Bom dia a todos! Happy December to all readers! As the last semanas (weeks) of 2020 finally roll in, it is time to think back on all the major events that took place in Brazil in what can only be described as a very eventful ano (year). So buckle up, as we break this down into two segments covering the destaques (highlights) of the past meses (months). Can you guess what we will be talking about? Certainly this has been a particularly tough year all over, and it was no different in Brazil. From a Covid pandemic to massive Amazon rainforest and wetland wildfires, not to mention President Jair Bolsonaro’s government losing several of its main ministers throughout this year.  Sem mais demoras (with no further ado), let’s get moving!

CORONAVIRUS

Useful words:

• Alastrar-se | Spread

• Measures | Medidas

• O mundo inteiro | The whole world

• Casa | Home

• Mãos | Hands

• Perigo | Danger

• Deaths | Mortes

• Pessoas | People

Without a doubt, the new coronavirus is unfortunately the most striking fact of 2020. It started a alastrar-se (spreading) across China no começo do ano (at the beginning of the year) and soon reached all continents. With a alta taxa (high rate) of contamination and hospitalization, government officials had to take drastic medidas (measures) to reduce its direct and indirect effects on the population. O mundo inteiro (the whole world) came to halt, while new hygiene procedures became part of our cotidiano (routine). If it was strange before to see people rubbing hand sanitizer on their mãos (hands) or usando máscaras no rosto (wearing masks on their faces), now it is normal. In Brazil, its aftermath was devastating, not only due to the lethality of the virus, but also due to authorities denying its perigo (danger), a falta de testes (the lack of tests) for the population and the numerous replacements of health ministers. The consequences are visible in the statistics: more than 6.5 million people were infected by the virus, and about 200 thousand died since March, ranking Brazil as o terceiro maior (the 3rd highest) in number of infected, and the 2nd in number of mortes (deaths).

QUEIMADAS NA AMAZÔNIA E PANTANAL | AMAZON AND PANTANAL WILDFIRES

Useful words:

• Maiores | Biggest

• Primeiros | First

• Incêndio/fogo | Fire

• Ano | Year

The two maiores (biggest) Brazilian biomes suffered as never before in Brazilian history. In the primeiros (first) months of 2020, incêndios (wildfires) took over a large portion of the Amazon and the Pantanal area, which together cover over 43 thousand km2 of burned up terra (land), which is equivalent to the whole extension of Denmark. Although queimadas (wildfires) are not new to Brazilian forests, the ones that took place this year were the largest according to the fire registros (records) by federal agencies.

QUEDA DE MINISTROS NO GOVERNO BOLSONARO | BOLSONARO’S MINISTERS REMOVALS

Useful words:

• Apoio | Support

• Parcerias | Alliances

• Lava-jato | Car wash

• Fugiu | Fled

Since 2013, Brazil’s more progressive partidos (parties) have been taking several hits, which led to the eventual ascensão (rise) of current President Jair Bolsonaro. Although he has earned the apoio (support) and assigned ministerial positions to leading Brazilian conservative figures, what we ended up seeing in 2020 was actually the dissolution of many of his main alianças (alliances). Sérgio Moro, um juiz (a judge) who became well-known for the operação Lava-jato (car wash operation), after many derrotas (defeats) as minister of justice and clashing with the president, decided to abandonar o cargo (step down) in April. Abraham Weintraub , the controversial minister of education and loyal Olavo de Carvalho disciple, also left his post and fugiu (fled) to the United States after an investigation by the federal police kicked off. At the Ministério da Saúde (Ministry of Health), two ministers left office within 2 months during the pandemic, leaving o cargo (the post) open for more than 30 days.

Espero que tenham gostado e até a próxima!