Before I go on, I do want to say that this is my perception from where I am living. Things are different and, from what I’ve heard, much more extreme in the north. I have no experience with that so I won’t try to speculate or comment on it. If I have some readers from those areas, perhaps you can inform us in the comments section.
Maringá is filled with people who drive nice cars, wear designer tennis shoes and shop at expensive boutiques. I am constantly exposed to people on moderate incomes who spend $75 on a pair jeans, or buy expensive electronics during their business travels to the U.S.
My witnessing of these things leads to why I am completely insulted when people here treat me as though I have more money just because of my nationality. I’ve said it before, people here are a lot better off financially than what I was led to believe before our move.
On the other hand, there is extreme poverty around every corner. In our case, you have to drive out of the city a bit to see their living conditions, but it is there. These individuals can sometimes be seen bringing their trash carts through the city and collecting what the rest of us view as waste.
Watching this provokes a feeling of amazement because of their resourcefulness and sickness when I see them eating something that has been in the hot sun for hours or even days.
I saw a documentary a few months before we moved here and there was a comment made that the wealthy of Brazil are as rich as the richest of Europe and the poverty stricken are as poor as the poorest of Africa.
After being here, I truly believe that statement.
I’ve thought about this a lot and compared it to the poverty I have seen in the US. Many people like to think we don’t have poverty there, but I assure you it exists. People often don’t see it especially when they have the American Dream on their minds.
Yes, there are homeless on the city streets, but you have to delve quite a bit deeper off the beaten path in the US to see the influences of serious poverty.
I did a mission trip in high school to Appalachia. There, up in the mountains, we helped people repair and build the small shacks that they called home.
I don’t think the poverty I have witnessed in the US is as extreme as that of Brazil, but it is still there.
I haven’t really gotten a feel for how people in Brazil deal with those less fortunate. Do they donate to causes, organize efforts help?
I do know that in the US we often have the attitude that we want to save people. We want to build them houses, get them jobs so they can afford all the nice things in life we have and adopt all the children.
I'm definitely not saying that all these things are bad, but I have learned that not everyone wants to be saved. People need to be helped, but many people wouldn’t change their lives. They like things the way they are. They just need access to those necessities of life – food, shelter, healthcare.
I remember that the people we helped in Appalachia brought two sides to the table. One family was simply grateful for our help repairing their house and happy to go on living their lives. The other family had a daughter about my age at the time. She was a determined and motivated individual who was headed off to college through the help of financial aid. Something completely unheard of in the social circles they lived in. She wanted to break the cycle, get a degree and eventually a successful career.
I don’t have many more thoughts regarding poverty in Brazil because I am uneducated on the topic. I have witnessed some of it, seen shows and read articles.
What I am interested in is how locals of other socioeconomic statuses view it or if/how they try to help. In the US, I find there are many people passionate about helping and organizations to provide the help.
These are things I’d like to know more about to enhance my experience here so please share. I’m interested to know how you feel about the poverty levels of Brazil, or if you are an ex-pat, where you live versus where you are from.
12 comments:
What's always struck me about Rio is that poverty is so mixed with extreme wealth. Obviously there are nicer neighborhoods, but they're right next to the favelas, it's not as geographically separated as what I'm used to seeing in the US where there's a "good" side of town and a "bad" side of town.
I have heard/read (can't remember where, of course, but in poli sci texts) that Chile actually has greater income disparity than Brazil. It's more separated by neighborhood though, so it's harder for me to picture than the literally side-by-side comparisons that I've seen in Rio.
Thanks for the comment, Emily. I've heard a lot about that in Rio, but haven't seen it for myself. You bring up a great point. We definitely have that good and bad side in the US. I hadn't really thought of that.
Interesting about Chile.
Lori,
Our experience in Brazil was mostly in Sao Paulo and Rio.
Sao Paulo state and city has united efforts for years now to build housing for hundreds of thousands, they were mostly not from Sao Paulo, but migrants from the northern areas of Brazil, it is like they swim against the current, because the more houses they built for the poor, more migrants come from the north in search of an easier life. However this trend is changing now with Lula's government, the poor in the north are receiving money to keep their kids in school and their program is working, there should be more progress soon, as more people get educated and healthy.
I just recently read that for the first time ever the middle class in Brazil has passed the 50%, the middle class in Brazil today is close to 55% and rising fast.
Due to Lula's programs for the poor ( getting food vouchers to keep their kids in school ), the consumption of goods in the northern areas of Brazil had gone up so drastically that new factories are being built to keep up with demand for products being consumed for the first time by those poor folks...
Nestle, Colgate-Palmolive, Coca-Cola and many other companies are building factories in the north of Brazil and creating more opportunities in the area.
When we lived in Sao Paulo we encountered a number of institutions, both religious and non religious fully dedicated to helping people in need. The Brazilian middle class we were in contact with in Sao Paulo were very active in organizing "soup kitchens", clothes and blankets for people in need during the winter months, many concerts collected non perishable food to distribute to the poor, many Universities also had many events to gather food, blankets etc for the poor.
In other words, we witnessed a very active, very kind and very caring people taking care of the less privileged in Brazil.
You are right about the poverty in the US, we didn't see as much of it around New England but when we lived in St. Petersburg, Florida for a while we witnessed thousands and thousands of homeless people living under bridges and overpasses, they cling to trains from all around the US and end up in Florida where the winter is mild.
Orlando had such a big problem with beggars bothering tourists on the streets that the city recently passed a law prohibiting people to give money to homeless on the streets in an effort to encourage the poor to leave town and head somewhere else.
I think big countries such as Brazil and the US will always have a challenge to take care of the extremely poor and homeless, not that it is an impossible task.
Brazil clearly has a much bigger problem with poverty but there is hope for them, their country is clearly heading in the right direction with education and job opportunities being created in the areas that need the most.
Ray
I found that most middle-class Brazilians could care less about saving or helping the poor. In fact, they seemed appalled by them. I remember meeting a Paulista on the plane who was complaining about how movies like Cidade de Deus were ruining Brazil's image abroad by idolizing poor, black Brazilians.
I had the opportunity to visit favelas and see how these people live. Shacks with dirt floors and shacks on stilts over water. What amazed me about the Bahian people was how open, kind, and generous they were, in spite of having nothing to give but the clothes on their back. The wonderful spirit and optimism of some of the poor Brazilians I met is what struck me most.
@Ray: I dont believe this IBGE talk about 50% middle class. The reason is simple: what IBGE and Lula consider middle class, is considered POVERTY in the rest of the world. The data is right, the problem is how the government CLASSIFY the data, according to some VERY LAXED STANDARTS...
@kumichan83: its easy to help the poor people when they are a minority of the population. When they are a majority, doesnt matter what society do, nothing changes. You just feel impotent. Also, remember that the brazilian middle class ALREADY helps the poor by paying some of the highest taxes in the world. You can only as far in income distribution before it starts looking like communism.
Its not that having more charity increases the chances of your country getting richer. Its the inverse: if your country is richer, you can do more charity (specially because of the proportions of poor, middle class and rich)
That is true and can be seen by the fact that first world people, while at first being mesmerized by poverty and how middle class ignores it, end up ACTING THE SAME, when they stay enough time in a third world country.
Besides, Brazil is a third world country, but Earth is a third world planet. The way middle class brazilians deal with poverty is not much different than, on a macro level, rich countries deal with poor countries.
ray - Thanks for the interesting information. I appreciate you filling me in a little more.
kumichan - Thanks for sharing your experiences. The differences are really interesting. The talk about idolizing the 'poor, black Brazilians' goes back to that cultural/ethnic insensitivity like what you mentioned on your group post. I'd be interested to hear your comparisons between Brazil and Ecuador.
aces - Thanks for your input. Interesting about the definition of middle class.
I always feel conflicted in the way that I personally deal with those who have less than me. I tend not to give money to beggars and try to donate to my church and other organizations. I lived in a favela in Rio during my fieldwork and inside favelas, there is a variety of incomes. Some people have several TVs, a car, internet, DVD´s and designer clothes and some people do not even have a bathroom. It is hard to lump all favela dwellers into one "poor" category, especially since the existence of favelas has a lot more to do with housing markets and land tenure than only poverty. I think that for the middle and upper class Brazilians (at least in my own experience), it is also hard to generalize. There are Brazilians who avoid the poor like the plague and have very classists attitudes, but there are also many who help in many ways. Bolsa Familia and other programs have helped the poor, moving many more of them out of extreme poverty. That said, the middle class still bears most of the burdn in Brazil, especially the tax burden. One of the things that I noticed while living in the favela is who took advange of programs (especially NGO programs like computer training or sportsand such). It was always to better-off favela residents, mainly because a kid needs a minimum of family structure to have someone take him or her to the program and pick him or her up. The street kids were not part of these programs, which so many of them were designed to reach. But then I always asked myself, maybe it is not a bad thing that those who are a little better off in the favela are taking advantage of the programs, given that these are the ones with a little bit of help, will finish their education, go on to college and as you say Lori "break the cycle". Perhaps that is the best one can hope for.
Thanks for your input, corinne. I find your experiences so interesting. Do you have some published articles based on your work that are accessible via web? I'd love to read about your research and findings.
Kumichan83,
That was just our "my family's" experience living in Sao Paulo.
Brazil is a huge country and I am sure people have the most extreme experiences.
Corine,
Your experiences with Brazil sound amazing.
Bolsa Familia is the government project that is actually driving up the demand for goods in the north of Brazil. This is the reason for so many new factories and business moving into the northern region of the country.
Thanks for sharing.
Ray
Ray I agree. Brazil is huge and each person that goes there has a distinct experience I am sure. I was in Salvador and most of the people I hung out with were poor because I played capoeira. I saw things from a different light. Salvador is also a lot less developed than Sao Paulo and Rio.
I am sorry for generalizing. I can't help but form a view though based on my personal experiences. I am sure I am totally wrong, based on what I have read from these comments. But of course there are always going to be classists/racists no matter where you go.
Hi Lori, an interesting blog you have - i have only just come across today, so i know i am a bit late in leaving my comments about this topic :)
I am a supporter of the Bolsa Escola, which was the predecessor to the Bolsa Familia. Bolsa Escola offered benefits to poor families in return for them maintaining their children in school, thus leading better educated adults in the future. the conditions of this program were well enforced.
the Bolsa Familia, has shown positive effects expressed in terms of nutrition, short term growth i tthe economy via the new demand for commodities in poor regions, and a supposed reduction in child labour. however, the majority of the money recieved by these families is spent on food.... the government hands out money for people to buy food. Long term, this does not generate wealth for the country. it just solves a short term problem. giving a person a fish will feed a person for a day, but teaching them to fish will feed them for a lifetime. And in the case of the Bolsa Familia, each family recieves a stippend according to how many children they have - more children equals more money, thus the government is indirectly discouraging parents from working and generating their own wealth (money for nothing), and indirectly encouraging couples to have more children than they can maintain independently.
This is not to say that i think the poor should be abandoned, i just think that the money handed out in the bolsa familia could be better invested in the poor, via education programs and health programs, and investment in community initiatives.
Victoria - Thanks so much for your comment and the very interesting information. I appreciate it.
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