Mac Margolis, Columnist

$3.5 Million Buys African Dictator a Carnival Samba

African dictator Teodoro Obiang Nguema Mbasogo invites you to samba the night away with him at this year's Carnival in Rio -- for a price.

February 12, 2015 at 12:00 PM UTC

By Mac Margolis

Mac Margolis is a former Bloomberg Opinion columnist covering Latin and South America. He is the author of “The Last New World: The Conquest of the Amazon Frontier.”

Not exactly a clean sweep.
Photographer: Yasuyoshi Chiba/AFP/Getty Images

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Last week, the keepers of the world's biggest carnival grabbed brooms and holy water and, in a ritual as old as Brazil, anointed the parade grounds.

When the pre-Lenten merriment kicks off in Rio de Janeiro's Sambodromo this weekend, another ritual will also be on display: the scrubbing of reputations. Keep your eye on Monday night's parade, where 12-time champion samba troupe Beija Flor will sing the glories of Equatorial Guinea.