Creative moneymaking
Juarez Mello, mayor of the small town of Braga in Brazil, has found a novel approach to the country’s economic troubles – inventing money. Mello says he created his new currency, ‘the bonus’, to help reactivate the economy in his town of 4,500 people. He dismisses complaints from the Finance Ministry, saying he is merely following President Fernando Henrique Cardoso’s suggestion that ‘only those who are creative will survive’. Brazil is facing one of its most difficult economic crises in years. In the first few weeks of 1999, the country’s currency, the real, lost more than ten per cent of its value against the US dollar.
Latin America Press Vol 31 No 2
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Voices from the margins:
Multimedia: video, podcasts, and more.
- Poetry Slam in Zimbabwe
- The House of Hunger poetry slam held in Zimbabwe in 2006, and organised by the Pamberi Trust, showcased young artists performing inspirational work on issues from corporate power to child soldiers. The video features four of the poets.
Published by Pambazuka News.
- Iranian women speak out
- 3 March 2007, London. Women's rights activists marched through the English capital last week to celebrate International Women's Day with a protest against the misogyny of the Islamic regime in Iran and the threat of invasion by the US. Hear the voices of Iranian feminists Azar and Leila Parnian and the sounds of the demonstration as it passed through the heart of the city. Click here to learn more about the campaign.
Produced by Heidi Bachram.
- Raised Voices audio:
- Benny from West Papua on Corporate Power
- Vinayan from India on agriculture
