The Rio 2016 Bid Committee says its ready for the 2016 Summer Olympic Games.  Here are some interesting facts about the bid and what it could mean to South America and Brazil:

• Rio is trying to bring the Summer Olympics to South America for the first time;
• Brazil fully guarantees $14.4 billion for the Games, which is nearly as high as the budgets of the other three candidate cities combined (Chicago, Tokyo and Madrid);
• Since the 2014 World Cup is ensured to Brazil, an Olympic bid could make the fourth double hosting in history.

The long and short of these three bullet-points as it relates to the Brazilian and South American economy, and specifically the Brazilian construction industry is this:   A successful bid = global credibility and huge infrastructure investments.

Aside from the construction of the actual venues to be used, take a look at some other infrastructure investments mentioned by the Wikipedia page for Rio’s 2016 bid:

Rio de Janeiro plans to implement 150 km (93 mi) of Olympic lanes connecting the four Olympic zones and the Antônio Carlos Jobim International Airport.  An existing corridor of high capacity rail and metro systems as well as motorways and major roads links three of the four Olympic zones, and with the development of the western corridor, all four zones will be connected. Bus Rapid Transit (BRT) system is going to be the main solution to the city’s topography.

Take a look at Rio’s official 2016 bid page, as well as their bid video on YouTube, embedded here:

It seems that Brazilian President Lula has spent the past few days campaigning for Brazil’s global reputation, arguing in an interview with CNN that it’s “foolish” that the United Nations Security Council doesn’t include emerging nations (like Brazil) as permanent members.

The geography of 2009 is different from the geography of 1948 when the U.N. was created.   And because of this we want more continents to participate in the U.N. Security Council.  Brazil should have a seat.

This interview is coupled with some other comments from President Lula on the general topic.  

BrazilMag reports on President Lula’s recent comments that “the destiny of Brazil is closely linked to the destiny of the region where we sill have a complicated problem…”

The same online news agency reported that Lula supports the creation of a police force in South America similar to Europol, the security organization of the European Union – perhaps foreshadowing a future economic and political union between South American nations.

While President Lula is advocating for Brazil’s political prowess, the Brazil economy certainly doesn’t need the same advocacy.  Time Magazine reports that the Brazilian economy may be immune from the recession, and the country just invested US $182 billion in the housing sector and construction industry alone.

All of the news is good news for companies doing business in Brazil.

Here’s an interview of President Lula from CNN:

Last week, we posted about reports that Brazil may be the one country in the world to avoid the global recession.   There is even better news for those involved with Brazil’s construction market:  the country is investing a massive amount of money into the housing sector.

In January 2009, the Brazilian government announced plans to spend US$ 152 billion constructing houses for poor families over the next 15 years.

As reported by KHL’s International Construction, the government will be building 300,000 houses just this year alone!  That’s a massive amount of money, and a massive investment into the construction industry of an already booming market.   According to quotes from the KHL article, the aim of the program was “to help poor Brazilians…and stimulate the economy by creating construction jobs.”

More information about the program can be found at the Brazilian Chamber of the Construction Industry (Camara Brasileira da Industria da Construcao).

The global recession has affected the United States, the European Union and even the growing economy of China, leading many economist and news organizations to wonder:  Will anyone avoid the recession?

Last week the Time Magazine suggested that Brazil – once a turbulent economy – might be the one country unscathed by the world’s recent economic woes.

The notion certainly seems possible, especially considering the Brazilian government’s recently announced plan to invest US $152 billion in the housing sector alone.

The Brazil Construction Law blog will comment more on the huge Brazilian investment into the housing sector in another post, and its potential impact on the international construction market.

For now, the strong Brazilian economy is surging ahead without much effect from the global economic crisis…and perhaps that signals an opportunity for businesses in other countries to  participate in the large-scale construction growth ahead in South America.

This is the first post on Wolfe Law Group’s new legal blog, the Brazil Construction Law Blog.

The purpose of this blog is to provide insight and commentary on construction law issues and news within the country of Brazil.

Wolfe Law Group is a construction law practice with offices in Seattle, Washington and New Orleans, Louisiana.  The firm represents construction businesses in  foreign contracting, international arbitration and disputes, international joint ventures, and international construction risk management, with a focus on cross-border transactions involving South America, including Brazil, Argentina and Chile.

Learn more about our practice at http://www.wolfelaw.com