This sixth issue is special in that it is published in anticipation of the International Bar Association’s Latin American Regional Forum in Mexico City and includes a diverse range of articles reflective of this region. A piece on the Oi restructuring shows the continuing importance of bankruptcy law in Brazil—and the complexity and depth that cases like Oi have produced.

Wishing you a happy and healthy New Year, we are glad to share with you the fifth issue of the Emerging Markets Restructuring Journal, a publication that was founded by Cleary Gottlieb lawyers and features contributions from colleagues and advisors around the world, focusing on emerging markets restructuring law and practice. Click here for more.

The Emerging Markets Restructuring Journal, founded by Cleary Gottlieb lawyers and featuring contributions from colleagues and advisors around the world, focuses on emerging markets restructuring law and practice. The publication aims to gather cutting-edge research while developing analyses of new laws and their practical applications from emerging markets across the globe.

LATIN AMERICA UPDATE: A Primer on the Brazilian Bankruptcy and Restructuring Law (citation: Christopher A. Jarvinen and Luiz Fernando Valente de Paiva, A Primer on the Brazilian Bankruptcy and Restructuring Law, XXXIII ABI Journal 6, 36-37, 107, June 2014) - Christopher A. Jarvinen and Luiz Fernando Valente de Paiva

As Fernanda Castro waits in line to pay for a new blender at a store in a Sao Paulo shantytown, the hairdresser recounts horror stories of friends who fell into debt and struggled to get out, Reuters reported. "I don't want that to happen to me," she said. "I avoid using the credit card now. I'm afraid of it." After a spending spree in recent years, Brazilian consumers are acquiring more conservative habits.

Insolvency practice is not a regulated profession in Brazil. This position is usually occupied by lawyers, economists or accountants who, sometimes, have a degree of specialisation in this area. A judicial administrator, appointed by the court, is responsible for managing the bankrupt estate (in bankruptcy proceedings) or overseeing the reorganisation process (in restructuring proceedings). The judicial administrator is a preferably a lawyer, an accountant, an economist, a business manager or a specialised company.

It has been almost 50 years since Astrud Gilberto and Stan Getz recorded the bossa-nova hit “The Girl from Ipanema”. Much has changed in Brazil since they sang of the tanned Rio de Janeiro beauty: “When she walks, she’s like a samba.” The song has become elevator music and the young girl from Rio’s most famous beach district is now a grandmother. But not all the loveliness has faded. In some ways, those wistful days have returned.