Constance Malleret

Rio de Janeiro

Freelance journalist in Brazil. Writing @guardian @BrazilianReport @WPReview and others. Previously @LatinNewsLondon. French & British, trying to be Carioca.

Articles

Would a Bolsonaro coup trial help heal Brazil’s democracy – or deepen divides?

1 month ago | csmonitor.com | Constance Malleret

Thousands of demonstrators clad in canary-yellow soccer jerseys thronged Copacabana Beach this month in support of a leader accused of conspiring to overthrow Brazil’s young democracy. Former President Jair Bolsonaro was charged in February with plotting to carry out a coup to remain in power after his 2022 election loss to President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva. He could soon be tried by the Supreme Court, a decision expected March 25 or 26.
Rio’s Samba Parade Spotlights Trans Rights

1 month ago | nacla.org | Constance Malleret

Carnival preparations are in full swing in Rio de Janeiro this week. Costumes are frantically sewn in secret warehouses, sweaty street parties fill the city center with music and glitter, and in the suburbs, samba schools are running rigorous rehearsals to perfect the exuberant and carefully choreographed parade that they will put on in the Sambadrome.
In Rio, a Reincarnated Spirit Can Chase Away the Rain

2 months ago | atlasobscura.com | Constance Malleret

Rainstorms are a frequent occurrence in Rio de Janeiro’s tropical climate. Yet year after year, the Marvelous City defies meteorological forecasts and is blessed with dry weather and clear skies when it needs it the most, such as during its famed Carnival celebrations. This, locals will tell you, is not the result of good luck, but the work of a weather-controlling spirit called Cacique Cobra Coral.
Their husbands and sons were killed by the police. But Brazil’s grieving mothers are banding together

2 months ago | msn.com | Constance Malleret

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Their husbands and sons were killed by the police. But Brazil’s grieving mothers are banding together

2 months ago | theguardian.com | Constance Malleret

Sonia Bonfim Vicente recalls every detail of the night in September 2021 when police killed her husband, William, and 17-year-old son, Samuel, as they rode a motorbike through a Rio de Janeiro favela; from her dread when they didn’t come home to the exact time she arrived at the hospital looking for them. She has been fighting for justice ever since, trying to prove that officers planted drugs and weapons on them to justify the murders as self-defence.
From shoeboxes to empty lots, Rio’s favela museums break with tradition

Dec 16, 2024 | csmonitor.com | Constance Malleret

When most people picture a museum, they might imagine hallowed halls, uniformed guards, and perhaps a gift shop near the exit. But a growing number of museums in Rio de Janeiro’s historically poorest neighborhoods, or favelas, are turning these ideas on their heads. The museums are transforming narrow alleys, torn-down buildings, and even cardboard shoeboxes into museums that use the community’s own culture, art, and storytelling to draw visitors from around the globe.
Diplomatic Wins Won’t Help Lula Heal Brazil’s Divisions

Dec 2, 2024 | yahoo.com | Constance Malleret

Two weeks ago, Brazilian President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva spent two days doing what he does best: rubbing shoulders with world leaders of all political stripes who had gathered in Rio de Janeiro for the annual G20 Summit. The days of Lula being “the most popular politician on Earth”—as then-U.S. President Barack Obama dubbed him in 2009—may be behind him, but Lula still enjoys a certain cachet at international gatherings.
The G20 Summit Win Won’t Help Lula Heal Brazil’s Divisions

Dec 2, 2024 | worldpoliticsreview.com | Constance Malleret

Two weeks ago, Brazilian President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva spent two days doing what he does best: rubbing shoulders with world leaders of all political stripes who had gathered in Rio de Janeiro for the annual G20 Summit. The days of Lula being “the most popular politician on Earth”—as then-U.S. President Barack Obama dubbed him in 2009—may be behind him, but Lula still enjoys a certain cachet at international gatherings.
Grow your own genetically modified mosquito colony - just add water

Dec 2, 2024 | telegraph.co.uk | Maeve Cullinan |Constance Malleret

Genetically modified male Aedes aegypti mosquito at the Oxitec factory in Piracicaba, Brazil Credit: PAULO WHITAKER/REUTERS The weekly shop in Brazil is a little different these days, and may soon change in other parts of the world plagued by dengue fever. In addition to the usual staples – bread, fruit, meat and vegetables – Brazilians can now add dried mosquito eggs to their shopping trolley. They come in a container about the size of a small package of washing powder. Just add water and –...
How a plastic cave made in Spain keeps Amazonian culture alive 5,000 miles away

Oct 22, 2024 | theguardian.com | Constance Malleret

It is not yet dawn in Ulupuwene, an Indigenous village in the Brazilian Amazon, but the Wauja people have already risen to prepare for the festive day ahead. The sound of clarinet-like instruments floats across the village, on the banks of the Batovi River, as women sweep the earthen floor between the thatched oca, or traditional houses. Men paint their bodies with charcoal and bright-red achiote seeds.