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Seeing Brazilian Politics, History in a Global Context

Faculty, students across disciplines discuss politics and culture of South American country

Ildo Sauer and Christine Folch talk about Brazil's challenges in meeting its economic and political potential. Photo by Les Todd/Duke University Photography
Ildo Sauer and Christine Folch talk about Brazil's challenges in meeting its economic and political potential. Photo by Les Todd/Duke University Photography

Pointing to a map of his native Brazil, Ildo Sauer turned toward the faculty and students seated in the Franklin Humanities Institute (FHI) Garage in Smith Warehouse and smiled.

“If it wanted to, Brazil could go completely renewable,” Sauer said. “We could get rid of our oil. We could even get rid of Petrobras.” 

While Sauer’s last comment was in jest—especially since Sauer ran the energy conglomerate between 2003 and 2007—the Mellon Visiting Professor at the Center for Latin American and Caribbean Studies (CLACS) was not joking about Brazil’s vast renewable energy resources.

Sauer was a speaker at the second annual Global Brazil Conference, held last week at Duke. The panel, which also featured cultural anthropologist Christine Folch, focused on Brazil’s current ventures into renewable energies such as hydroelectric power and the opportunities for energy partnerships with other South American nations.

Sauer and Folch’s discussion was one of four that covered topics as varied as resource extraction from the Amazon Basin and Brazilian music, art and media.

The day-long conference, which was co-sponsored by the Duke Brazil Initiative (DBI) and the Global Brazil Lab, also featured guest speakers Elizabeth Horge-Freeman (University of South Florida) and John Collins (CUNY Graduate Center and Queens College). The Global Brazil Conference culminated in a chamber music performance in the Nelson Music Room featuring flautist Guilherme Andreas and pianist Gianne Zhu. 

CLACS Assistant Director Antonio Arce, one of the conference organizers, said the event provides a much-needed opportunity for diverse faculty and students working on the cultural, political and environmental issues affecting Brazil and its neighbors to convene and exchange ideas.

“When the Brazil Lab and the DBI started, we focused heavily and increasing the flow of students and faculty between Duke and universities in Brazil with a series of research exchange grants,” Arce said. “With so much energy and so many interesting projects being created, the conference was a natural venue to highlight some of this work and attract attention to the expertise and contributions Duke is making to Brazilian studies.” 

A panel on the state of renewable energy in Brazil featuring a nuclear physicist-turned-energy executive and a cultural anthropologist captures the interdisciplinary nature of the Global Brazil conference, added Arce.

Both Folch, who recently published a book on the Itaipu Dam on the Brazil-Paraguay border, and Sauer noted that Brazil is blessed with vast hydroelectric, wind and biofuel resources. But faulty government policies, such as “unnecessary over-investments” in geothermal energy and environmentally-destructive dam projects in the Amazon Basin, and contentious historical legacies prevent are holding Brazil and South America back, said the panelists.

“The tragedy, for me, is that [Brazil has] so many high-quality resources but failed to get the necessary environmental licenses and failed to conduct the necessary negotiations with indigenous populations to develop them sustainably,” Sauer said.

Sauer proposed that Brazil and its neighbors establish a multi-national corporation to govern the use of Itaipu Dam, the second-largest in the world, and two others near the Paraguay border. Folch pointed out that such regional economic blocs have been problematic in the past, especially since Paraguayans living near Itaipu are currently protesting Brazil’s consumption of most of the hydroelectric power generated by their joint dam.

“The challenges of this integration are political and historical,” Folch said. “The dam that I work on was built on a border created by [the War of the Triple Alliance] in which seven out of 10 Paraguayan men, including children, died. And this dam is seen as a continuation of the [war] by people living on that border. Without addressing the complexities of history, there is no way we can hope to implement some of these really pragmatic proposals [regarding regional energy integration].” 

Senior Tyler Nelson, who spent the summer after his sophomore year researching art markets in Rio de Janeiro, said the conference’s inclusion of experts from diverse fields of study helped him gain a more nuanced understanding of Brazilian life.

“I loved the multidisciplinary approach to the conference,” Nelson said. “Conversations that wouldn't normally be happening between disciplines are, and in doing so, the multidisciplinary approach is helping maintain Duke's reputation as a leader in global innovation.”

For more information about upcoming DBI and Global Brazil Lab events, click here.