Silva’s mettle: Brazil’s newish president

Our Brazil correspondent <a href="https://www.economist.com/the-americas/2022/12/31/brazils-new-president-faces-a-fiscal-crunch-and-a-fickle-congress?utm_campaign=a.io&utm_medium=audio.podcast.np&utm_source=theintelligence&utm_content=discovery.content.anonymous.tr_shownotes_na-na_article&utm_term=sa.listeners" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">surveys</a> the state of the country, as Lula assumes the presidency precisely 20 years after his first inauguration. We ask why America’s armed forces are facing <a href="https://www.economist.com/the-economist-explains/2022/11/29/why-has-americas-army-recruitment-plummeted?utm_campaign=a.io&utm_medium=audio.podcast.np&utm_source=theintelligence&utm_content=discovery.content.anonymous.tr_shownotes_na-na_article&utm_term=sa.listeners" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">recruitment struggles</a> not seen since the Vietnam War. And as <a href="https://www.economist.com/international/2022/12/31/pope-benedict-xvi-was-an-iron-fist-in-a-white-glove?utm_campaign=a.io&utm_medium=audio.podcast.np&utm_source=theintelligence&utm_content=discovery.content.anonymous.tr_shownotes_na-na_article&utm_term=sa.listeners" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">Benedict XVI</a>’s funeral begins, our obituaries editor reflects on his papacy. For full access to print, digital and audio editions of <em>The Economist</em>, subscribe here <a href="http://www.economist.com/intelligenceoffer" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">www.economist.com/intelligenceoffer</a> <hr><p style='color:grey; font-size:0.75em;'> Hosted on Acast. See <a style='color:grey;' target='_blank' rel='noopener noreferrer' href='https://acast.com/privacy'>acast.com/privacy</a> for more information.</p>