Development (IFD) Agreement within the World Trade Organization (WTO). Historically, developing and emerging economies have opposed multilateral investment rules over concerns that they would favor developed countries and limit policy space. However, proposals for the IFD Agreement have gained momentum, thanks in part to Global South members such as Brazil and China, which have also advanced their preferences through bilateral and regional arrangements outside of the WTO. Despite promises to focus on technical aspects and avoid politically charged topics, negotiations continue to raise objections from other emerging economies such as India and South Africa over extending the WTO’s mandate and preserving policy space. The chapter compares the competing interests and strategies of India, Brazil, and China as they attempt to establish investment facilitation standards inside and outside of the WTO. While the standards they promote are similar, their political motivations may create obstacles to the consolidation of a final multilateral agreement.

The chapter begins with a review of the historical and current socio-political context for sexual minority and gender diverse (SMGD) individuals living in Brazil, followed by relevant research on the associations between minority stress and well-being. A particular focus is devoted to presenting data collected as part of the SMGD-MN study. The chapter concludes with recommendations for future psychological research with SMGD communities in Brazil.

This case study explores the State Grid Corporation of China’s (SGCC’s) localization strategies within the Belo Monte hydroelectric project in Brazil, highlighting the challenges and lessons learned by Chinese state-owned enterprises (SOEs) as they expand into Latin America. Over recent decades, Chinese SOEs have emerged as potential collaborators for Latin American countries seeking investment and technology for critical infrastructure projects. SGCC’s involvement in constructing the Xingu-Estreito transmission line for the Belo Monte project stands as a prime example. This line, among the world’s largest and first to implement ±800kV ultra-high-voltage technology outside China, marks not only an engineering triumph for SGCC but also a significant business and legal accomplishment. The company adeptly navigated Brazil’s complex legal environment, tackling multifaceted regulatory, financial, and environmental challenges. This case study, based on government and corporate documents as well as confidential interviews, examines SGCC’s strategies for procurement, financial structuring, environmental licensing, and operational management in the context of this grandiose transmission line.

This concluding chapter first brings the reader up to date in Complexo da Maré and Rio de Janeiro. Since concluding fieldwork in 2015, much has changed in Brazil. Dilma Rousseff was impeached in 2016 and Jair Bolsonaro became president in 2018. More importantly for Rio de Janeiro, Wilson Witzel, an extreme right wing candidate, was elected governor in 2018 and took control of the state’s public security apparatus. The dynamics of policing and violence have changed accordingly. Rio’s public security apparatus confronted and violently engaged Rio’s gangs with an intensity never before seen. Police shot into densely populated favelas from helicopters, showing little restraint even when innocent bystanders were present. In 2019 alone, Rio police killed an estimated 1,600 citizens. This chapter reflects on these developments and contemplates possibilities for the future. Finally, it addresses the generalizability of the book’s findings for other cities in Brazil and beyond while suggesting several avenues for future research.

This chapter describes the issuance and litigation of utility models (UMs) in Brazil. Although considered patents in Brazil, UMs have a different treatment from patents of invention (PIs), having some specificities such as those related to the requirements for protection and the term of duration. This chapter will provide an overview of the Brazilian Patent System by outlining the scope of protection and requirements to obtain a UM patent in comparison with PIs, and by commenting on the enforcement of these rights in the judicial and administrative spheres.

This chapter aims to discuss the presence and implications of using English Medium Instruction (EMI) in two contexts of the Global South; namely, Malaysia, a member of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN), and Brazil in Latin America. In both countries language policy and planning are complex. EMI has been adopted following a recent trend towards the internationalization of the higher education system where English has also become the main language for research and publication. The dominance of Western scientific paradigms, the promotion of English as the language of education, and the dissemination of knowledge through English have led to a neglect of knowledge produced in languages other than English. Furthermore, the adoption of a single language threatens the role of other languages in higher education. This chapter examines this trend in face of the need to protect the national language as well as other languages to guarantee an ecology of knowledges and languages in higher education.

This chapter explores how domestic political factors related to oil and gas resource nationalism and its path-dependency effect influence energy transition capabilities. Methodologically, the chapter adopts a qualitative case study approach in paired oil-rich countries, Kuwait, (UAE), Mexico, and Brazil.

It explores how the origins of each country’s resource nationalism have influenced their abilities to adapt to a post-hydrocarbon economy. Countries that have adopted social-based policies such as Kuwait and Mexico, transition to renewable energy more slowly in comparison with countries that have adopted market-based policies like the United Arab Emirates (UAE) and Brazil. Understanding these factors expands the literature on energy-rich countries beyond the concepts of the resource curse and rentier states, allowing academics to propose theories that are better suited to the heterogeneous nature of energy-rich countries.