Do I go looking for negative comments about Brazil ? You'd be forgiven for thinking so; after all, it's human nature to want to reinforce our prejudices. Perhaps if I relentlessly asked locals what they love and adore about Brazil I might get a rosy-looking picture. But I don't. Take this blog's apparent bias with a pinchful or sackful of salt. I am just one small voice. However, subjective as I am, my intention is to try to reflect, accurately and honestly, what I hear.
The other night, we had a woman friend of P's round for dinner. She brought her 16 year old daughter along, same as the last time we met a few months ago. Once again I got into a long conversation with the daughter about Brazil. Despite enjoying an affluent lifestyle, Marianna feels pessimistic about her country and its people. The overwhelming sentiment behind her words was that Brazil is dog eat dog and that behind the smiles and obrigados there is no esprit de corps, no fellow feeling. In answer to the question of why "the system" here is so dysfunctional, she said: "It's because people feel they have not been helped so why should they help you ?"
Today we went to have a chat with a woman who owns a small clothes shop just around the corner on Rua Augusta. P's parents also have a clothes shop in the small town where they live on the periphery of Sao Paulo and she hoped to get some business tips from this woman.
What we got, mostly, was a cry of rage and despair. She told us how just buying the right to rent a small shop in this town can cost up to $200,000 - that's US dollars. She was quoted $180,000 by a place in not very salubrious Bom Retiro. "My husband said, for that money you could stick it in the bank and live off the interest, never mind throwing it away on a shop !"
Once the lease has been bought, you will have to spend about 12,000 reais a month on rent, that's about £5000 or $8000. And we're talking small shops here. Hers sits on an arterial road in the middle of Sao Paulo, with endless traffic jams allowing buses and lorries to saturate the air she breathes with poison.
This woman has children living in ... can you guess ? Miami, of course. "Our former president (Lula) had no education and ended up earning millions." By contrast, her children paid 2000 reais a month (£800) to go to university and still couldn't find any jobs here paying a decent wage.
Now she is holding her breath in anticipation of the day when she can join her children in blissful exile. She is trying to sell the lease on her own shop but the only offer received so far was from a rich woman wanting to open her third franchised store for chocolate specialist Cacau Brasil. Although she had already spent 500,000 reais just to acquire the franchise, she wasn't prepared to offer more than 10,000 reais for the lease. It was on offer for the relatively bargain price of 50,000 reais.
So our friendly neighbourhood shop owner, specialising in locally-tailored clothes for the "fuller-figured lady" sits and counts the days until she can sell her shop, receive a Green Card and make her escape to the US. She hopes to sell her clothes in the new country but if not, "I'd rather sweep floors there than stay here !"
What does she think about Brazil and the country's future, I ask ? "Uma merda," she replies without missing a beat. She then expands: "Uma merda, Uma merda, Uma merda !"
Bullshit.
Bullshit, bullshit, bullshit.
PS: She also noted that areas outside the city, once considered safe, are no longer so, thanks to rising and widespread crime. P's own family can vouch for this: drug dealers and other undesirables have moved into what was once a pretty crime-free town.
No comments:
Post a Comment