Belo Horizonte. I was fortunate enough to meet with Aecio Neves, Governor of Minas Gerais . Aecio is an extremely popular governor (he was reelected in 2006 with 77% of the vote) and is a likely 2010 presidential candidate. Both his grandfather, Tancredo Neves, and his predecessor as governor, Itamar Franco, achieved Brazil’s highest office.
During our brief encounter I was able to explain to him our mission at Casa Brasil: to find the best coffees Brasil has to offer and to develop the market for these fine coffees in the United States. We talked about the American coffee market and on my travels here in Brazil. Though I am admittedly ignorant on Brazilian politics, through his words and his actions (like working to develop the 3 Centers of Excellence, creating Fest Cafe) it seems like some positive steps are being taken towards tge development of increased quality and promotion of this quality.
