Once a Pioneer in Fighting Poverty, Brazil Is Backsliding Under Austerity

In this week’s Trend Lines podcast, WPR’s editor-in-chief, Judah Grunstein, senior editor, Frederick Deknatel, and associate editor, Omar H. Rahman, discuss what Germany’s election results mean for Europe and the rise of populist nationalism on the continent, as well as Iraqi Kurdistan’s big leap forward for independence.

For the Report, Ciara Long talks with Peter Dörrie about how Brazil’s economic downturn and austerity budgets are combining to undo the impressive gains the country previously made in poverty-reduction, while also jeopardizing the celebrated Bolsa Familia initiative that has helped move millions out of poverty since 2003.

If you like what you hear on Trend Lines, as well as what you’ve seen on WPR, please think about supporting our work by subscribing. We’re currently offering a 25 percent discount on the first year of an annual subscription to our podcast listeners. To take advantage of it, just enter the word “PODCAST” in the box marked “Coupon or referral code” on our subscription registration form.

Relevant Articles on WPR:

• ‘Hope Is the Last Thing That Dies’: Brazil’s New Poor in an Age of Austerity

• Germany’s Anti-Climactic Election Masks Problems for Merkel Down the Line

• Can Macron and Merkel Really Save the European Union?

• The Kurdish Struggle for Autonom

• Is Kurdish Independence From Iraq Impossible? Or Inevitable?

• Iraqi Kurds’ Independence Referendum Is a Lightning Rod for Broader Regional Conflict

• The Battle to Come Over Reconstruction in Syria

• Cambodia Turns Against the U.S. as Hun Sen’s Political Crackdown Widens

Trend Lines is produced and edited by Peter Dörrie, a freelance journalist and analyst focusing on security and resource politics in Africa. You can follow him on Twitter at @peterdoerrie.

Listeners of the Trend Lines podcast who would like to read more from World Politics Review can sign up for our free twice-weekly email newsletter here. To send feedback or questions, email us at [email protected].

 Trend Lines is produced and edited by Peter Dörrie, a freelance journalist and analyst focusing on security and resource politics in Africa. You can follow him on Twitter at @peterdoerrie. Listeners of the Trend Lines podcast who would like to read more from World Politics Review can sign up for our free twice-weekly email newsletter here. To send feedback or questions, email us at [email protected].