More recently, whilst in office from 2003 to 2010, former President Lula da Silva presided over an era of unprecedented political and economic engagement between Brazil and Africa. In that time Brazil has doubled its number of embassies on the continent to 34, tripled its exports to over $9.5bn in 2010 and quadrupled trade with Africa.

Recent months have seen an avalanche of new lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender (LGBT)-friendly initiatives in Rio: vocational training courses for transvestites, anti-bullying projects aimed at gay and lesbian students and new legislation outlawing discrimination in the city's nightclubs.

The latest issue of PDiN Monitor delves into the concept of Film Diplomacy in China.

In its quest for resources and business opportunities, China needs to have influence in many countries. Increasingly, Beijing uses a sophisticated charm offensive, presenting an image of a modern and dynamic China — a strategy often called "soft power."

In the midst of the current global tumult, I decided to take an afternoon’s break and escort my young children to the local movie theater to watch the new animated feature film Rio. As the first brightly colored 3-D computer-generated images flashed up on the screen, I felt assured of at least ninety minutes’ respite from the so-called real world.

The website, which will be called Wikiflora.org, is intended to allow high-school students and other internet users to get involved in mapping the country’s vast biodiversity. Brazil’s Ministry of Science and Technology has reached an agreement with IBM to develop the website through the use of ‘citizen science’.

For Peru's outgoing president it is the realisation of a personal dream. Alan García says the construction of the world's tallest statue of Jesus, on a hill in the capital overlooking the ocean, will "bless Peru and protect Lima". Its resemblance to Rio's Corcovado statue is no coincidence, but the unexpected gift has generated anger.

Latin America is blessed with a wealth of natural resources and seeks investment and loans to capitalize on them. China needs the commodities to keep its economy growing. Those interests have come together in an unorthodox partnership, as China lends and invests billions of dollars in countries around Latin America in return for a guaranteed flow of commodities, particularly oil.