Laws of interest to the singles traveling to Sao Paulo

Nightlife – Laws.
«Single Traveler A few laws that may be of interest to visitors who want to enjoy the nightlife in Sгo Paulo:
Prostitution.
Prostitution is not a crime in Brazil . Men and women can freely exercize prostitution.
However, the following actions are crimes: profiting from someone who exercizes prostitution; maintaining a house for the purpose of prostitution; enticing someone to exercize prostitution.
The interpretation of such crimes is up to Police Deputies, Public Prosecutors and Judges; a recent case which became famous was the arrest of the owner of Bahamas, an upscale night club in Sгo Paulo. For long, Bahamas was seen as a place where single men and women met, with the house only selling drinks and renting rooms; suddenly, Bahamas became a place which favored prostitution.
Now and then (very rarely), are there raids searching for minors and drugs.
Even more rarely, the raid ends with everyone (managers, girls and customers) going to the Police Department; usually, in such cases, everyone who is over 18 and can produce an ID is released (because, as stated above, no crime is being commited).
In the specific case of Bahamas, rumors say that the Government was trying to divert attention from a major accident in the airport of Congonhas; the owner, Oscar Maroni Fiho, of Bahamas was building another “hotel”, despite having all construction permits, was accused of being on the way of the airplanes landing in Congonhas; in an attempt to find culprits for the accident, Maroni was arrested, charged of maintaining a house for prostitution purposes.
Age of consent.
According to criminal law, the age of consent, i.e., the minimum age at which a person may maintain sexual relationships, is 14. That means two things: having intercourse with a minor of 14 is staturory rape, and just having a love affair with someone aged under 18 but over 14 is not a crime.
However, there is a Law of Protection of Children and Adolescents which declares certain conducts as crimes, such as, among several others, serving alcohol to a minor (article 81 of the Law), bringing a minor of 18 to a hotel without the authorization of the parents (article 82) or traveling with a minor without authorization (article 83); besides, there is a broader command which considered a crime any attempt against the rights of the children or adolescents (so defined as persons between ages 12 and 18).
This means that, even though falling in love with an adolescent over 14 is not a crime, having “professional” love affairs with them is seen as a serious crime.
Buying and selling alcohol is legal to anyone over the age 18. Very rarely are IDs requested. Serving alcoholic drinks to anyone under 18 is a crime (be careful who you are paying drinks to).
Alcohol is sold in supermarkets, restaurants, bars, hotels, nightclubs, etc (i.e., a establishmente doesn’t need a special permission to sell alcohol).
The most common spirit drinks found in Brazil are Pilsen beer and chope (draft beer); see this explanation about the differences between beer and chope.
The national spirit drink is caipirinha, made of cachaзa, a highly alcoholic drink made of sugar cane; caipirinha is made by adding sugar and squeezed lemon to cachaзa.
Whisky, champagne and vodka are also widely available.
1) Prices are free in Brazil. Some places charge very high premium prices for alcoholic drinks. Make sure you know how much you are paying for the drinks.
2) Drinking and driving: Brazilian transit laws are very tight. The legal limit depends on a few factors (weight of person, metabolism, etc), but transit authorities usually say that anyone drinking more than one bottle or two cans of beer, or one shot of whisky or vodka can not drive.
However, it is the duty of Police to stop people driving under influence. An honest police officer will fullfil his duty, while a corrupt police officer may ask for bribes. The best action is to avoid driving and take a taxi.
Viagra, cialis, levitra.
Brazil is one of the biggest consumers in the world of erectile disfunction drugs, and these drugs are amongst the most sold in Brazil.
According to the law, a prescription is required to buy these drugs. However, every drugstore sells these medicines over the counter, without asking any questions. There is no surcharge; most drugstores, actually, offer discounts.