Brazil: Contradictions and Tensions in Paradise

Brazilian politics are fascinating and frustrating. When I had dinner with my friends Andrea, Caco, Karina and Marina, we got into a heated discussion about the state of Brazilian government. Here are some things they shared with me:

-All Brazilians must vote - it's the law. If you don't vote, you are heavily fined, can't receive any government issued documents (like a passport or driver's liscence) and you can't register you or your kids for school. On one hand this is an interesting concept, but making someone vote kinda contradicts the idea of free choice. Politicians voted this into law so that the poor people were forced to vote and because they are less educated politicians can easily manipulate them.
-According to the local Brazilians I met during my trip, Brazil's political corruption makes our leaders look like choir boys. The current president, even though he was caught red-handed in a serious scandal, is up for re-election and will probably will. My friends said it was because there is not a better candidate...
-However, for many years there was a monkey for a candidate (no, not George W.). The monkey was incredibly popular and received about 500,000 or more votes each election. The monkey finally died without ever a victory:(
-Brazilia is a city in Brazil that was built for the government. All government officials and offices are there - they moved themselves out of the main city in order to be more insular and less accountable.
-The people pay 20-30% taxes but public services are minimal. Where does all the money go? Politicians pockets. In Brazil it politician = rich, and this is an accepted part of life there.

However, there are some good things happening, too - including:
-Since the fall of dictatorship in Brazil, the has been more funding for the arts and a cultural revolution.
-Small businesses are allowed an invredible tax deal - only 8%.
-Brazil used to have the third highest AIDS rate in the world. Through government efforts, there has been 0% growth of the AIDS epidemic in the past couple years.

Part of Brazil's tremendous political tension comes from economics. There are rich and there are poor, only recently has a middle class emerged (most live in Copacabana). These financial extremes create an interesting tension - check out my article on the Favellas, the Brazilian slums that will be published next week....