Many things have changed since we had visited 4 years prior. For one the slow down in the world economy had occurred, and thus the repercussions were being felt everywhere. However, from everything I've been able to read it seems like Brazil was one a roll starting back then and has been buffeted a bit from the over all slow down. They did not have a house crash like the in the USA. They don't have a massive debt debacle hanging over their head like Greece. In fact they were having 6-7% growth as late as two years before. It has markedly dropped off recently.
What seems to have changed so much in part is how expense things have become. We found that toys in general are nearly double the price. Oddly it includes products from Brazilian companies as well as brand names more familiar to us in the US.
Also we found that there has been an increase in car ownership. Motorcycles for that matter too. Thus an increase in the over all traffic in the area. Since most commerce happens downtown it sure has made a mess of things. The light at the end of the tunnel is the fact that more shopping centers are being built further out from the city center, and more super markets are being built.
Unfortunately, it is apparent that the infrastructure has not been keeping up with the changes. The amount of additional traffic on the street where we stayed was just amazing. Tons of people walking, or jogging early in the morning or just before dark to beat the heat. Tons of extra cars, and the noise. Lots of extra noise.
Another main thing that has changed is the perceived and real crime that is occurring daily. It may not be as bad as some would lead you to believe, but, with just a few reports on TV about it you never know. It has gotten so bad that some people will leave their cell phone home if they are going to certain parts of town which might include downtown.
Many people who want to take advantage of the beach do so at locations outside of town due to this phenomena. The local beaches have been left to the unsuspecting tourist. A said state of affairs though I'm not sure it is any worse then being in certain parts of Los Angeles or New York City.
There has also been an increase in the number of people traveling within Brazil. This is in part due to the fact that there are now several budget air lines within the country. Sadly, by all reports many of the airports have not been updated to handle the increased traffic. In some cities that have gone off and built a new airport. Then one of the budget companies will use the old one to help keep the airfare down. This appears to be the case with AZUL, that was founded by the former head of Jetblue.
We happened to fly on GOL inside of Brazil and had a mixed experience. These companies have helped to change the way things are done int he airline business in Brazil. Both are less then 15 years old. They are new millennium companies. Thus taking people from using buses as the main mode of transportation between cities and changing it to flying.
Brazil is without a doubt a country in development. It can not longer be called a 3rd world country. It's been 2nd world country for quite some time. it still has a long way to go and hopefully due to the World Cup in 2012 and the Olympics in Rio in 2016 things will change for the better.
Eles defitivamente estão um País em disenvolvemento. Nâo pode mais dizer que estão do triceiro mundo. O gigante finalmente acordo. Infelizmente acordo com certas dores de cabeça.
Viva Brasil!
Buaidh - NO - Bas
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