Globo reported yesterday on the record growth of income of the Brazilian Classe C.  Classe C are people who earn monthly between R$ 1.115 and R$ 4.807 (between 432 and 1.862 €) and counts more than 91 million Brazilians today ! This group now earns 46% of the total Brazilian yearly income.  This used to be 37% in 2003 !
In 2009 the two upper classes (A and B) earned 44% of the total income.

When investing in real estate the most important rule is: go where the middle class is.
In Europe the middle class is under heavy gunfire and in countries like South Africa the middle class is close to be extinguished.
Brazil on the other hand has a fast growing middle class of 91 million people earningbetween 432 and 1.862 €.

Just look at the Gini coefficient figures: the lower the figure, the more even is the income distributed
South Africa worsened from 59,3 in 1994 to 65 in 2005 and 67,9 in 2008.  Soon the country will reach a staggering Gini index of 70 !
Brazil improved form 60,7 in 1994 to 56,7 in 2005 and is now going direction 50.

Read the full Globo article here.

Foreign policy also devoted an excellent article on the growing Brazilian middle class, read it here.

Tags: brazilian middle class, classe c

Google Streetview is about to launch soon in Brazil. It promises to be a very handy tool real-estate wise.

Apparently Google is exploring the possibility of slipping ads into Street View; interesting times ahead.

Tags: google streetview brazil

Exemplary to underline the sheer growth and rise of Brazil: the geography of Twitter users.

Brazil ranks second, after the United states and is ramping up its position.   In July 2009, Brazil had 7,87% of the Twitter users and the United States 62,14%.  Today Brazil has 8,79% nd the United States 8,79%.

Epoca featured an anticle article on the phenomenon.  Brazil has today more than 68 million Internet users, a number which grows fast.  And the above Twitter stats show just how savvy and young they are.

Tags: twitter brasil

El Pais was the first to nominate Lula as “personality of the year” (Spanish prime minister José Luis Zapatero called Lula “the man of which the world is fascinated”) and now Le Monda nominates Lula as “L’homme de l’année 2009“.

It’s the first time that Le Monde awards the nomination.  The newspapers refers to Lula’s past as union leader and his battle for social justice and the environment.  Le Monde claims that Lula changed the face of South America and made Brazil into superpower country.

More interesting than the article itself are the comments through which European FUD (Fear Uncertainty and Doubt) are dripping through.

Just look how he won the Olympic bid.  The IOC chose Rio de Janeiro on the basis of Rio’s strong technical bid and long-term aspirations of the future.  The IOC continues that the games will be “good for Rio de Janeiro”.
Let’s turn that upside down: showcasing Brazil through the Olympics could teach the world some important lessons.

Tags: lula da silva, lula homme de l'annee

People seem to have a misconception about the buying power in Brazil; especially in the rich thriving cities like Curitibia, Porto Alegre, Sao Paulo, Rio de Janeiro and Florianopolis.
A new study reveals that Sao Paulo is the 3d most expensive city in the world, with only Oslo and Copenhagen proceeding it.
The study was based on product price comparisons of 26 products in 33 countries.
Shockingly enough there is no American city at all on the list.

Here’s the ranking:

1. Oslo, Norway
2. Copenhagen, Denmark
3. Sao Paulo, Brasil
4. Paris, France
5. Reykjavik, Iceland
6. Stockholm, Sweden
7. Helsinki, Finland
8. Dublin, Ireland
9. Sydney, Australia
10. Rome, Italy
11. Tokyo, Japan
12. Amsterdam, Netherlands
13. Vienna, Austria
14. Brussels, Belgium
15. Berlin, Germany
16. Cape Town, South Africa

And Sao Paulo does indeed have spending power (not even referring to Campinas).  Just go a night out in Sao Paulo, you’ll be surprised by the sheer size of the Paulista Jeunesse Dorée.

Tags: sao paulo cost of living