“To Purge the Nation of Communism and Corruption”

Recent nightstand reading. A little disappointing, but ambitious in scope and speckled with some real pearls from the lost and noble art of the short-form essay

… as soon as he took office, General Castello Blanco promised to widely publicize evidence of the corruption of the prior regime by publishing a “white book” of corruption – a promise he never kept, among other reasons, because it would probably have been necessary to admit at the same time that military men were involved in the incidents of corruption the book was to narrate.

“Subversion is not Brazil’s greatest problem. Corruption is, and it is much more difficult to identify, punish and eradicate.” –General Humberto Castello Branco

I have taken the liberty of translating (draft-quality, for now) a memorable short essay on corruption during Brazil’s military dictatorship. Bibliographic details (in no particular citation style, even though I have The Chicago Manual of Style sitting right here on my desk):

Heloisa Maria Murgel Starling. In Avritzer, Bignotto, Guimarães & Starling (eds.), Corruption: Essays & Criticism. UFMG (Minas Gerais, Brazil), 2008.

The translation can be accessed on Google Docs, here:

• To Purge the Nation of Communism and Corruption: The Failure of the Generalissimos

On the sorts of embarrassment that might have resulted from the publication of said “white book,” see

• Rio de Janeiro: The Kurious Kareer of General Kruel

Sambodian Financial Services: “Panic on the Av. Faria Lima!”

"Panic on the Faria Lima: Black clouds hover over Brazilian investment banks." "Black clouds hover ... " has got to be the hoakiest and most tired cliché the local press has got in stock (it rains and thunders a lot here, so it is easy to tell Peter Parker to get out and get some "sinister dark clouds" shots)

EXAME magazine — proof that reasonably, though not exceptionally, intelligent life lurks in hidden recesses at the Editora Abril, despite the jaw-dropping journalistic vandalism practiced by its flagship Veja newsweekly (Veja lies) — has this: “Panic on the Avenida Faria Lima!”

If there is one thing that the Editora Abril insists on, it is instilling a sensation of panic at every possible turn! Be very, very afraid! In this case, be very, very sorry for a handful of investment bankers who of their own volition accepted stock options in lieu of cash salaries, and who are now short the stock of their own employers!

Does that compute for you? For me, does not compute.

Faria Lima is something of a second axis of this city’s complex symmetry. If the Avenida Paulista, once reputed (sort of) as the Brazilian Wall Street (sort of), is something like São Paulo’s Avenue of the Americas (sort of), then the Faria Lima, which wanders out past Moema to the dystopian nightmare of the Avenida Roberto Marinho, Jornalista, is its, what? Lower Broadway?

Gotham-to-Sambodia analogies really tend not to work that well. Only Sambodians who can get visas and can afford to travel to New York — the New York Observer used to call this dying breed of offshore-invested, tax-dodging nabob “the Brazillionaire” — most of whom have never been further than 8 blocks from Central Park, tend to attempt such analogies with a straight face.

But I’m telling you: I’m FROM New York, and this here ain’t no New York. It’s even filthier, for one thing. Way. Go to the Rio Pinheiros. Take a deep breath. Have someone call 190 (the local 911). And the elevator inspection rackets are crookeder and more life-threatening. I have personal stories.

In any event, a portrait of life in the Brazilian financial services sector, post-Cacciola.

O economista carioca Winston Fritsch deu uma ousada guinada em sua carreira. Então sócio da gestora de recursos Rio Bravo, Fritsch foi convidado pelo banco de investimento americano Lehman Brothers para comandar suas operações no Brasil. Os executivos do banco olhavam para o pujante mercado brasileiro com cobiça e prometeram a Fritsch os recursos para fazer do Lehman uma força no país. No pacote oferecido pelos americanos, metade de seu salário seria paga em ações do Lehman Brothers, então cotadas a cerca de 60 dólares.

Economist Winston Fritsch, a Rio-born economist, took a daring detour in his career. A partner at asset manager Rio Bravo at the time, Fritsch was invited to join U.S. investment bank Lehman Brothers to run its Brazilian operations.

Sucker!