Two years ago I predicted this would be the Brazilian Decade, and so far Brazil’s stunning success has proven me correct. It is not just about the large international events like the World Cup and Olympics that are on the calendar in 2014 and 2016. Brazil has become a creditor nation; once a net food importer, it now feeds much of the world; and recently it surpassed the United Kingdom to become the world’s sixth largest economy. For decades much of the growth was centered around São Paulo and Rio de Janeiro, then stretched south towards the border with Uruguay. Industries such as aircraft, petrochemicals and automobiles anchored Latin America’s largest economy. But now Brazil’s economic might has extended to regions of the country that had long underperformed compared to the wealthy south.