This is an updated edition of the only full-scale book in English on the law of a country that in recent years has emerged as a leading player on the world’s stage. Brazil’s markets have flourished as courts, legislators and a sophisticated legal elite have continuously adapted foreign rules to the country’s realities, giving Brazil a formidable edge in attracting foreign investors. Sixteen notable Brazilian authorities describe and analyse the laws, regulations and jurisprudence in all the major fields of legal practice and administration, paying detailed attention to such elements as the following: - the multiple interwoven sources of Brazilian law; - administrative agencies and procedures; - Brazil’s unique ‘social function of contracts’ principle; - corporate and related structures; - the new Brazilian civil procedure code and arbitration rules; - constitutional principles and judicial review; - fiduciary transfers and insolvency issues; - complex rules of criminal procedure; - mandatory succession rules; - labour law compliance; - private international law; and - taxation. Each chapter is followed by an up-to-date reference list of works both in English and in Portuguese. This book provides practitioners with information more than sufficient to navigate through any area of Brazilian law. Lawyers and scholars will find here an overview that will continue to be useful as a resource in facing and overcoming the challenges inherent in engaging with Brazil’s economy and legal realities.

Derived from the renowned multi-volume International Encyclopaedia of Laws, this convenient volume provides comprehensive analysis of the legislation and rules that determine civil procedure and practice in Brazil. Lawyers who handle transnational matters will appreciate the book’s clear explanation of distinct terminology and application of rules. The structure follows the classical chapters of a handbook on civil procedure: beginning with the judicial organization of the courts, jurisdiction issues, a discussion of the various actions and claims, and then moving to a review of the proceedings as such. These general chapters are followed by a discussion of the incidents during proceedings, the legal aid and legal costs, and the regulation of evidence. There are chapters on seizure for security and enforcement of judgments, and a final section on alternative dispute resolution. Facts are presented in such a way that readers who are unfamiliar with specific terms and concepts in varying contexts will fully grasp their meaning and significance. Succinct, scholarly, and practical, this book will prove a valuable time-saving tool for business and legal professionals alike. Lawyers representing parties with interests in Brazil will welcome this very useful guide, and academics and researchers will appreciate its comparative value as a contribution to the study of civil procedure in the international context.

Making Law Matter presents the first book-length treatment of an innovative prosecutorial institution, the Brazilian Ministrio Publico, which refashioned itself in the 1980s into a powerful defender of citizen rights in environmental protection, as well as in other areas of public interest such as disability rights, consumer protection, and anti-corruption.

Chronicles the first decades of an informal lottery called the jogo do bicho, or animal game, which originated in Rio de Janeiro in 1892, and remains popular in Brazil today.

Alejandro de la Fuente and George Reid Andrews offer the first systematic, book-length survey of humanities and social science scholarship on the exciting field of Afro-Latin American studies. Organized by topic, these essays synthesize and present the current state of knowledge on a broad variety of topics, including Afro-Latin American music, religions, literature, art history, political thought, social movements, legal history, environmental history, and ideologies of racial inclusion. This volume connects the region's long history of slavery to the major political, social, cultural, and economic developments of the last two centuries. Written by leading scholars in each of those topics, the volume provides an introduction to the field of Afro-Latin American studies that is not available from any other source and reflects the disciplinary and thematic richness of this emerging field.

Brazil is associated in many people's minds with conviviality, sensuality, and natural beauty. Yet the country behind these images and associations is something of an enigma. It is alternately praised as the "country of the future", a rising power ready to take its place at the top tables of global governance, or written off as a perennial disappointment, a country forever failing to reach its potential, mired in corruption, inequality, poverty, and violence. These oscillations between euphoria and despair obscure a country with its own unique trajectory through the 20th and 21st centuries. This Very Short Introduction offers an account of modern Brazil that covers some of the major features of the country's transformation, including the rise of the modern state in the mid-20th century, the violent repression of dictatorship, the domestic economic, political, and social challenges faced by the country today, and the role Brazil plays in dealing with some of the most important contemporary global problems. In doing so, Anthony Pereira highlights some of the peculiar features of Brazil's development, such as the tendency of its political leaders to engage in complicated, informal political deals; the state's welfare institutions that often exacerbate, rather than improve, the country's deep economic inequalities; and Brazil's long history of peaceful relations with its neighbours despite a high level of state violence against citizens. ABOUT THE SERIES: The Very Short Introductions series from Oxford University Press contains hundreds of titles in almost every subject area. These pocket-sized books are the perfect way to get ahead in a new subject quickly. Our expert authors combine facts, analysis, perspective, new ideas, and enthusiasm to make interesting and challenging topics highly readable.