Some businesses can be found nestling close to Brazilian multinationals, in the way that growing companies cosy up to American universities.

Outsiders might treat him with more respect if he threatened to legalise cocaine or cosy up to Hugo Chávez, Venezuela's oil-rich anti-American leader.

Unfortunately, the result has not been competition to beat down prices and boost speeds, but cosy duopolies that keep bandwidth scarce and carve the market up between incumbents.