The
Brazil that has been depicted in the news, magazines, journals, universities talks
and so on is a successful and prosperous country, which economy has recently
reached the admirable 6th position. It is so convincing that even I
believe this is entirely true sometimes. Of course, it is absolutely true that
this country has gauged important steps towards economic and political
advancement in the last few decades and it is also true that against facts
there are no arguments. Indeed, our GDP is the sixth largest in the world and
the numbers prove that. My point here is to raise a clear awareness that
economic growth, by no means, reflects adequate economic or social development.
Brazil is far from what a 6th largest economy should be in terms of
a lot of things and I dare to say that it may take centuries to get there.
Among a set of reasons I could go on and on here, I would mention two in particular
to illustrate why it is so difficult to achieve a reasonable position among developed
countries. One is connected to the cultural issue since it is noticeable in a daily basis
that a vast percentage of my fellow countrymen do not make any effort to
leverage themselves from the human bestiality they live in, such as preferring
to spend the entire weekends talking out loud in bars, performing vulgar dancing, drinking beers and listening to what they call music, instead
of spending quality time with their families or diverting this precious time
and money to more important things in life, like education. Another very
important reason is the lack of governmental good will in providing basic needs
such as education, public security, health and basic infrastructure. Our
political body and structure are amongst the most expensive in the world,
corruption is endemic (or should I say epidemic?) while the minimum wage is
merely U$361.00 (today’s exchange rate).
First
of all, I would like to start by saying that Brazil, in spite of many beliefs,
is not simply reduced to Rio de Janeiro, São Paulo, samba, carnival, hot women
and Petrobras. There is a huge nation out there that is seldom mentioned in the
news. Secondly, I would like to say to those who are going to react to my words
by saying that they know Brazil very well and that I am overreacting in face to
one or two isolated situation, that they may only know the best Brazil can
offer. I do know the good things as well, but I certainly know the worst of
Brazil and I verbalize this with 35 years of experience behind me.
I am
going to make a long story short by mentioning just two examples of the Brazil
that went wrong and persists in going wrong. All I am going to say is based on the
experiences around me and not on an article I’ve read or on a story someone
told me:
i) A person I know, who doesn’t have health
insurance, suddenly started feeling terrible headaches that was increasingly
getting worse and worse. After a few days and a lot of painkillers that proved useless
in face to the intolerable pain, she went to a public hospital where she was
told her case was not an emergency so she had to come back home and try help in
any public health unit. Even after explaining that she could barely be standing
and had even passed out due to the strong pain (which is true), they said there
was no way for her to be treated in the hospital. She, then, peregrinated to
different public health units until she found one in which she could finally
see a doctor. The doctor said her case was indeed one for public hospital
treatment, a place in which she could do specific exams and get a precise
diagnosis since it didn’t look like a normal headache (public health units are
very small and do not have sophisticated exam equipment). The doctor told her that the hospital should
have accepted her as a patient and she should return there. She returned to the
hospital and once again was told that it was not a “case” for the hospital and
she had to insist in getting treatment through other means. She continued
feeling horrible headaches to the point she could not work anymore and since
she is an informal worker, she only gets any income whenever she works. She had
no more money for food, medicines or even to pay for her transportation back
and forth hospitals. She gave up on emergency and insistently tried to set up a
regular appointment with a Neurologist through the SUS (Sistema Único de
Saúde), the public health system in Brazil The surprise: no doctor appointment
was available for the next few months. There was no opening available. She, then, had to continue feeling deadly
pain until forever, unless someone paid for a private doctor appointment and
for her exams, which is exactly what happened and she finally got a clear
diagnosis. If she took longer, she might have died, the doctor said.
Another person I know was
under strong pain on her foot due to an open wound (erysipelas) and she also suffered
for several months trying to see a doctor at a public hospital or clinics. She
could not see any doctor for the same reason (no opening available) and she
lost account of how many nights she spent awake due to strong and persistent pain.
As a result, she spent around 5 months until she could see a doctor and get medicines
prescribed for her problem.
ii) Changing subject to the second point I intend to make here, these days I have been in
deep consternation to what is happening in the city I live in. The police are
on strike and the situation signals how barbarian people can be. My feeling is
that a greater part of the population does not have any ability to be civilized
by their own will, requiring a superior force in order to make a “livable”
place possible. If the law enforcement institution is not there for some reason
(either because it is on strike or because it is incompetent), they are ready
to make the whole environment looks like a savage jungle filled with wild
animals. Here is what we have been witnessing around these days: a group of
looters comprised mostly by young boys and men causing panic in the entire
society, especially in the biggest cities of the state, through what they call
here “arrastão”, a violent surge in which they operate in groups so they can easily
intimidate whoever is on their way. Business owners are – perhaps – the main
focus of these groups. Stores are plundered and looters take whatever they can with
them: beers, jewelry, food, clothes, electronics, appliances and the list goes
on (a refrigerator was seen in looters’ hands early this week). Even stores,
which owners preferred not to open in an attempt to avoid violence and prevent
violation, have been affected since rioters break doors down and take whatever
is inside (sometimes even setting them on fire). Murder records went up already and the most striking part is that
some police officers are involved in the mess. It has been reported that a few hooded police men are often seen in the streets vandalizing and
creating fear as well, such as the news about an attack to several public
bus perpetrated by them. Some homeless murders are also been associated to them
(which was not confirmed, though). Companies are closed, people are afraid to leave their
homes (today I was expecting a drugstore delivery and I’ve just got a call from
them to let me know it could not be done due to the situation in the streets)… Sometimes I feel like I am living under a civil war.
As I
said before, I could go on and on with several issues of this Brazil that went and
is still going wrong (don’t even get me started with the education situation),
but I don’t want to make this too long. For those who love this country, I have
no intention to make you feel otherwise. I just think everybody must also understand
that Brazil has a long way to go in order to respect the 6th
position it has just attained in the global economic scenario and to reinforce the
fact that economic growth is a key component in bringing economic and social
development to a nation, but not the only one.
Best
Gildete
Lima
