Don - You've changed my mind about this. I think you have it right, in all its particulars. I may not be as hopeful as you are, but for any of the candidates who may be listening, here's my two cents on how to perhaps increase the chances of the hoped-for outcome:
Part of the pitch (i.e. that accompanies the design) should acknowledge a) Brazil's status as an economic powerhouse (more than 50% of all South America's GDP) and global player, i.e. with the other BRIC countries of Russia, India and China, it accounts for (I forget the percentages but) a significant portion of the world's land mass and population and economic output, as well as an enormous and growing middle class -- in short, "what happens in Brazil will influence the future of golf development world-wide"; and b) that President Dilma Rousseff is doing an admirable job of continuing and enhancing the policies and programmes of her much-loved predecessor, President "Lulu", in raising the standard of living for the poor and low income earners while sustaining growth throughout the whole economy and its various sectors -- in short, "Brazil is clearly committed to raising of quality of life and opportunities for all its citizens".
What I'm suggesting is that, in order to counter the upward pressure on costs that Don mentions, an architect who wishes to pitch a less expensive to build and maintain course needs to remind Brazilian decision-makers of what they're "supposed to" believe, i.e. of the face that Brazil wants to show the world, of the message about itself and to itself that it wants to share with its global partners.
Might be misguided, but I guess it couldn't hurt.
Peter