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As a frequent business traveller, I think Brazil could be quite dangerous for you. Here's what I do whenever I get sent somewhere new.
Start with our government's own advice.
Kidnapping is the main threat in Latin America.
KIDNAPPING: A LATIN AMERICAN GROWTH INDUSTRY
From the State Department site: Rio de Janeiro: The city continues to experience a high incidence of crime. Tourists are particularly vulnerable to street thefts and robberies on and in areas adjacent to all the main beaches in the city. Walking on the beaches themselves is very dangerous at night. In Rio de Janeiro, motorists are allowed to treat stoplights as stop signs between the hours of 10 p.m. and 6 a.m. to protect against holdups while their cars are stopped. All incidents should be reported to the tourist police, who can be reached at 511-5112.
Basically what I do is, check into an expensive hotel in the business district, and essentially stay in it, until it's time to go home. Most modern hotels have airconditioning and cable TV, its as comfortable as being at home. I even do this when I stay in Chicago, so its not like it's that much different to being in the USA. Take a laptop with some DVDs and games to keep you entertained.
Since it's a business trip, perhaps its wise to get some help from people who know about this sort of thing. I tend to prefer Kroll, but CRG have a good reputation as well. After all, the beauty of Capitalism is that you can pay someone to worry on your behalf.
You might also want to check the safty record of the Airline you intend to use.
On a personal note, perhaps you might also want to consider the ethics of doing business with such a corrupt country: About half of all Brazilians are black, and they make, on average, about half of what the whites make. In Brazil, nearly one-fifth of the population is illiterate. The country also has one of the world's most disparate income distributions: 60 percent of the national wealth is possessed by one percent of the population, with maybe 50 percent of the population living in poverty. Since World War II, the purchasing power of Brazil's minimum wage has been cut in half. Because of widespread inefficiency and corruption, only 8 percent of the government's social spending reaches the poorest of the population
Enjoy your trip, and above all - Have Fun !
time to give a Newtonian demonstration - of a bullet, its mass and its acceleration.
-- MC Hawking
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