British Council-Future of G8

Transcript of the podcast

Presenter: Today in the studio we have Alberto Cortes, the wellknown Brazilian advocate of the antiglobal movement, he’s here to talk about the recent report stating that by 2050 Brazil will be one of the world’s wealthiest and most successful countries. Alberto what’s your reaction to this report

Alberto: You know this isn’t the first time that people are saying Brazil will be a great economic power, the same thing was said over a hundred years ago when the rubber tree was brought to this country from Malaysia – it didn’t happen

Presenter: Yes, but you must admit the world’s a very different place now

Alberto: Of course, in fact I believe there may be some truth in the predictions this time around. First of all though we must remember the problems facing Brazil at the moment

Presenter: Such as

Alberto: There is an enormous gap between the rich and the poor in this country, in Sao Paolo you can see shopping malls full of designer goods right next door to huge favelas, you know, the slum areas without proper water or electricity supplies. A lot of work needs to be done to help people in the favelas improve their lives

Presenter: What needs to be done

Alberto: Education is an important factor. For Brazil to be successful we need to offer education to all Brazilians including those in the favelas. Education brings opportunities in the favelas as it does for the middle classes. Successful countries like South Korea and Singapore have excellent education systems. Brazil needs to learn from these countries

Presenter: Other problems

Alberto: You know at the moment a lot of money is coming into Brazil from China as Chinese industry buys Brazilian raw materials. How is this money being used? Nobody knows … We should use this money to improve our infrastructure, our health service. We need to develop our own industries, it’s no good just exporting raw materials such as timber or iron ore, this approach in the longer term just isn’t sustainable

Answers