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What You Need to Know About Brazil's History Before The Rio Olympics Begin

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Aerial view of Christ the Redeemer, Flamengo Beach, the Sugar Loaf and Guanabara Bay with nearly one year to go to the Rio 2016 Olympic Games on July 21, 2015 in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. Matthew Stockman/Getty Images)
Aerial view of Christ the Redeemer, Flamengo Beach, the Sugar Loaf and Guanabara Bay with nearly one year to go to the Rio 2016 Olympic Games on July 21, 2015 in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. Matthew Stockman/Getty Images)

The Rio Olympics begin on Friday. Behind the headlines about whether or not the country will be ready in time for the games is a nation with a turbulent cultural, economic, and political history.

Here & Now's Jeremy Hobson speaks with Brodie Fischer at the University of Chicago, about how Europeans settled Brazil, what its big exports have been over time, the country’s history of slavery, and how its cities got so massive in the 20th century.

Guest

Brodie Fischer, professor of Latin American History and director of the Center for Latin American Studies at the University of Chicago.

This segment aired on August 1, 2016.

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