Re-discovering Brazil

Did you know that the Portuguese are re-colonizing Brazil with their brand of «Family Frost» frozen foods? That the success has been such that the mother company in Germany wants to take control of the Portuguese initiative?

Were you aware that Paraná, - one of Brazil’s 27 states – is 3.5 times bigger than Portugal and that its capital Curitaba and metropolitan region is home to around three million people? And that there are more than 50 hypermarkets, shopping centres and malls in Curitaba, around 20 of which are large-scale?

And did you know that in this particular state, there’s huge potential for the production of bio-fuels? Or that the Vila Galé and Pestana hotel groups are making mega-investments today from Fortaleza all the way to South America?

Who tells us all this is José Brandão Coelho. A man of business and industry all his life, he used to be a partner in one of Angola’s and Africa’s largest furniture manufacturing companies.

After 25th April 1974 he came to Portugal where he ran all manner of large-scale business initiatives – and for the last ten years, he’s divided his time between Portugal and Brazil, supporting development in both countries.

What’s the biggest challenge for a European country setting up in Brazil?

The market is very big and logistics are complicated because everything’s a long way away. I remember a business that went to São Paulo and began selling here, there and everywhere. But then it couldn’t make the deliveries.

You see, unfortunately, Brazil doesn’t have a railway line. Almost all transportation has to be done by trucks or buses. This has severely hampered the dynamics of the economy. Mind you, on the other hand the fiscal system is very well organised, and rigorous.

Do you think that Portugal supports business initiatives abroad?

About two years ago, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs invited all the Portuguese commercial associations throughout the world to a meeting in Lisbon. There was a grandiose project of the Government to support the “internationalisation” of Portuguese companies. But then along came the financial crisis, and I don’t think anything ever came of it…

What Portuguese business people have come looking for your organisation?

We’ve had more business people from the North and centre of the country. Right now, what most people are interested in in Brazil are the industrial and food products.

Has the financial crisis affected Brazil much?

No, not at all. It’s more or less passed Brazil by – but measures were taken to deal with it. You see, when there’s a crisis, the first thing people do is cut down on everything that isn’t absolutely essential. So to stimulate the economy, the Brazilian government withdrew a percentage of the tax on consumer goods.

For example, they did it with household appliances – and, as a result, sales didn’t drop. I honestly don’t think they withdrew of lot of the tax. It was around five per cent, but the move had a strong psychological impact – and all trading has continued to be very dynamic over the last two years.

In Europe, there’s still very much the image of Brazil as a country full of shanty towns, from the 3rd world. What’s your feeling about this?

Well, whoever sees a news bulletin in Portugal, or one in Brazil, won’t see much difference between the two. After all, all bulletins talk about is horrible news – murders, robberies – everything that’s bad, in other words. And they don’t give much positive news. And, just like the news here, news in Brazil centres on the largest cities: Rio de Janeiro and São Paulo. The rest of the country is forgotten.

But you have to get an idea of the size of the country. Brazil is larger than the whole of Europe! It’s 102 times larger than Portugal. If you lump all the crimes that happen in Europe all together, for sure they’d be as many, if not more, than the crimes that happen in Brazil. And yes, there are shanty towns – but there used to be a lot more. Brazil has made huge efforts to eradicate poverty.

The Government brought in subsidies for families that were too poor to buy food. And they introduced scholarships and funds so that children from poor families could go to school. In other words, there are lots of social plans underway.

While here in Portugal, the Government is raising taxes and cutting social support...

Yes, and that’s a real problem.

What’s Brazilian society like today?

Brazil today has a lot of large industries. The automobile industry is very recent. The city of Curitiba, for instance, where I live, has really up to date modern architecture.

Brazil also welcomes everyone with open arms. Many Europeans came here during the period between the two world wars, and they created large communities that live very much as if they were still within their own country. Here, in Portugal, the immigrant is still a foreigner. In Brazil, he/ she isn’t. Integration is something that happens quickly.

But Brazilians have cultivated a series of preconceptions about the Portuguese...

They have. It’s a love/ hate relationship. They tell loads of Portuguese jokes – but there’s a special feeling there about Portugal as well. Many Brazilians know that Portugal has evolved dramatically and is today a modern country.

Speaking the Portuguese language as you do, do you agree with the new agreement on spelling (“acordo ortográfico”)?

I think language has to adapt and develop – and if it’s spoken in many different countries, it should be as close as possible in all of them. But, for all the laws that may be passed, people shouldn’t be forced either way. Changes should come with habits of a culture. Anyway, Brazil has very much its own dialect. There are words in Brazil that would be ridiculous to try and adapt here.

You’ve got experience of life in Angola, Portugal and Brazil. In your opinion, why have we never managed to make advances within Europe?

If Portugal had a better quality of politicians, it could have developed a lot more. The situation is just the same in some Brazilian states that lack development. That’s the only reason. Politicians very often have their own private, hidden agendas – and no-one can be expected to know this in advance. And thus, those politicians don’t push for what is essential in a country.

How do you see Portugal in 30 years?

I think Portugal will always be OK. It’s not a new country. It’s been around for centuries. It has a very strong cultural base and, with time, I think people will learn to demand - and a new type of leadership- much more patriotic, with new international ideas, will emerge.