Brazil
FIFA World Cup: Richarlison's second-half brace give Brazil 2-0 win over Serbia
Richarlison scored two goals, the second with a spectacular acrobatic kick, to help Brazil beat Serbia 2-0 Thursday at the World Cup.
In the 73rd minute, the striker used one touch to get the ball up in the air and then spun around and got off the ground before knocking the ball into the net with his right foot.
Brazil had struggled to get past the Serbian defense until Richarlison scored from close range in the 62nd in a buildup that started with Neymar.
Vinícius Júnior assisted on both goals.
Neymar, seeking his first major title with Brazil, stayed at 75 goals for the national team, two shy of Pelé’s scoring record.
Brazil coach Tite started with an attack-minded squad that included four forwards — Neymar, Vinícius Júnior, Raphinha and Richarlison. Attacking midfielder Lucas Paquetá played alongside Casemiro, the lone defensive midfielder.
But Serbia had several players back and was able to keep Brazil from creating many significant opportunities. Neymar tried to control the pace but struggled to find space up front. He, Vinícius Júnior and Raphinha all squandered chances early on.
Brazil’s best chance before Richarlison’s opening goal had been a low long-range shot by Alex Sandro that hit the post in the 60th. Neymar had his best opportunities with a free kick in the 50th and a shot from near the penalty spot in the 55th.
The 30-year-old Neymar arrived to his third World Cup as Brazil’s main attraction. He helped the “Seleção” win the 2013 Confederations Cup and its first Olympic gold medal at the 2016 Rio de Janeiro Games, but has yet to win a major title with the national team.
Read more: Neymar Jr. on the verge of breaking Pele’s goalscoring record
Brazil, trying to win its first World Cup in two decades, is unbeaten in its last 20 opening games, with 17 victories. It has finished first in its group in the last 10 World Cups.
In the other Group G match, Switzerland defeated Cameroon 1-0.
Brazil and Serbia also played in the group stage in 2018, with Brazil also winning 2-0 to reach the next stage at Serbia’s expense.
Since competing as Serbia in 2010, the country has not advanced to the knockout rounds of the World Cup.
Read more: Brazil Team Analysis for 2022 World Cup in Qatar
Brazil election body rejects Bolsonaro's push to void votes
The head of Brazil's electoral authority on Wednesday rejected the request from President Jair Bolsonaro and his political party to annul ballots cast on most electronic voting machines, which would have overturned the Oct. 30 election.
Alexandre de Moraes had issued a prior ruling that implicitly raised the possibility that Bolsonaro’s Liberal Party could suffer from such a challenge. He conditioned analysis of the request on the presentation of an amended report to include results from the first electoral round, on Oct. 2, in which the party won more seats in both congressional houses than any other, and he established a 24-hour deadline.
Earlier Wednesday, party president Valdemar Costa and lawyer Marcelo de Bessa held a press conference and said there would be no amended report.
“The complete bad faith of the plaintiff's bizarre and illicit request ... was proven, both by the refusal to add to the initial petition and the total absence of any evidence of irregularities and the existence of a totally fraudulent narrative of the facts,” de Moraes wrote in his decision hours later.He also ordered the suspension of government funds for the Liberal Party’s coalition until a fine of 23 million reais ($4.3 million) for bad faith litigation is paid.
Read more: Brazil election: Lula defeats Bolsonaro to become president againOn Tuesday, de Bessa filed a 33-page request on behalf of Bolsonaro and Costa citing a software bug in the majority of Brazil's machines — they lack individual identification numbers in their internal logs — to argue all votes they recorded should be nullified. De Bessa said that doing so would leave Bolsonaro with 51% of the remaining valid votes.
Neither Costa nor de Bessa have explained how the bug might have affected election results. Independent experts consulted by The Associated Press said that, while newly discovered, it doesn’t affect reliability and each voting machine is still readily identifiable through other means. In his ruling on Thursday, de Moraes noted the same.
He also wrote that the challenge to the vote appeared aimed at incentivizing anti-democratic protest movements and creating tumult, and ordered the investigation of Costa and the consultant hired to conduct an evaluation.
“De Moraes’ message to the political establishment is: the game is over. Questioning the result of the elections is not fair play, and people and institutions who do that will be punished harshly,” said Maurício Santoro, a political science professor at the State University of Rio de Janeiro.In the press conference on Wednesday, Costa said his intention is merely to prevent the results of the 2022 vote from haunting Brazil into the future.
The electoral authority on Oct. 30 ratified the victory of Bolsonaro’s nemesis, leftist former President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva, and even many of the president’s allies quickly accepted the results. Protesters in cities across the country have steadfastly refused to do the same, particularly with Bolsonaro declining to concede.
Bolsonaro spent more than a year claiming Brazil’s electronic voting system is prone to fraud, without ever presenting evidence.
Read more: PM Sheikh Hasina congratulates Lula on winning Brazil electionThe South American nation began using an electronic voting system in 1996 and election security experts consider such systems less secure than hand-marked paper ballots, because they leave no auditable paper trail. But Brazil’s system has been closely scrutinized by domestic and international experts who have never found evidence of it being exploited to commit fraud.
Kushtia divided by Argentina, Brazil as World Cup fever grips Bangladesh
With one of the most eagerly anticipated World Cups just around the corner now, supporters of Brazil and Argentina have already started challenging and bickering with each other with the speculation of who is going to the final.
The flags of Argentina and Brazil fly everywhere.
Like football fans from all over the world, football lovers in Bangladesh's Kushtia are also excited.
To make this World Cup memorable, supporters of Brazil and Argentina from Bakchi Satpankhia of Kumarkhali's Jagannathpur Union and Shyamganj of Gopgram Union of Khoksa Upazila aln being htheir favorite team's flags on the trees and poles on both sides of the roads for a month.
Football lovers here are carrying out various activities including flying banners, erecting festoons, hoisting flags at various places to show their support and love for their favourite teams.
As a part of this work, they made two giant flags of Brazil and Argentina.
Among them, the Argentine flag is about 1050 hands long while Brazilian fans hang about 850 hand-long flags.
Read more: Argentina Squad analysis for 2022 World Cup in Qatar
Since 2010, the local residents have been creating such flags.
People of different ages from different areas are flocking to Gopgram to have a glimpse of these flags.
Argentina supporter Shamim said, "This year, the players of the favorite team, Argentina, are playing well. I hope we will beat Brazil in the final and take the cup.'
On the other hand, Rashidul, a supporter of Brazil, said, 'We are five-time champions. This time we will take the cup. But I want to see Argentina as a rival in the final.
Read more: Right backs, left backs are Brazil’s weak spots at World Cup
Syed Ashiqur Rahman, officer-in-charge of Khoksa police station, said, there is no problem with that people will support their respective teams but care should be taken so that the law and order situation does not deteriorate.
"Law enforcers are aware of this," the OC added.
Right backs, left backs are Brazil’s weak spots at World Cup
When Brazil coach Tite uttered the name of veteran Dani Alves in his call for the World Cup squad, reactions around the country spanned from anger to disappointment.
The Brazil coach, who has faced little criticism in his six years on the job, described his pick in a paused, not-so-confident tone.
“The criteria for Daniel Alves is the criteria for all,” Tite said. “It is about rewarding individual skill, his fitness and his mental aspect. Just like the others.”
Alves himself, however, recognized that many didn’t want him in the squad for Qatar.
“I am not here to please everyone,” he said in a video.
The rancor has nothing to do with the right back’s brilliant past, but the presence of a 39-year-old player who has struggled to play for any club in the past year laid bare the lack of options Brazil has on both flanks of the defense.
Tite’s most likely options to start at the World Cup are right back Danilo, who has become more of a central defender at Juventus, and Alex Sandro, a player with little background as a typical Brazilian left back that runs from box to box.
Neither Danilo nor Alex Sandro are regarded as two of the best in the world in their positions, such as predecessors Cafu, Roberto Carlos, Marcelo and the peak Alves of 10 years ago were. At the same time, the duo has not caused Brazil much defensive trouble, being part of a team that conceded only five goals in South American qualifying.
Read: Qatar World Cup: 5 Dark Horses to look out for
Alves and Alex Telles are expected to be on the bench in Qatar, with Eder Militão also capable of playing as a right back and midfielder Fabinho as a left back.
“They are OK,” former Brazil left back Junior, now a TV commentator, said this month about Tite’s options. “They are not players who will be up front all the time. They are more cautious. But I don’t see any other choices that would be better to start at this time.”
Over the last year, Tite lost another two options that could have helped.
Fagner, a 33-year-old right back who replaced an injured Alves four years ago in Russia, had a poor season at Corinthians. Former Sevilla left back Guilherme Arana picked up a knee injury in September, ruling him out of the World Cup.
Brazil’s coach also found little reason to bring back Renan Lodi, who was loaned to Nottingham Forest after struggling at Atletico Madrid.
Lodi was blamed for Brazil’s 1-0 loss to Argentina in the 2021 Copa America final, with goal scorer Ángel di Maria saying he knew the Brazilian “slept a little” during matches. The left back didn’t find any sympathy from Tite after he missed a callup earlier in the year because he wasn’t vaccinated against COVID-19.
Brazil’s right back at the World Cup, whoever he may be, could also face increased pressure playing alongside 38-year-old defender Thiago Silva.
Silva has been less consistent than usual at Chelsea, highlighted by a dreadful performance in the 4-1 loss to Brighton in the Premier League last month. A right back that can also run for an aging Silva could be key to avoid conceding goals in Qatar.
Read: Qatar World Cup: 5 Hot Favorites to win the trophy
Cafu, who was on Brazil’s World Cup-winning team in 2002, said protecting Silva is one of the reasons why Tite will eventually use Militão as a starting right back during the World Cup. He also trusts Brazil to do well in Qatar regardless of the lack of options at the back.
“I don’t know why we have this shortage of players for those positions. But it is not only for the national team, we see that in clubs, too,” Cafu said in an interview last month. “Coaches are adapting midfielders to that position because they don’t know how to specifically work with right and left backs.
“Also, it is unfair to compare these players with us. Anyone playing as a right or left back today has a lot of responsibility. They have to replace people who made history for Brazil.”
Bangladesh wants to buy sugar, wheat, soybean oil from Brazil
Bangladesh has shown interest to import sugar, wheat and soybean oil from Brazil.
This was conveyed to newly appointed Ambassador of Brazil to Bangladesh Paulo Fernando Dias Feres when he met Shahriar Alam, state minister for foreign affairs, on Monday at his office in the Ministry of Foreign Affairs.
They discussed the possibility of investing in the fields of high breed cows, poultry, poultry feed and fisheries in Bangladesh.
The state minister also expressed hope that Brazil would facilitate Bangladesh’s initiative to have preferential trade agreement with the MERCOSUR countries.
Read more: It’s my strong hope to see free, fair election in Bangladesh: Ambassador Naoki
The Brazilian envoy said that during his tenure he would like to work on introducing Bangladesh better to the Brazilians, work intensely to strengthening people-to-people and business-to-business contacts and widen trade relations with Bangladesh.
Ambassador Feres appreciated Bangladesh’s economic strides in the last one decade.
Referring to his recent visit to Brazil, Shahriar thanked the Brazilian government for concluding visa exemption agreement for diplomatic and official passports holders and MoUs between Foreign Service Academy and Bangladesh and Rio Branco Institute of Brazil.
He also mentioned that three business MoUs with the apex Chambers in Brazil were important step stone towards a greater commercial cooperation between the two friendly countries.
Shahriar congratulated him on the 50th anniversary of diplomatic relations with Brazil.
He also congratulated the newly elected President of Brazil Luiz Inácio ‘Lula’ da Silva on his remarkable victory.
Read more: Japan wants "strategic" partnership with Bangladesh through practical cooperation
The state minister said Bangladesh looks forward to working with the new administration to further strengthening its political and trade relations.
The ambassador expressed his country’s keen interest to work with Bangladesh closely on the issues of mutual benefits in the bilateral and multilateral forums.
Brazil Team Analysis for 2022 World Cup in Qatar
Five-time world cup champion Brazil won their last world cup in 2002. After that, they appeared in four more tournaments, including one in their home in 2014. However, the champs have failed to win another Cup, even though they participated with their top-performing team each time. Now, Brazil is heading to another FIFA World Cup tournament in Qatar in 2022. The event is going to start on November 20. Brazil’s coach announced the 26-member team on Monday (November 07, 2022) with those who are in the rhythm. Let's take a look at the squad analysis of Brazil for the FIFA World Cup 2022.
Brazil Squad Announced for 2022 FIFA Football World Cup
Table: Brazil's 26-member Team for FIFA Football World Cup 2022
Role
Players
Goalkeepers
Alisson (Liverpool), Ederson (Manchester City), Weverton (Palmeiras)
Defenders
Dani Alves (UNAM Pumas), Danilo (Juventus), Alex Sandro (Juventus), Alex Telles (Sevilla), Bremer (Juventus), Eder Militao (Real Madrid), Marquinhos (PSG), Thiago Silva (Chelsea)
Midfielders
Bruno Guimares (Newcastle United), Casemiro (Manchester United), Everton Ribeiro (Flamengo), Fabinho (Liverpool), Fred (Manchester United), Lucas Paqueta (West Ham United)
Forwards
Antony (Manchester United), Gabriel Jesus (Arsenal), Gabriel Martinelli (Arsenal), Neymar Jr. (PSG), Richarlison (Tottenham), Pedro (Flamengo), Raphinha (Barcelona), Rodrygo (Real Madrid), Vinicius Jr. (Real Madrid)
Source: CBS Sports
Read More: Which Countries have Won FIFA Football World Cup Trophy?
Liverpool forward Roberto Firmino and recently injured Aston Villa playmaker Philippe Coutinho were left out of Brazil’s World Cup squad. Firmino’s omission is a big surprise. Although this Liverpool star has been in good form this season, Tite did not consider him for the team. Apart from Firmino’s omission from the team, there are no big surprises in the Brazil team.
With an aim for the sixth title, Brazil will begin their World Cup tour with a match against Serbia on November 24. Five-time world champions Brazil has been waiting for another World Cup for 20 years. The Latin giants have not benefited much from European dominance in recent times. In 2014, Brazil reached the semi-final, which was their highest achievement after the 2022 World Cup win.
Brazil team analysis for the 2022 World Cup in Qatar
Goalkeepers
There is no shortage of stars in this year’s Brazil team. Two of the best goalkeepers in the Premier League, Alisson, and Ederson will fight for the goalkeeper position, while Waveraton is another key goalkeeper this year.
Read More: 5 Host Cities of FIFA Qatar World Cup 2022: A Travel Guide
Defenders
In defense, Danilo, Alex Sandro, and Thiago Silva were predictable. However, there was some confusion about whether veteran defender Dani Alves would be on the team at the end. In the end, it seems Tite trusted Alves’ years of experience. Dani Alves has made history by becoming the oldest player in Brazil’s World Cup squad. He turned 39 last month.
Midfielders
Manchester United duo Casemiro and Fred will be in charge of midfield. In addition to that, Fabinho’s inclusion adds more value to Brazil’s squad. With these top-notch players, as always, Brazil’s midfield is good. So there should be no doubt that Brazil will be in control of the game.
Forwards
In the attacking position, Brazil means Neymar! This happened in the previous two World Cups in 2018 and 2018. In the 2014 World Cup, Brazil’s game strategy revolved around Neymar. It is the same in the 2018 World Cup. Neymar is the biggest star of the team.
Read More: Is the FIFA Football World Cup Trophy Made of Solid Gold?
However, this time Brazil is no longer a team dependent on Neymar. The five-time world champions are not dreaming of winning the sixth World Cup depending on Neymar alone. Apart from Neymar, there are stars like Vinicius, Rodrigo, and Richarlison on the team.
Key Players
Although the final team will consist of 11 players, there will be some key players. And definitely, the whole world will have eyes on them.
Neymar, forward
Although PSG’s start has been in the news for one controversy or another, his record for team Brazil has always been inspiring. He has six career goals in the World Cup tournament. But Neymar may pass Pele’s international goals (77goals) if he can score three more goals in the world cup. Currently, Neymar has 75 international goals in his basket.
Read More: Technologies set to amaze at Qatar Football World Cup 2022
In recent days, Neymar has been in excellent form and scored seven goals in his last nine international outings, while he already crossed double digits for PGS in the 2022-23 season. Winning a World Cup trophy will make him one of the greatest of all time.
Vinícius Júnior, winger
The 2021-22 season ended up being the breakthrough that the world had been waiting for from Vini. While he was in his fourth year at Real Madrid, the 22-year-old led the club to a La Liga title with 17 goals and 10 assists besides scoring the winning goal in the Champions League final against Liverpool. However, he only scored one goal in his 16 appearances for Brazil.
So, he will have to improve his goal score for the national team to become one of the best wingers in Brazil. And Qatar is definitely a good chance for him.
Read More: World Cup Football 2022 jerseys: Where to buy online in Bangladesh
Thiago Silva, center back
Any preceding Brazilian captain may remain on a higher pedestal, but Thiago Silva has been outstanding because of his youthful age and years of superb gameplay. In his career, he has played an integral role in boosting the Brazilian central defense.
At 38 years old, it is remarkable that Thiago Silva is playing for the Brazilians while famous at an age when many other people are benched. While at Chelsea, most counted him out due to his age, but he shone in the last two-plus seasons. This World Cup will be his last appearance.
Final Worlds
Ahead of the World Cup, FIFA, the governing body of international football, has set a deadline of November 14 to announce the team. However, Brazil’s coach Tite is reluctant to delay the announcement of the World Cup team.
Read More: 8 Stadiums of FIFA World Cup Qatar 2022
So far, we have analyzed the Brazil Squad for the FIFA World Cup Qatar 2022. Many people are giving different opinions after seeing the Brazilian team. Experts are analyzing the areas of strength and weakness. There are also divisions over who should have been kept and who should not have been taken. But, Brazil’s coach Tite seems, does not care about those criticisms. So, we have to wait until the end of the World Cup to see whether Tite was right or wrong.
Can South America's giants break Europe's stranglehold on the World Cup?
When Gianni Infantino told a gathering of European football officials in Vienna he hoped the winner of the World Cup came from their continent, the FIFA President quickly stated — with a smile — he adapts the comment to whichever region he’s in.
It’s no laughing matter for the rest of the world.
Seven of the last eight World Cup finalists have come from Europe. Thirteen of the last 16 semifinalists, too.
Only three non-European nations — Brazil, Argentina and Uruguay — have reached the World Cup final. Uruguay hasn’t played in the title match since 1950.
And only two non-European nations other than Brazil and Argentina have reached the semifinals since 1970 — South Korea in 2002 and Uruguay in 2010.
No African country has ever gotten to the last four — in part because of Luis Suárez’s last-minute, goal-line handball for Uruguay to deny Ghana in the 2010 quarterfinals — and nobody from North America since the United States in the first World Cup in 1930.
Nations from around the world are invited to the party but, really, it’s mostly the Europeans staying until the end.
“You want the World Cup to be a world tournament,” football author Jonathan Wilson said. “Ideally you’d have a team from every confederation in the quarterfinals.
“You want the best teams, but you want the best teams to come from as many different places as possible. This is a global sport. If it becomes entirely focused on a rich pocket of western Europe, that’s boring for everybody.”
Wilson puts the recent European dominance down to the continent’s top football nations pumping lots of money and resources into the development of young players — what he calls an “industrialization of youth production,” starting with France at its national football centre in the 1990s. That was followed by the likes of Germany, Spain and most recently England doing the same.
Read more: Players who will be absent from Qatar World Cup including Haaland, Salah
These young players are then exposed to their own football leagues, which are the strongest and richest in the world.
“You have the best facilities, the best teachers, the best people to learn from,” Wilson told The Associated Press. “Then you are testing yourself against the best.”
The only nation to have prevented a European triumph at a World Cup since 1994 was Brazil in 2002. Brazil’s coach that year, Luiz Felipe Scolari, said he had a “spectacular generation” — remember its storied front three of Ronaldo, Rivaldo and Ronaldinho? — and that European nations are now producing better players than before, having studied the 1958 Brazil team which earned the country the first of its record five titles.
Speaking to the AP, Scolari said the current European domination is a “phase” which could be ended by Brazil in Qatar or, maybe, in 2026.
After all, Brazil will enter the World Cup as the top-ranked team, undefeated in South American qualifying and with only five losses in 76 matches under coach Tite.
“This class of 2022 is great,” Scolari said. “If we don’t win now, we can do it in 2026 with one of the best teams.
“These kids playing now might give the result we expect but you can’t pressure them to give everything. Maybe in four years, we can because then … they will hit the pinnacle at age 26, 27.”
Typically, it’s Argentina, ranked No. 3 by FIFA and a two-time World Cup champion, rivalling Brazil as the most likely winner from outside Europe. And that should again be the case in Qatar.
While Europe’s best have been struggling — England is winless in six games, France and Germany have won only one of their last six games, Italy hasn’t even qualified — Argentina has gone 35 games unbeaten under Lionel Scaloni, who has a well-balanced team with more than just a slew of star attackers led by Lionel Messi.
There’s a caveat, though. The introduction of UEFA’s Nations League — and, to a certain extent, the impact of COVID-19 — has meant top European teams go head-to-head more often and rarely face Brazil and Argentina.
Only one such game stands out since the 2018 World Cup: the Finalissima, a newly devised match between the European champions and Copa America winners that saw Argentina beat Italy 3-0 in London in June.
Argentina has played three European teams since the last World Cup. Brazil only one.
“It’s pretty hard to get a true read on them,” said Wilson, whose books include “Angels With Dirty Faces: The Footballing History of Argentina.” “It might not be the worst thing that they go into this tournament with confidence, without a sense of inferiority.”
Take away Brazil and Argentina, and it’s hard to look beyond another winner from Europe, which has the other 10 teams in the top 12 of the FIFA rankings and 13 of the 32 nations in Qatar.
There’s even greater depth to the European challenge these days, too, with nations like 2018 World Cup finalist Croatia, Euro 2020 semifinalist Denmark and Switzerland as consistent and hard to beat as the traditional heavyweights, with more of their players sprinkled around Europe’s top clubs.
As for African teams, whose World Cup challenge is fronted by African Cup of Nations champion Senegal, they still seem to be held back by a lack of resources off the field more than a lack of talent on it.
“(African countries) have so many players playing in Europe at good teams now, I think they should perform better than they do,” Lars Lagerback, who coached Nigeria at the 2010 World Cup, told the AP. “There’s a lot of challenges, so many people involved around the logistics and everything.
“They have the players with the individual skills but you have to have everything around it.”
And that, ultimately, is where Europe has the edge.
Read more: Qatar World Cup 2022: Viewer's guide
Cox's Bazar: Football fan falls to death while hanging Brazil flag
A ninth-grader fell to his death Monday while trying to tie the Brazilian flag to a pole on the rooftop of his house as one of the most eagerly anticipated World Cups in memory is just around the corner in Qatar.
"The accident occurred in Cox's Bazar town's Tarabaniarchhara. Mohammad Musa was from Ward No. 5 of Cox's Bazar municipality and a ninth-grader at Cox's Bazar Technical School and College," Cox's Bazar Sadar Police Station Officer-in-Charge Rafiqul Islam said.
"Musa fell from the rooftop in the afternoon while trying to hang the flag and fell unconscious. He was declared dead after being taken to Cox's Bazar 250-Bed District Sadar Hospital. The body was kept at the hospital for autopsy," he added.
Bangladesh is known as a cricket-loving nation, but a passion for the Argentina and Brazil football teams sweeps the country ahead of and during the World Cup. The flags of Argentina and Brazil fly everywhere.
Read more: Football fans' fight in Sylhet: Injured referee dies at Dhaka hospital
Giant, sustainable rainforest fish is now fashion in America
Sometimes you start something and have no idea where it will lead. So it was with Eduardo Filgueiras, a struggling guitarist whose family worked in an unusual business in Rio de Janeiro: They farmed toads. Filgueiras figured out a way to take the small toad skins and fuse them together, creating something large enough to sell.
Meanwhile miles away in the Amazon, a fisherman and a scientist were coming up with an innovation that would help save a key, giant fish that thrives in freshwater lakes alongside Amazon River tributaries.
The ingenuity of these three men is why you can now find a beautiful and unusual sustainable fish leather in upscale New York bags, Texas cowboy boots and in a striking image from Rihanna’s Vogue pregnancy photo shoot, where a red, fish-scaled jacket hangs open above her belly. Sales provide a livable income to hundreds of Amazon families who also keep the forest standing and healthy while it protects their livelihood.
MANAGING A GIANT
The leather is a byproduct of pirarucu meat, a staple food in the Amazon that is gaining new markets in Brazil’s largest cities.
Indigenous communities working together with non-Indigenous riverine settlers manage the pirarucu in preserved areas of the Amazon. Most of it is exported, and the U.S. is the primary market.
Pirarucu can grow to 3 meters (nearly 10 feet) in length. Overfishing endangered them. But things began to change when a settler fisherman, Jorge de Souza Carvalho, known as Tapioca, and academic researcher Leandro Castello teamed up in the Mamiraua region and came up with a creative way to count the fish in lakes, the giant fish’s favorite habitat.
They took advantage of something special about this species: It surfaces to breathe at least every 20 minutes. A trained eye can count how many flash their red tails in a given area, arriving at a pretty precise estimate.
Read: Brazil's Amazon deforestation surges to worst in 15 years
The government recognizes this counting method and authorizes managed fishing. By law, only 30% of the pirarucu in a particular area may be fished the following year. The result is a population in recovery in these areas, allowing for larger catches.
In the riverine communities, people eat the fish, skin and all. But in the big slaughterhouses, where the bulk of the pirarucu catch is processed, the skin was being discarded. Then tannery Nova Kaeru showed up on the scene.
SHOESTRING BEGINNINGS
Thousands of miles away from the Amazon, down a hilly dirt road on the outskirts of Rio de Janeiro, Nova Kaeru will process about 50,000 skins from legally-caught giant pirarucu or arapaima fish this year.
This middle-size company had an unlikely start. In 1997, Filgueiras, the guitarist, got involved in his family toad business, where the amphibians were raised for meat. He was struck by the beauty of their skin, but it was all being thrown out. He decided to try to use it, took a leather working course, and started experimenting.
“I had no financial resources. I bought a used concrete mixer and covered it with fiberglass, adapted a washing machine and started to develop the frog leather,” Filgueiras told The Associated Press in his office.
He managed to transform the skin into leather, but there was a problem: It was too small. No prospective customer wanted it. Filgueiras tried to stitch it together, but the result was too ugly. So he invented a way to weld several pieces together.
His creation started to gain attention at international fairs. A few years later, with a partner, he founded Nova Kaeru tannery, specializing in exotic leather, expanding to salmon and ostrich with techniques that don’t produce toxic waste.
Then one day a businessman knocked on the door with a stack of pirarucu skins and asked him to take a look.
Experimenting with the new skins, Filgueiras found he was able to fix the many holes in the pirarucu leather using the same technique he had created for the toad leather.
The first results impressed him. But in the meantime, the businessman died in an aircraft accident. With no previous experience in the Amazon — so different from its home base in Rio — the company nevertheless decided to procure pirarucu skin on its own in the vast region.
Read: Brazil: Can Lula the Lefty do better?
They got in touch with the people managing the fishery in Amazonas state. That network has now grown to 280 riverine and Indigenous communities, most of them in protected rainforest areas, employing some 4,000 fisher people, according to Coletivo do Pirarucu, an umbrella organization. Nova Kaeru tannery bought the skins — the first buyer the communities had — and today their most important one.
“The commercialization of the skin has been fundamental for the riverine communities,” Adevaldo Dias, a riverine leader from the Medio Jurua region, told the AP in a phone interview. “It helps make the whole business viable.”
The Association of Rural Producers of Carauari, from the Medio Jurua, sells each skin for $37, an important sum in a country where the minimum wage is around $237 per month. The money helps pay the fisherfolk, who receive $1.60 per kilo (2.2 pounds). Dias says the ideal price should be $1.9 per kilo of fish to cover all costs related to managing the fishing. They expect to earn that in the near future by exporting pirarucu meat.
From Medio Jurua and other regions, the pirarucu leather must travel several thousand miles by boat to Belem, where it is loaded onto trucks for another long journey to Nova Kaeru headquarters, a multiday trip. From there, it goes by plane to foreign buyers.
The pirarucu leather first made inroads in Texas, where it is used in cowboy boots. But the fashion industry is increasingly taking notice. In New York City, the luxury brand Piper & Skye has used pirarucu leather for shoulder bags, waist packs and purses that can fetch up to $850.
“As far as the pirarucu being a food source and feeding local communities and putting food on the table for the folks in the areas where it’s fished and beyond, it is not just a durable and beautiful material. It does promote circularity of the species in utilizing a material that would otherwise go to waste,” Joanna MacDonald, brand founder and creative director, told the AP in a video call.
'Man of the Hole': Last of his tribe dies in Brazil
The last remaining member of an uncontacted indigenous group in Brazil has died, officials say.
The man, whose name was not known, had lived in total isolation for the past 26 years.
He was known as "Man of the Hole" because he dug deep holes, some of which he used to trap animals while others appear to be hiding spaces.
His body was found on 23 August in a hammock outside his straw hut. There were no signs of violence, reports BBC.
The man was the last of an indigenous group whose other remaining six members were killed in 1995. The group lived in the Tanaru indigenous area in the state of Rondônia, which borders Bolivia.
The majority of his tribe were thought to have been killed as early as the 1970s by ranchers wanting to expand their land.
The "Man of the Hole" is thought to have been about 60 years old and to have died of natural causes.
There were no signs of any incursions in his territory and nothing in his hut had been disturbed, officials said, but police will still carry out a post-mortem investigation.
Under Brazil's constitution, indigenous people have a right to their traditional land, so those wanting to seize it have been known to kill them.
The "Man of the Hole" had been monitored for his own safety by agents from Brazil's Indigenous Affairs Agency (Funai) since 1996.
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In 2018, members of Funai managed to film the man during a chance encounter in the jungle. In the footage, he can be seen hacking at a tree with something resembling an axe.
There had been no sighting of him since but Funai agents did come across his huts, which were built from straw, and the deep holes he dug.
Some of them had sharpened spikes at the bottom and are thought to be traps for hunting animals, while others are believed to be hiding spaces he used when outsiders approached.
Evidence found at his huts and campsites suggests he planted maize and manioc and fruits such as papaya and bananas.
There are about 240 indigenous tribes in Brazil, with many under threat as illegal miners, loggers and farmers encroach onto their territory, warns Survival International, a pressure group fighting for the rights of indigenous people.