It surprises me that you met an illiterate driver, maybe in the 80s/90s. But literacy rates in Brazil are around 99% nowadays and taxi drivers, specially in São

It surprises me that you met an illiterate driver, maybe in the 80s/90s. But literacy rates in Brazil are around 99% nowadays and taxi drivers, specially in São Paulo would know how to read and write. However, speaking English is not that common in Brazil. It's a big country and far away from the US and Europe. The neighbouring countries all speak spanish, which is mutually ineligible with Portuguese. So, there's little pressure for people to actually learn English, unless they want to study/work abroad.