In this interesting conversation with former Brazilian President Fernando Henrique Cardoso (March 2006, hat tip: P), the man who did most in recent times to improve Brazil's economy touches on the two faces of Brazil: a commitment to ideas and hard work, open to the world, seriousness of purpose; versus a certain 'clownishness" and "frivolity" which at times appears to make the country "ungovernable".
Cardoso says, only half-jokingly, that putting on a carnival parade requires a lot of organisation and co-ordination, and is not to be underestimated. But this side of Brazil is constantly undermined by the homem cordial (cordial man): a freewheeling "informality" which does not respect the rule of law. It's much better to have clearer laws and clearer boundaries in society, he says, and the key to everything is education.
Are the demonstrators in Brazil today "just having fun", as some of their compatriots complain ? My son's relatives - humble, working-class Brazilians struggling to make a living on a daily basis - have been financially affected by the demonstrations. People like this have been hit in the pocket because they can't go about their normal business. So on top of all the other obstacles in Brazilian daily life, they now lose out again.
Those in Brazil who are "demonstrating" and who maybe can afford to have some "serious fun" should ask themselves if this "carnival" will be any different from all the other political "carnivals" that have gone before it. The "fun" of protest needs to lead to the seriousness of deep-rooted change, just as surely as the (lack of) transport infrastructure (still) requires enormous deep-rooted change to get the country moving and competitive. Words just never seem to lead to meaningful, sustained action in Brazil.
Regarding the reader comment on my previous blog entry, in which I berate people like Michael Palin for perpetuating harmful myths about Brazilians: I take the point that stereotypes and simplifications are part and parcel of today's global tourism industry. But Palin also wrote newspaper articles and gave broadcast interviews to plug his series; his kind of tourism is meant to be a cut above the tacky holiday brigade. He sees himself as a bit of an anthropologist, giving his viewers and readers a more intelligent picture of his exotic destinations. And he made sure to tell us just how many months he had spent in Brazil, supposedly absorbing the "real" Brazil.
I have just come across an article, The Cordial Brazilian by William Waack, published in 2011, which seems to punch even harder than my comments on this very subject, ie Brazilians believing their own hype. I suppose he is writing as an American-Brazilian. Here are a few key extracts:
"Brazilians themselves seem to be living in an illusion: the illusion of the “cordial Brazilian.” This is an illusion that we nevertheless manage to export, and when this illusion is shown back to us, we immediately recognize it as our own. The problem is, it does not really describe Brazilians well at all.
"It took me many years to realize that the perceived friendliness and sympathy of Brazilians were liabilities as often as they were assets. For example, Brazilian society seems to be anesthetized to violent crime. Recently, when a psychopath invaded a school in Rio and murdered 12 children, the typical reaction was that this was very strange and rare. But of course such a dramatic mass murder is bound to be strange and rare anywhere. The Brazilian President perfectly summed up the public reaction when she said, “This type of crime isn’t characteristic of our society.” That was a clear allusion to the United States: That place, not Brazil, is where people carry guns, invade schools and shoot innocents.
"He discovered that other countries have real, serious interests; that the world is a complicated and cold place; and that charm is no substitute for policy that is thought through and aligned with Brazil’s national interests."
"Here again I think the real source of our problem is illusion. Brazilians like to think of themselves as not very materialistic ... prefer leisure to working hard and saving to build for the future ... no sense of urgency with respect to any of our major challenges, whether health care, education, tax or political reform, low investment rates, public sector inefficiency and more."
"... our society still looks to the state, begging it for direction and solutions to all our problems ... Whoever wrote in the Brazilian national anthem that “we lie eternally in a splendid cradle”—Deitado eternamente em berço esplêndido—really captured the national mentality to a tee."
"... most Brazilians did not really “get” the meaning of the fall of the Berlin Wall. They saw a terrific party going on in the streets, people whooping it up and obviously overcome with joy, but generally our society doesn’t grasp the meaning of a radical change of eras." [And that doesn't bode well for the latest demonstrations !]
"Brazilian “nationalism” is in a sense impoverished. We are proud of what is ephemeral, of what happens to us rather than what happens because of us."
"Most of my countrymen today expect Brazil to become the first “soft” superpower in history, able to have its way and make its peaceful waves in history just because Brazilians are so nice, so friendly, so cordial, so sincere. What are we going to do when we learn that it is not so?"
Cardoso says, only half-jokingly, that putting on a carnival parade requires a lot of organisation and co-ordination, and is not to be underestimated. But this side of Brazil is constantly undermined by the homem cordial (cordial man): a freewheeling "informality" which does not respect the rule of law. It's much better to have clearer laws and clearer boundaries in society, he says, and the key to everything is education.
Are the demonstrators in Brazil today "just having fun", as some of their compatriots complain ? My son's relatives - humble, working-class Brazilians struggling to make a living on a daily basis - have been financially affected by the demonstrations. People like this have been hit in the pocket because they can't go about their normal business. So on top of all the other obstacles in Brazilian daily life, they now lose out again.
Those in Brazil who are "demonstrating" and who maybe can afford to have some "serious fun" should ask themselves if this "carnival" will be any different from all the other political "carnivals" that have gone before it. The "fun" of protest needs to lead to the seriousness of deep-rooted change, just as surely as the (lack of) transport infrastructure (still) requires enormous deep-rooted change to get the country moving and competitive. Words just never seem to lead to meaningful, sustained action in Brazil.
Regarding the reader comment on my previous blog entry, in which I berate people like Michael Palin for perpetuating harmful myths about Brazilians: I take the point that stereotypes and simplifications are part and parcel of today's global tourism industry. But Palin also wrote newspaper articles and gave broadcast interviews to plug his series; his kind of tourism is meant to be a cut above the tacky holiday brigade. He sees himself as a bit of an anthropologist, giving his viewers and readers a more intelligent picture of his exotic destinations. And he made sure to tell us just how many months he had spent in Brazil, supposedly absorbing the "real" Brazil.
I have just come across an article, The Cordial Brazilian by William Waack, published in 2011, which seems to punch even harder than my comments on this very subject, ie Brazilians believing their own hype. I suppose he is writing as an American-Brazilian. Here are a few key extracts:
"Brazilians themselves seem to be living in an illusion: the illusion of the “cordial Brazilian.” This is an illusion that we nevertheless manage to export, and when this illusion is shown back to us, we immediately recognize it as our own. The problem is, it does not really describe Brazilians well at all.
"It took me many years to realize that the perceived friendliness and sympathy of Brazilians were liabilities as often as they were assets. For example, Brazilian society seems to be anesthetized to violent crime. Recently, when a psychopath invaded a school in Rio and murdered 12 children, the typical reaction was that this was very strange and rare. But of course such a dramatic mass murder is bound to be strange and rare anywhere. The Brazilian President perfectly summed up the public reaction when she said, “This type of crime isn’t characteristic of our society.” That was a clear allusion to the United States: That place, not Brazil, is where people carry guns, invade schools and shoot innocents.
"Yes, in this regard there is a fundamental difference between Brazil and the United States. In the United States the murder rate is around six per 100,000; in Brazil, it is 26 per 100,000. Violence has become part of our daily routine in a fashion that is nearly unimaginable in most other societies. In Brazil we live with this reality, but it is still beyond our imagination. The illusion of the cordial Brazilian renders such a reality impossible, and so it thereby does not exist. And what does not exist one need do nothing about. As with violent crime, so with race relations, so with political corruption, so with our regressive tax system, and so on."
The author of this very perceptive article goes on to talk about former President Lula's fatal flaws, thanks to "Brazilian cordiality", concluding:
"He discovered that other countries have real, serious interests; that the world is a complicated and cold place; and that charm is no substitute for policy that is thought through and aligned with Brazil’s national interests."
Waack then touches on all my own earlier concerns regarding the reckless credit boom in Brazil and how it will lead to trouble unless underlying structural changes are made (they weren't and it did !), concluding:
"Here again I think the real source of our problem is illusion. Brazilians like to think of themselves as not very materialistic ... prefer leisure to working hard and saving to build for the future ... no sense of urgency with respect to any of our major challenges, whether health care, education, tax or political reform, low investment rates, public sector inefficiency and more."
"... our society still looks to the state, begging it for direction and solutions to all our problems ... Whoever wrote in the Brazilian national anthem that “we lie eternally in a splendid cradle”—Deitado eternamente em berço esplêndido—really captured the national mentality to a tee."
"... most Brazilians did not really “get” the meaning of the fall of the Berlin Wall. They saw a terrific party going on in the streets, people whooping it up and obviously overcome with joy, but generally our society doesn’t grasp the meaning of a radical change of eras." [And that doesn't bode well for the latest demonstrations !]
"Brazilian “nationalism” is in a sense impoverished. We are proud of what is ephemeral, of what happens to us rather than what happens because of us."
Waack concludes his article (written in 2011, remember):
"Most of my countrymen today expect Brazil to become the first “soft” superpower in history, able to have its way and make its peaceful waves in history just because Brazilians are so nice, so friendly, so cordial, so sincere. What are we going to do when we learn that it is not so?"
Amen. What are you going to DO, Brazil ? Because it's no longer enough just to "be" Brazilian and, truth be told, it never was.
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