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

News this month

The web widens

Brazil's political bribery scandal continues to taint the country's left-leaning president, Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva. It has forced the resignation of José Dirceu, his chief of staff, along with many senior officials from the top echelon of the ruling Worker’s Party (PT). Among the rolling heads are those of José Genoino, the president of the PT, and Delúbio Soares, its treasurer. They were apparently part of a corrupt network that organised bribes in exchange for political support. And some say this is only the beginning. Several more PT Congressmen have been named, all of whom were on a list of 31 people whose payouts were allegedly managed by Marcos Valério Fernandes de Souza, an advertising executive. Among the named offenders is João Paulo Cunha, a former leader of the House of Deputies and an expected candidate in next year’s São Paulo gubernatorial election. He allegedly received 200,000 reais ($87,000).

The scandal erupted in May when Veja, a weekly magazine, published transcripts of a video showing a post-office official pocketing a bribe, claiming to belong to a network headed by Roberto Jefferson, then leader of the government-allied Brazilian Labour Party (PTB). Mr Jefferson then accused the PT of paying a monthly allowance to certain Congressmen in return for their votes. The money trail led to Mr Valério, who admitted to doling out 56m reais ($24m) on behalf of the PT.

Decadent and maybe dirty

It has been an inauspicious start for Daslu, São Paulo’s ritziest department store. Less than one month after its extravagant June opening, its owner, Eliana Piva de Albuquerque Tranchesi, was arrested on charges of tax evasion and fraud, along with her brother, Antônio Carlos Piva de Albuquerque, and an accountant. The federal investigation, known as Operation Narcissus, began in 2004 and culminated on July 13th, when some 300 police and federal officials raided locations in five states, including the store. Ms Tranchesi was picked up at her home in São Paulo, and released 12 hours later; her brother was held in prison for five days.

Daslu, situated in the centre of São Paulo between a highway and a slum, has been a divisive symbol. For many, its decadence seems to revel in Brazil's wealth gap, one of the world's largest. The raid has provoked a mixed response. São Paulo’s mayor, José Serra, denounced Ms Tranchesi arrest, while the Folha de São Paulo, a left-leaning newspaper, has argued that the evidence was compelling.

Sympathy for the devil

Telefônica, Brazil’s largest phone company, has withdrawn 200,000 pay-phone cards on sale in São Paulo that were deemed controversial. The cards showed a cartoon of American soldiers holding a heavily bearded and unhappy Saddam Hussein prisoner; one guard is pointing a gun. A state prosecutor from Ribeirão Preto (which lies about 300km from São Paulo) argued that the image was too one-sided, depicting the American version of events in Iraq, and could incite violence and racial intolerance. Telefônica made a public apology for any embarrassment the card might have caused.

Millions and millions

On July 30th the state of São Paulo saw the birth of its 40 millionth inhabitant, according to the Fundação Sistema Estadual de Análise de Dados, a state foundation for collecting data. At the hospital where the baby was born, Geraldo Alckmin, São Paulo's governor, gave the mother, Sueli Gomes Silva, a care package for her new son Arthur, who weighed 3.95kg.

São Paulo is now more than twice as populous as the next-largest state in Brazil, Minas Gerais, and accounts for 21% of the country’s population. The state is also bigger than 178 countries. São Paulo went over the 1m mark before the turn of the 20th century, but the most rapid growth occurred from 1960 to the present day, when the population doubled as immigrants from north-eastern Brazil came south looking for work.

Pack your bags

Airlines and hotels promoting travel between São Paulo and Rio de Janeiro are cutting the cost of weekends away. On August 1st, the mayors of São Paulo and Rio de Janeiro announced SuperWeekends, a collaboration between Varig, Brazil's national carrier, and 68 hotels. To compete, the airline TAM is offering similar weekend deals. The efforts are partly meant to combat drops in hotel occupancy rates, which fall from 70% to 20% at weekends, according to Caio Luiz de Carvalho of São Paulo Turismo. São Paulo attractions, which may seem less obvious than Rio's, are its restaurants, shops, cinemas, theatres and museums.

Cariocas, as those from Rio are called, make up 9.4% of the 1.4m people who visit São Paulo annually. Meanwhile, paulistanos make up just over half of Rio’s 4m yearly tourists. The SuperWeekend packages start at 399 reais ($174) for a return flight and a Saturday night in a three-star hotel. The five-star package costs 499 reais. The TAM packages start at 384 reais, but travel times are more restricted and only three-star accommodation is on offer. Usually the airfare alone costs more than 350 reais.

Catch if you can

August 2005

Daniel Barenboim and Zubin Mehta

August 6th-9th 2005

On August 6th, Daniel Barenboim, an Argentine-born Israeli conductor, descends on the city with his West-Eastern Divan Orchestra, which he founded in 1999 with Edward Said, a late Palestinian-American academic. The orchestra, which is made up of Arab and Israeli musicians, will play an evening of Mozart and Mahler on August 6th in the Sala São Paulo.

Zubin Mehta will conduct the Israel Philharmonic Orchestra from August 7th-9th. The first night will include Beethoven’s Leonora overture and the Fifth Symphony, as well as Mediterranean Scherzo by Ami Maayani, an Israeli composer. On August 8th and 9th, the orchestra will play Mozart’s Jupiter symphony and Mahler’s Sixth Symphony.

West-Eastern Divan, August 6th. Sala São Paulo, Praça Julio Prestes. Tel: +55 (11) 3258-3344. Tickets: 150-300 reais.

Israel Philharmonic Orchestra, August 7th. Tel: +55 (11) 5087-3450/ Tickets: 150-500 reais from Fun by Net. August 8th-9th at Cultura Artistica. Tel: +55 (11) 3258-3444. Tickets: 150-500 reais (ten reais for students).

More from the Sao Paulo cultural calendar