Economist.com Cities Guide: Sao Paulo Briefing - May 2005

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Economy news

Bouncing back spectacularly from three years in the doldrums, São Paulo State’s economy grew 7.6% in 2004, faster even than the 6.7% growth managed by India last year. Though short of China’s world-beating 9.5% jump in 2004, Brazil’s southern economic tiger bested the national average of 5.2%, and contributed 591.6 billion reais ($238.7 billion) to the country’s gross domestic product, more than a third of the total. The reason: higher gross salaries and an explosion of exports of manufactured products, which hit $31 billion, up 34.5% over 2003. More jobs were created in 2004 and average incomes started rising mid-year, leading to a state-wide consumer spending spree.

Now for some bad news: warning signs of a slowdown showed up in the year's first four months. High interest rates, which hit 19.5% in April, are dampening consumer demand, and industrial-production growth slowed in March to 1.7%, from February’s 8.8% surge on the same periods last year. In addition, more people are making late credit payments, a 6.5% increase in the first four months, compared to the same period last year, according to the Business Association of São Paulo.

Head of the class

In a move to quell criticism of his government’s handling of the troubled reform-school system, known as Febem or the Foundation for the Well-Being of Minors, Geraldo Alckmin, the governor of São Paulo State, has appointed a new school administrator. Hédio Silva Júnior, a human-rights lawyer, will be the state’s new Secretary of Justice and Citizen’s Defense, a post that includes managing Febem. Despite announcing several new measures, such as facilities to reduce over-crowding, Mr Alckmin, who is seeking his party’s nomination for next year’s presidential elections, has not been able to stop the escalating violence at Febem, nor the damage it is doing to his potential candidacy.

Mr Silva Júnior was involved in a parliamentary inquiry into “irregularities” at Febem, which this year has seen 26 rebellions, numerous breakouts and a mass sacking. Some 1,000 staff were then rehired, some of whom are accused of torturing inmates. At the time, Mr Silva Júnior, vice-president of the Commission on Human Rights of the Brazilian Lawyers Association, said evidence showed that the Febem administration warranted urgent investigation. He now has the power to do just that.

The, er, silver lining

São Paulo’s crime statistics usually make for queasy reading. But reports still try to look on the bright side, despite the alarming totals. Murders, for example, are down 7% in the first four months: 2,127 people were killed this year, down from 2,277 in the same period last year. (By way of comparison, in the 12 months to March 2005, 195 people were murdered in London—also down 7.6% over the previous year.) More encouraging is the 15% drop in murders during car robberies, or latroncinos; the 99 cases reported this year have resulted in 106 deaths. Robberies are down too, from 57,752 for the first three months of 2004 to just 53,343 this year, an 8% decline.

But this won’t relieve the city’s rich, who have suffered from a spate of high-profile break-ins recently. Since January, 13 luxury-apartment buildings have been taken over by organised-crime gangs and stripped of their cars, electronic equipment, jewels and cash, while residents were held at gunpoint in underground garages. Houses in the posh Jardims district have been targeted more recently. All this despite tremendous investment in private security, including high electric fences, bullet-proof gates and regular patrols by private guards.

A money pit

Marta Suplicy, the former mayor of São Paulo, may have lost last year’s election, but she is already campaigning for the Worker’s Party nomination for the 2006 governor elections. Her campaign met its first roadblock on May 9th, when São Paulo State prosecutors charged, in a civil suit, that Mrs Suplicy and six co-workers broke the law in 2003 when they approved city spending without the funds to pay for it. Prosecutors are calling for an eight-year ban on her holding public office and a return of the money. The 2003 city accounts ended with a deficit of 590.6m reais ($238m), a steep sum to come up with, even for the well-heeled ex-mayor.

The legal action comes after months of accusations by the new mayor, José Serra, that budgetary mismanagement left his administration with higher-than-expected debts, a 1.8 billion reais ($727m) deficit at the end of 2004 and little room to carry out his election promises. Mrs Suplicy denied the charges, claiming the city’s accounts were approved by the chamber of deputies and the Municipal Accounting Office. She also argued that the suit has “electoral motives”. There may be some truth in this: the charges come from the state of São Paulo, which is controlled by Mr Serra’s Social Democratic Party.

Foul play

Name-calling is almost de rigueur in the world of football, but racist epithets are something else. Edinaldo Batista Libanio, a popular black forward for São Paulo Football Club known as Grafite, complained to the civil police that he was called a “nigger” by a visiting Argentine defender during a South American cup game. The player, Leandro Desábato, was arrested and spent two nights in jail, and bail of 10,000 reais ($4,036) secured his release. The Argentine press and football authorities lambasted the Brazilians for over-reacting. They also rightly pointed out that white Brazilian players who verbally abuse black players usually get off with warnings.

On April 28th, South America’s football governing body suggested that similar cases should be dealt with by the sporting authorities rather than the police in future. But Grafite has not dropped charges. In June, the Brazil side heads to Argentina for a World Cup qualifier. Despite the potential for provocation, Brazil’s manager, Carlos Alberto Parreira, has said he may name Grafite, who has played for the national team, to his squad.

Importing a bit of Vegas

São Paulo’s most distinctive luxury hotel, the Unique, seems to be changing its image. Better known for hosting São Paulo Fashion Week and posh debutante parties, the hotel held the Latin American Middle-Weight championship on May 2nd, in front of a crowd of 1,200. VIPs paid 1,000 reais ($404) for a package that included a night in the hotel and a ringside seat. The bout was won in a 9th-round knock-out by Peter Venâncio, who beat the reigning champion, Mário “Marinho” Soares, who is perhaps best-known for punching a TV presenter on air last year. The evening included six other match-ups and a four-round women’s contest. The next boxing night is expected to be in August.

Catch if you can

May 2005

Corpos Pintados – Painted Bodies

Until July 3rd 2005

A mixture of ethnographic photography and colourful trompe l’oeil, this mostly playful exhibition is a feast for the eyes. In the late 1980s, Roberto Edwards, a Chilean photographer, asked a group of artists to experiment with painting the human body and photographed the results. The project has since expanded to more than 150 artists, mostly from Latin America, and broadened to include sculpture and video. The ground floor of this show features large photographs of all kinds of painted reinventions of form, such as backs painted to look like faces, and breasts to look like beasts. The more playful ones, such as Hernan Miranda's person painted to look like a wooden doll, are the best.

The top floor is devoted to documentary pictures, ranging from beautiful images of African tribes by Carol Beckwith and Angela Fisher to less interesting shots of naked Chileans in their urban homes. Most disturbing is a series of extremely old naked Japanese men and women by Manabu Yamanaka, who aimed to capture the precious moment between life and death. A 15-minute video on a giant multi-panelled screen flashes many of the images by at MTV-speed.

Oca, Parque do Ibirapuera, Portão 2. Tel: +55 (11) 6846-6000. Open: Tues-Sun 10am-10pm. 15 reais. For more information, see the exhibit's website.

More from the Sao Paulo cultural calendar