Sao Paolo Today

On the ground in Brazile
Our Minister of Foreign Trade and International Business Skyped the mayor's Office yesterday to fill us in on the latest Brazilian happenings. It's all about World Cup 2010. South Africa has become the official focus of the entire country. Little if anything will be accomplished from June 11th to July 10, 2010. Football, as the world knows it, will dominate conversation from the beaches to the capitol of Brasilia. Lula will be trotting out some retired players to have his photo taken with national heroes. What else is new?
For those interested in business: take some time off, there will be no business done during world cup!
The Mayor's office supports sports in general and soccer football in particular, but we must follow our obligation to the citizenry by conducting the people's business in an orderly fashion. We will be available throughout world cup during business hours.
The Minister of Trade in Sao Paolo will be allowed time off to watch games as he feels necessary to conduct his mission with Brazilians. Local business has reported slower sales do to a shift in consumer focus from needs to wants, ie more football, less work.
One might say this is the Latin American response to a call for more work, in general.
With World Cup kickoff in 11 days, we can understand the buildup of interest. We'll be watching, too, in downtown Tahoma.