President Jair Bolsonaro campaigned on a promise to overturn the country’s political patronage, but as his popularity has <a href="https://www.economist.com/the-americas/2021/05/29/brazils-president-jair-bolsonaro-is-under-siege?utm_campaign=the-intelligence&amp;utm_medium=podcast&amp;utm_source=third-party-host&amp;utm_content=show-notes" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">slipped</a> he has come to need it. The <a href="https://www.economist.com/business/2021/06/12/will-commercial-jets-break-the-sound-barrier-once-again?utm_campaign=the-intelligence&amp;utm_medium=podcast&amp;utm_source=third-party-host&amp;utm_content=show-notes" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">latest bids</a> to return to commercial supersonic flight look promisingly quieter, cheaper and perhaps even more sustainable. And our correspondent reflects on the <a href="https://www.economist.com/1843/2021/05/27/i-spent-thousands-on-chemical-straightening-the-price-of-having-black-hair-in-a-white-world?utm_campaign=the-intelligence&amp;utm_medium=podcast&amp;utm_source=third-party-host&amp;utm_content=show-notes" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">costs</a> of having black hair in a white world.For full access to print, digital and audio editions of The Economist, subscribe here <a href="http://www.economist.com/intelligenceoffer" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">www.economist.com/intelligenceoffer</a> &#10;&nbsp; <hr>See <a style='color: grey; ' target='_blank' rel='noopener noreferrer' href='https://acast.com/privacy'>acast.com/privacy</a> for privacy and opt-out information.

Patrons’ taint: Brazil’s pork-barrel politics

The Economist was founded in 1843 "to throw white light on the subjects within its range".

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