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The English language plays a pivotal role in the politics of language as it is currently playing itself out in Brazil. People at once like it and loathe it, in what may seem to be a most paradoxical reaction to its growing presence in the daily lives of its citizens. Closer inspection reveals, however, that the ambivalence has to do with the difficult geo-politics of the region and the contradictions it has engendered through the years. The paper discusses the political import of a controversial bill currently being debated in the upper house of Brazil's legislature. The bill seeks to curb the use of English in all but a handful of situations. Reactions from the public at large, as well as ± interestingly enough ± some professional linguists who have taken a stance on the issue, reflect the ambivalence just referred to.

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