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The article reports that the middle class in Brazil has grown significantly since 2002. Brazil was previously known for the wide gap between its rich and poor populations, but in 2008 the middle class rose to more than half the nation's population. People in Brazil put a high value on status symbols and spend large percentages of their income on fashion and brand name products seen on television shows.

The article focuses on the jogo do bicho numbers game in Brazil. It states the game started in 1888 as a method of increasing business for a zoo in Rio de Janeiro owned by João Batista, Baron of Drummond. It mentions jogo do bicho outlasted the closure of the zoo, prohibition, competition from competing state lotteries and hostility by churchmen. It comments on similarities between jogo do bicho and U.S. numbers rackets including buying off corrupt police and being played by the poor.