Brazil Is Primed for a Dose of Mileinomics

Across the famed Copacabana beach, amid spectacular ocean and hillside views, an odd concrete structure juts out: It’s the Museum of Image and Sound, a project that seeks to rescue the city’s rich cultural heritage. When I moved to Rio de Janeiro in late 2010, the museum’s site held signs announcing its imminent opening. Almost 15 years later, the building is still unfinished.

Welcome to Brazil, the land of never-ending projects and incredibly intricate corporate deals. While this museum’s delay may have particular reasons, the country’s reputation as one of the world’s most difficult places to do business is well earned: Just ask steelmaker Ternium SA, which has been fighting rival Cia. Siderúrgica Nacional SA in courts over an acquisition announced in 2011. Or disgraced billionaire Eike Batista, whose flamboyant collapse in 2013 is still the subject of recurrent legal demands and court rulings. The examples are as thick as the Amazon jungle.