Brazil in 60 Minutes

(Wrote the text below because I am an eyewitness, after living over 25 years in São Paulo and travelling throughout the country, that injustice is not an exception but a rule in the Brazilian society and because I do not agree with politicians and economists who claim that we, the civil society, first need to accumulate capital and then work towards social cooperation to overcome daunting public challenges)

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=co1cwVXhHQc&feature=player_embedded

An American friend sent me today the link above and affirmed that after watching this video I would be proud of being Brazilian.

Indeed, I got really happy to see that my country has created many jobs and attracted billions of dollars to the economy over the last decade.

However, I wonder what positions have been opened, if the poorest are living better, if this international propaganda of economic growth derives from comprehensive public policies and legal enforcement.

Honestly, I am cynical about Brazil’s future. Injustice is everywhere.
To illustrate, I share three short stories I have read recently on Brazil’s largest online newspaper.

Marco Paulo dos Santos, an intern at the Superior Court of Justice, was fired by the head of this court, Ari Pargendler. The reason for being publicly humiliated was not following Pargendler's orders to keep distance while he was withdrawing money from ATM. Santos, a Black undergraduate law student, was standing in line like any other person waiting for his turn. Pargendler, Caucasian, is still ahead of the Superior Court.

Edson Néris da Silva was beat up to death by a group of young people downtown São Paulo. For these self-proclaimed Neo-Nazi adolescents, the crime of Edson was justified because he walked hand in hand with his male partner. The police arrested 20 suspects, two of them women, but all are free and back to the streets.

José Jesus da Silva is an Indian Pataxó shot dead in the back few months ago. His friends stated that this ambush was caused by a dispute over land against landowners. Pataxó Indians have outspoken that they have been waiting for 28 years to the Supreme Court invalidate irregular titles assigned to farmers. 23 Indians have died so far and none of the farmers as a result of this dispute.

What Marco, Edson, and José share in common is that they do not belong to Brazil’s mainstream social class. They are part of the minority and their voices are rarely heard by those in power. As Brazilian leaders historically and systematically turn blind eyes to obvious cases of the violation of justice, this continental country will continue fighting against the burdens of deep social inequality and being considered a rising star only for the few fortunate rich prisoners living behind high electric fences.