What Keeps Brazil Back

Originally posted on IgneousQuill.org, 6 December 2010.

---

The few years I lived in Brazil were both wonderful and frustrating. Wonderful because of the people I was with and the experiences we shared, frustrating because of the systemic problems that put a drag on the ability of people to get ahead in life.  By the time I left Brazil and began my exile of sorts here in the United States I had distilled my explanation of Brazil's systemic failure down to three points: centralism, collectivism and positivism.  Despite Brazil being one of the "BRIC" nations and considered an emerging economy, this nation has a lot of reform to do before its true potential can be released. And by "reform" I mean "simplication."

First, there's centralism. The entire tax structure of Brazil is centralized. It's actually called a "tribute system," and municipal and state taxes are collected and funneled to the national capital, Brasilia. Control of so much money concentrated in one place assures that there will me massive corruption. The Brazilian federal government is unarguably too big, with far too many employees on the payroll.  Most of these keep their full pay and benefits after retirement. It has been argued that such a tribute system is necessary to sustain the poorer states, and that Rio and Sao Paulo serve as the "economic engines" of the country. I say, drop the excessive and unnecessary rules and you'll see people in those poorer states put their creativity to good work.

Second, collectivism is a key part of the tangled mess that is Brazil. There is a mentality present in Brazil that's what's mine is mine, and what's yours is mine too. The government, on all levels, is too quick to tax and regulate, and citizens are too accepting of "benefits" that came at the expense of others (through taxation and fees). If you own a car in Brazil, expect a massive chunk of your annual income to go towards paying taxes for the privilege of owning it. If you run a business, or even a church, expect to pay not only property taxes (some few of these can be exempted for non-profit religious organizations and others) but also a fee for having any type of signage on the building. Brazilian phone bills have not only taxes, but also taxes on the taxes!  People gripe about how much the government takes, but no one would dare suggest the government should lay off large portions of its overall staff and reorganize for greater efficiency. And, again, everyone's more than happy to take the government's hand-outs and sub-standard "free" health care.

Third, there's positivism. You've likely never heard of this one, and it doesn't involve being optimistic. It's a philosophical perspective that idealizes having an elite rank of technocrats micromanaging the country for the greater good of all. According to some accounts it's the source of "Ordem e Progresso" (Order and Progress) on the nation's flag, and almost certainly it supports the overactive national legislature's "work." The nation's Constitution is amended on a regular basis, and almost all legal codes are federal...even the traffic code (as though road conditions in rural Amazonia were anything like downtown Sao Paulo). This characteristic, combined at times with centralism, is sometimes also described as "paternalism." People end up continuously looking to the government for solutions, thereby further empowering an already overbearing power structure.

The people I knew and spent time with in Brazil, and most of the Brazilian immigrants I've met in the United States, are hard-working, incredibly creative people. No strangers to hard times, I've seen mothers of families spend a little change on a few ingredients and go door-to-door selling chocolate-covered strawberries, making extra cash to pay a bill or buy groceries.  In downtown Uberlandia I often saw a man set up on a street corner, fixing umbrellas (we Americans just throw them away and buy new ones). Don't tell me the Brazilian people lack creativity and drive. What hold them back, for the most part, is the system that promises them everything and yet works against them.

It may seem strange to some that have heard about Brazil's "booming" economy that I'm aiming to move back to Brazil to work with poor and at-risk youth, teaching them useful tech skills while also working with the community to improve conditions. If Brazil's doing so well, why bother? Simply put, for all the reasons I gave above. As Brazil rises internationally, many hundreds of thousands remain in poverty, not for lack of ambition, but for lack of access and opportunity. Though I can't help thousands, perhaps over the course of time something can be done for hundreds.

There are a couple articles I find interesting and helpful for understanding Brazil. One, dealing with positivism, is The Ghost That Haunts Brazil. Though published in 2002 (ancient by Internet standards) it shed a lot of light on the situation for me during my first sojourn in Brazil, and still stands an accurate explanation. The other is far more recent, entitled The Brazilian Model. Here's one gem from this latter article: "Yet Brazil suffers from two huge blocks to growth: red tape and gaping inequality. For all its recent commitment to liberalisation the Brazilian government is still a rule-spewing, incumbent-protecting monster."

Brazil faces major challenges, and I by no means can solve even a fraction of them. If I can help at least a few lead better lives and bootstrap themselves out of poverty, that will be success for me. If God will work through me and others to transform a community, that would be a life well-lived.