The Brazil we forget to talk about

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 6^th 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 6^th 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 6^th 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