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| Learning about Brazil´s History |
With the intense and vast knowledge that I’ve had the opportunity to soak in today, it is difficult to find one subject to discuss fully. The favelas, or Brazilian slums, that we toured this morning were one perfect start to a day devoted to learning about race and inequalities among the people of Rio de Janeiro. I experienced first hand the sharp physical division of daily life that occurs between the wealthy citizens of Rio and the lowest social class living a few feet up the mountain. The end of the day lecture on race relations and social structure, at our host university tied together the experience by bringing to our attention that, although Brazil has the sixth greatest economy in the world, it has one of the highest rates of inequality.
We learned about the major historical contributions that have led to the economic and social division through several posed questions. What are the major factors that have brought Brazil to this point, we asked? Professor Angela Paiva responded that slavery and the plantation way of life are a major influence. Although slavery ended in 1888, there were no public policies set to reconstruct this divided society. This meant that the “public sphere” did not integrate the former slaves, who could not read or write, but left them to build and organize their own community as well as to educate themselves within the family.
Another question asked was about the difficulty for blacks to organize social movements after the abolition of slavery. The ideology of “racial harmony” was shared by the people, no matter their economic/social position. This was an idea supported by the Catholic church indicating that there is a hierarchical order among the people that was permanent and that the individual was at fault for any hardships they encountered. This type of logic made it difficult for the country to create a united front against unfair systems. In contrast to Brazil, the U.S. experienced many violent civil rights actions which may have provided Blacks with a stronger background for advocates to take direct action.
Another question asked was about the difficulty for blacks to organize social movements after the abolition of slavery. The ideology of “racial harmony” was shared by the people, no matter their economic/social position. This was an idea supported by the Catholic church indicating that there is a hierarchical order among the people that was permanent and that the individual was at fault for any hardships they encountered. This type of logic made it difficult for the country to create a united front against unfair systems. In contrast to Brazil, the U.S. experienced many violent civil rights actions which may have provided Blacks with a stronger background for advocates to take direct action.
My favorite subject of the lecture was education; specifically the affirmative action program, as there is much debate in the US about its use. Professor Angela Paivadiscussed how the school system is set up. Most of the higher-quality schools are private and provide a better education than public schools. Those better educated private school students then go to the public, free university. This leaves the students attending public schools, most likely poor Afro-Brazilians, with no higher educational opportunities causing a cycle of unfair advantages for the better-off.
Affirmative action, which allots 25% of the public university seats to Afro-Brazilians, helps this inequality and ends the cycle. I asked if the incoming students were adequately prepared given their public school background. She conveyed that the students may struggle for the first few years, but their motivation to learn and change their lifestyle helps them catch up. We will soon be seeing the first set of graduates from that program, and I’m excited to compare and contrast the results of the programs of the US and Brazil with such different contextual backgrounds in the future.
Overall, the richness of the day will most certainly keep me thinking well into tomorrow. The possibilities of the future as well as the decisions of the past will be most interesting to reflect upon, as we continue to learn the intricacies of Brazilian culture for the next three weeks.
It is very interesting to see first hand what Larry Rohter discussed in his book "Brazil on the Rise". As you mentioned, there is several problems in Brazil that are apparent in Rio de Janeiro, such as poverty, illiteracy, sanitation and more. However, it seems like these problems are more closely associated to the poorest neighborhoods known as Favelas. From personal experience touring several Favelas, watching movies like City of God, and listening to lectures on Brazilian culture I concluded that most residents of these neighborhoods are Afro-Brazilians. Although I did see people of all races mingling as Brazilians first and interacting with each other no matter what race, I felt like Afro-Brazilians still have a tough time better themselves and lack the opportunities other Brazilians have. It also seems like certain roles are reserved for the poor with little or no opportunity for improvement. These roles include elevator attendant, door men/women, and gas pump assistant. I feel as though many Afro-Brazilians are facing what immigrants face in the US. During the class lecture, the speaker mentioned that the reason Brazilians feel there is not a race issue is because there is a sense that people know there place in society. Meaning that there is still the absence of the "American Dream", anyone and everyone can achieve what they want to achieve if they are given the opportunity. Today, the favela issue is spoken as a poverty issue, like a code of silence, to avoid making reference Afro-Brazilians. It seems like though that Brazil is moving to the right direction in trying to pacify Favelas and integrate the residents into society to give them better life but only time will tell us if these initiatives have only been implemented because Brazil will be hosting the World Cup in 2014 and the Olympics in 2016.
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