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Brazilian Street Art Reveals Injustice, Calls for Change

Street art can be one of the strongest forms of protest. It has the power to reveal complex issues on any urban surface. It is not afraid to look at themes that are far from beautiful. It touches at the ugly and the unjust. It is omnipresent, shouting its message at passersby as they rush through the streets.

The graceless, ungainly entrance of FIFA’s 2014 World Cup and the 2016 Olympics into the daily fabric of impoverished Brazilians’ lives has projected, on an international scale, the deep-rooted inequalities ailing the giant South American nation. In this climate, several street artists’ images have emerged as honest, indignant reflections of the reality faced by the poorest Brazilians.

Paulo Ito

Paulo Ito’s wailing child with only a soccer ball to eat has quickly gone viral as an anti-FIFA icon since May 10, when the artist painted the image on the doors of a São Paulo schoolhouse. Ito consciously created the work in the Pompeia district, which is mostly a middle class area. In an interview with Slate, Ito discussed the thought that must go into the placement of street art. He initially wanted to create the mural outside of the Itaquerão Stadium that will hold 70,000 soccer fans at the World Cup opener in the second week of June. Yet Ito decided it is best to avoid placing charged images in poverty-stricken areas where people are already so intimately familiar with the reality he seeks to express in his art.

Ito’s piece critiques the state of Brazilian society. Funding for health care, public transportation and education have been crowded out by the billions of dollars the government in Brasilia is pouring into the two mega sporting events. An increase in transportation fares last year was met by massive protests throughout the country’s subways and bus stations. Many Brazilians are furious.

Ito, when asked about his painting, explained “people already have the feeling and that image condensed this feeling…The truth is there is so much wrong in Brazil that it is difficult to know where to start. I didn’t mean [to say] nobody is doing anything against poverty. But we need to show the world or ourselves that the situation is still not good.”

Haas&Hahn

Jeroen Koolhaas and Dre Urhahn (Haas&Hahn) of the Netherlands have been working on their Favela Painting project for close to 10 years. Their goal is to paint an entire favela in Rio de Janeiro in order to shift the discussion of Brazilian favelas from perceptions of danger, crime and poverty, to a discovery of vibrancy, culture and beauty.

The project’s focus, according to the organization’s website, is ”mobilizing people to transform their own communities into social art works of monumental size, to beautify and inspire, combat prejudice and attract positive attention, while offering opportunity and economic stimulus.”

Haas&Hahn began on-the-ground work on the massive project in early 2014. Their plan is to train and hire locals to help with the community project, make repairs to buildings in the favela and develop a local paint factory that will create even more jobs in a sustainable way.

From Paulo Ito to Haas&Hahn, artists are putting street art to good work in Brazil. Through their images they are bluntly pointing out the injustices plaguing Brazilian society and creatively seeking to make Brazil a better, brighter place.

– Kayla Strickland

Sources: Favela Painting, Policy Mic, Slate
Photo: The Slate

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Carolina Maria de Jesus: Life in Favelas

The book begins: “July 15, 1955. The birthday of my daughter Vera Eunice. I wanted to buy a pair of shoes for her, but the price of food keeps us from realizing our desires. Actually we are slaves to the cost of living.”

Carolina Maria de Jesus’s diaries were edited into a book called “Room of Garbage” (1960), which quickly became one of the most successful books in Brazilian publishing history. In Sao Paulo, 10,000 copies of the book sold out in the first three days and it has since been translated into 13 different languages, becoming an international bestseller. Despite her success, within a few years she would return to living in the favelas and would later die in poverty.

Carolina was born in 1914 to a single mother in Minas Gerais. After attending primary school for two years, she was forced to drop out. She wrote her diary entries while living in the favelas (slums) of Sao Paulo with her three illegitimate children.

After World War II, the number of favelas exploded in major cities such as Rio de Janeiro and Sao Paulo due to mass migrations. Favelas were located on the unwanted lands left behind by urban development, often in the hills surrounding the cities.

A self-confident woman, Carolina refused to conform to social standards. She never married, and she expressed herself aggressively with sometimes racist views. Her diary entries describe her struggle to rise above poverty, living as one of the “discarded” and marginalized.

She collected paper, bottles and cans for coins, held various odds and ends jobs and scavenged in garbage bins for food to feed her children. Her stories, poems and diary entries deal with themes of poverty, loneliness, hopelessness and death. She writes of the racial injustice and discrimination heaped onto the poor and the blacks in the favelas.

She writes about political events and politicians with their empty promises to the urban poor, arguing, “Brazil needs to be led by a person who has known hunger. Hunger is also a teacher. Who has gone hungry learns to think of the future and of the children.” Many readers and critics were surprised that an uneducated black woman from the slums could eloquently write about politics, racism and gender discrimination.

In 1958, Audalio Dantas, a reporter for Diario da Noite, heard Carolina yell at a group of men on a playground, “If you continue mistreating these children, I’m going to put all of your names in my book!” Dantas convinced her to show him her writings and took them to his editor.

Although her book would reach international acclaim, many Brazilians criticized and ostracized her for her refusal to conform to social norms. Today, most Brazilians do not acknowledge her impact, only recognizing her as that “slum dweller who cracked up.” Why is Carolina Maria de Jesus important if her country refuses to remember her?

Her stories humanize poverty and hunger, bringing attention to the human lives behind facts and figures. She describes the pain of hearing her children ask for more food because they are still hungry. She writes about watching restaurants spill acid in the trashcans to prevent looting by the poor. In the favela, she had the “impression she was a useless object destined to be forever in a garbage dump.”

A quick search on the Internet can show you numbers and statistics about the millions of people living below the poverty line in the world, but Carolina’s words showed people “the meaning and the feeling of hunger, degradation and want.” To overcome global poverty and move forward with understanding and empathy, Carolina’s stories and the countless stories of others must not be forgotten.

– Sarah Yan

Sources: Latin American Studies, The Life and Death of Carolina Maria de Jesus, Notable 20th Century Latin American Women
Photo: Omenelick 2 Ato

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Bolsa Familia in Brazil

Brazil has created an anti-poverty program, Bolsa Familia “Family Grant,” which gives cash money to mostly women. Since its implementation in 2003, around 11 million families, a quarter of Brazil’s population, have joined the Bolsa Familia program. This program is the largest of its kind and is based on a conditional cash transfer.

If a family earns less than 120 reais ($68) per family member each month, the mothers are given debit cards and up to 95 reais ($35 to $70) each month by the federal government. As part of the program, their children are required to attend school and receive vaccinations. If a family does not meet these conditions, their payments are suspended after several warnings.

Similarly, microfinance programs in Brazil give women loans to empower them and alleviate poverty. Although evidence from several studies supports the idea that microfinance empowers women, these microfinance programs have not succeeded due to their reinforcement of “informality of labor and the creation and persistence of gendered discourse that places greater burden on women.” The microfinance loans, despite the programs’ positive intentions, may place women under greater stress. Instead of pursuing activities that may benefit themselves and their families, these women can become trapped by the programs, and become less independent as a result.

The microfinance programs give loans and credit to primarily women because they believe that females are more reliable than men, and that they will use the money on food, education and family; women will not squander the money on alcohol, drugs and gambling.

However, are women truly more reliable than men? Although researchers argue that women repay loans faster and save more money than men do, this may be due to popular perceptions of the female gender. Women are believed to be more honest, sensitive, caring and nurturing due to their gender and traditional female roles of childrearing and domestic chores.

There are two main concerns about the program. First, corruption and fraud could prevent beneficiaries from receiving 100% of the money. Local officials could also report inaccurate information on eligibility to receive kickbacks. Second, these programs are meant to be a “temporary boost” to aid the poorest families in Brazil. Critics worry that it could turn into a permanent program upon which many families will remain dependent.

While the microfinance programs have failed, Bolsa Familia has seen early success. The program has reduced income inequality across the country, encouraged the growth of small businesses and increased the rate of economic growth. The cash money allows women to be more financially independent from their husbands and to have a larger decision making role in the household. After 10 years of the Bolsa Familia program, researchers have found that the program is empowering women and changing traditional gender roles in Brazil.

– Sarah Yan

Sources: Deseret News National, Economist, Prospect Journal
Photo: Keck Journal

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Protests in Brazil Increase Over World Cup

While the world looks at Brazil in excitement for the FIFA World Cup, national dissatisfaction persists among many of its citizens. People from all walks of life are taking part in demonstrations, strikes and riots to have their voices heard.

The protesters had several specific issues they want dealt with but were able to agree that the common factor amongst their concerns was rooted in the economics of hosting the tournament. Many believe Brazil should not be hosting the World Cup when its economy is too weak to uphold the country’s needs.

Citizens’ discontent regarding the decision to host was made clear at the Confederations Cup (a World Cup “dress rehearsal”) in 2013, at which over a million people protested in dozens of Brazilian cities to demand better public services.

Since then, protests have increased in number and severity, with many being organized by unions, leftist parties and activist groups. In the weeks leading up to the opening games, police, teachers, bus drivers and bank security guards have gone on strike due to World Cup related issues.

On May 26, protesters surrounded the World Cup squad’s hotel and later the squad’s bus when en route to a training camp. The protesters chanted things like “There will be no World Cup, there will be a strike” and placed stickers on the team’s bus.

On May 27, about 1,500 people were part of a demonstration that blocked one of the main roads near the National Stadium. Once the police intervened, the streets were filled with a variety of people, including cops on horseback, indigenous leaders with bows and arrows and dissatisfied teachers. A popular chant was “Who is the cup for? Not us! I don’t want the Cup, I want money for health and education.”

Groups of educators have been on strike since May 12, believing that the $11 million budget for the month-long tournament should be allotted to more worthy causes, such as education for the children or better working conditions and pay raises for the teachers.

Recently, the indigenous population of Brazil has decided to use the protests to bring light to their problems. Around 100 ethnic groups joined in the demonstrations to fight for the protection of the Amazon Rainforest. They have accused President Dilma Rousseff’s government of stalling the demarcation of their ancestral lands in order to pursue large-scale farming.

The protests are not expected to let up any time soon, so the government is increasing the police force and security, with 157,000 soldiers and police dedicated to maintaining order during the tournament. The added security has caused additional economic controversy, with the civilian police force requesting an 80 percent pay raise during the World Cup.

Brazilian soccer player Cristiano Ronaldo expressed that citizens should not blame the country’s problems on the World Cup when they existed beforehand:

“This is what people should understand: it’s down to governments. The governments they have elected. It’s nothing to do with football or the World Cup.”

A slightly different angle is expressed by Eric Cantona, former soccer player, stating that he believes the protests will continue despite FIFA executive committee vice president Michel Plantini’s requests, but that “people just need to be heard, and they will be heard thanks to the World Cup.”

– Courtney Prentice

Sources: Daily Mail, ESPN FC, BBC 1, BBC 2
Photo: Sports Illustrated

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Favelas in Rio

Favelas in Rio
In Brazil, especially in the city of Rio de Janeiro, the wealthy tend to live closest to the sea. Favelas, or shantytowns, are slums in Brazil that are located farther away from the water on hills. They started out as an inexpensive housing option for returning Brazilian soldiers and freed African slaves in the 19th century. In Rio de Janeiro, a city of about six million people, approximately 20 percent live in favelas.

The urban phenomenon of favelas grew during the dictatorship of Gétulio Vargas, who pushed for greater industrialization within Brazil, which brought in more immigrants to Rio de Janeiro and therefore more occupants into the cheaper form of housing.

The 600 favelas in Rio de Janeiro today are mostly known for their high levels of poverty and crime, with numerous drug trafficking groups and street gangs operating within the various favelas that dot the hills of Rio de Janeiro. Favelas are also known for their relative lack of public services and government attention. Brazil is known to be one of the most unequal countries economically, with the top 10 percent of the population earning 50 percent of the national income and 8.5 percent of people living below the poverty line.

The location of favelas makes it difficult for the Brazilian government to provide proper public services, and as such makes it harder for the government to establish a positive presence in the favelas, which only furthers the cycle of violence as gangs are given more or less free reign.

This security issue within the favelas has been addressed by the introduction of a government program in 2008 that aimed to crack down on violence in the slums. Such programs are proving especially important ahead of the upcoming World Cup. The program installs permanent “police pacification units” (PPUs) throughout the favelas to deter crime and rid the favelas of the most serious gangs.

These PPUs are becoming a more widely accepted form of security control on behalf of the government. In Rio de Janeiro alone there are currently around 37 PPUs covering an area of about 1.5 million people, yet these PPUs have been criticized in Brazil for their severe tactics in dealing with local residents. Right now more than 24 policemen are facing charges for allegedly torturing a local resident of a favela.

More positive government policies have been successful in bringing 40 million Brazilians into the middle class over the last decade. Moreover, nationwide statistics indicate that 15.9 percent of Brazilians were impoverished in 2012, down from 18 percent in 2011. But Brazil is a land of contradictions, and despite this impressive decrease in poverty the South American nation remains the 12th most unequal nation in terms of income. Although Brazil should certainly be commended for its substantial decrease in poverty, policies should be implemented to ensure further social inclusion for those living on the margins.

– Jeff Meyer

Sources: IRIN News, G1, BBC News, NPR, BBC News
Photo: Blog Spot

 

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Roberta Jacobson Visits Paraguay and Brazil


The Assistant Secretary of State Roberta Jacobson met in Asunción last Friday with Paraguayan President Horacio Cartes to discuss regional issues covering topics such as transnational crime, education and investment. Following the meeting, Jacobson highlighted the “common perspective” of the two administrations regarding transnational crime.

Authorities in Paraguay are concerned about Brazilian drug cartels operating in their country, which use Paraguay as a holding source after shipping in cocaine and marijuana from the Andean region.

Both countries emphasized their similar worldview on the local, regional and worldwide level. Roberta Jacobson stressed their cooperation on democracy, transparency, education and economic development.

Increasing cooperation on issues like education is important for Paraguay, where more than half of third graders cannot solve simple addition problems. Programs by the Inter-American Development Bank use comparative techniques to improve education standards.

In particular, one study compared the teaching techniques of Paraguayan teachers with techniques used in the United States. The study uncovered that most of the teachers in Paraguay made their pupils copy from the blackboard instead of actually solving math problems.

In Brazil, Jacobson visited the Minerao stadium in Belo Horizonte, where the US soccer team is set to play during the upcoming World Cup. Jacobson also discussed educational relations between Brazil and the U.S. and opened an Education USA office in Belo Horizonte. The Education USA office is intended to increase educational cooperation between the two countries by providing information about US colleges and universities to international applicants, thereby increasing international student enrolment within the U.S.

Education USA is headed by the U.S. Department of State’s Bureau of Education and Cultural Affairs, along with the new program “100K Strong in the Americas,” designed to increase Latin American student enrollment in the U.S. to 100,000 and American student enrollment in Latin America to 100,000 by the year 2020.

– Jeff Meyer

Sources: Merco Press, La Nacion, Shanghai Daily, Inter-American Development Bank
Photo: Guanajuato

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Brazil Replaces Poverty With Culture

Vale_Cultura_Brazil_poverty_culture
For decades, Brazil has been considered an underdeveloped nation with inequality, crime and dirty slums. Yet Bolsa-Familia, the country’s largest welfare program, has in recent years transformed Brazil’s poverty predicament for the better. Launched in 2003 by former President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva, the program has benefited almost 50 million Brazilians and become a guide for numerous similar programs worldwide.

According to the World Bank, Bolsa-Familia is a primary reason for Brazil’s most contemporary social improvements. On the condition of sending their children to school and to regular medical exams, underprivileged Brazilian families receive an equivalent of about $35 each month withdrawn from a state-run bank by each family’s mother. Not only does this promote investment in children, it also empowers women to take financial responsibility for their households.

Bolsa-Familia is responsible for about 28% of Brazil’s poverty reduction. In the decade between 2002 and 2012, the proportion of Brazilians living with less than the $32 equivalent decreased from 8.8% to 3.6%.

Yet even with such extreme improvement in the lives of Brazilians, there is still more work to be done. When asked what they like to do for fun, a shocking 85% of Brazilians answered, “watch television.”

In an innovative effort to develop cultural expansion within the country, Brazil has developed a program known in Portuguese as Vale Cultura. The program constitutes a rechargeable coupon worth around $20 per month, available to Brazilians who make at most $300 per month.

While some may argue that both Bolsa-Familia and this new Vale Cultura program drain state funds and promote a dependency on welfare, various reports have noted otherwise. Of those on Bolsa-Familia, 12% have been able to give up the benefit, which accounts for less than 0.5% of Brazil’s gross domestic product. Such extensive success at such a low cost gives reason to believe that Vale Cultura may be an exciting opportunity with little risk.

Brazilians, according to a study conducted in Sao Paolo in 2013, on average only pick up four books per year and finish only two. The country is relatively isolated, despite its recent economic successes, and the poorest Brazilians are disproportionately underprivileged when it comes to cultural sophistication. Vale Cultura is an attempt to remedy this conundrum.

It will take time, of course, for Brazilians to develop a taste for this newly available culture. But culture minister Marta Suplicy is not disillusioned by the time it will take for this program to see success. The purpose is for people to try new things and to attain access to the cultural attractions many Brazilians previously ignored.

– Jaclyn Stutz

Photo: The Guardian
Sources: The Washington Post, The World Bank, The Guardian, BBC

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Brazil’s Cultural Coupon Benefits the Poor

A new program in São Paulo, Brazil is providing the working poor in Brazil with access to art and entertainment. This “cultural coupon” is awarded monthly and has a value of around $20. Vale Cultura, as it is known, can be used for a wide range of cultural experiences including theatre and movie tickets, books and art classes.

In an interview with the Guardian, Culture Minister Marta Suplicy said, “We want people to go to the theatre they wanted to go to, to the museum they wanted to go to, to buy the book they wanted to read.”

The goal is not only to enrich the lives of Brazil’s poor, but also to create consumers of cultural media.

The cultural coupon is only part of a larger strategy in Brazil for combating poverty known as Bolsa Família. Bolsa Família fights extreme poverty by providing poor Brazilians with monetary transfers onto a magnetic card. The program focuses on families whose monthly incomes are between $17 and $34 and supplements their income anywhere from $5 to $33 per month.

It might seem culturally adverse in the United States to consider direct monetary aid to the poor, but Bolsa Família’s results are undeniable.

According to the World Bank, “BF has been key to help Brazil more than halve its extreme poverty – from 9.7 (percent) to 4.3% of the population.” The project now aids approximately 14 million families and has put a dent in the transference of poverty from one generation to the next.

The cultural coupon seeks to build on the success of Bolsa Família by expanding the government’s ambition. Currently, the program is only available to people who earn well more than Brazil’s minimum wage, but the program looks to extend its reach to over 42 million people.

Currently, the program is extremely popular with many businesses (small and large alike) that offer Vale Cultura cards to their employees. Still, program representatives remain levelheaded with their expectations and argue that cultural participation and inclusion will be a slow process.

With that said, Brazil still faces many difficult challenges in its fight against poverty. Bolsa Família and Vale Cultura have made a substantial difference in the lives of millions of Brazilians, but their success should not mask the realities of extreme need.

The World Bank estimates that 13% of the population lives in poverty. Particularly in rural areas poverty maintains a firm hold. People in rural areas remain far from aid and are often adversely affected by deforestation and corporate monocropping.

Programs like Bolsa Família and Vale Cultura aim to strengthen the most vulnerable Brazilians.

– Chase Colton

Sources: The Guardian, The Washington Post, World Bank, World Bank News, World Bank Countries
Photo: Hanneorla Hanneorla

World Cup Meets Poverty in Brazil

Poverty in Brazil
Brazil is set to play host to one of the biggest international sporting events in the world. The World Cup brings in billions of dollars of revenue and puts Brazil on the forefront of the global stage. Brazil is also playing host to the 2016 Summer Olympic Games, which will again place both Brazil’s successes and struggles in the eyes of the world.

Brazil is one of the more developed countries in South America, but it also has a high rate of poverty. According to the CIA World Factbook, as of 2013, Brazil’s poverty rate stood at 21.4 percent, which is one of the highest in South America. According to ESPN, the Brazilian government is reported to be spending over $13 billion on the various stadiums, airport renovations and other sites, while an additional $3.5 billion being spent on venue sites. According to the International Business Times, Brazil’s Institute of Tourism project that international visitors to the World Cup will spend $2.6 billion, while Brazilian residents will spend almost $8 billion, these estimates still fall short of what Brazil’s government is spending.

There have also been reports of forced evictions of hundreds of family’s homes in order to make way for stadiums for the World Cup and the Olympics in 2016. The Huffington Post reported the story of a family who were given no notice or warnings of any kind before several men turned up at their door and proceeded to reduce their home to rubble and ash. The Global Post reports that upwards of 15,000 families have been removed from Rio de Janeiro as well.

However, according to many reports, the potential overall economic impact of the World Cup in Brazil will be about $24 billion, according to Bloomberg, while Forbes reports that Brazil’s Ministry of Sports calculates that Brazil’s economy will receive a $70 billion injection from the games. The International Business Times points out, however, that there can sometimes be a “World Cup effect” on countries where there is a promise of a large injection of capital to boost the country’s economy as a result of the games being hosted there, but in the end, it falls short.

South Africa is a prime example of this “World Cup effect.” South Africa invested nearly $5 billion in various renovations and restorations of buildings and has only made 11 percent of it back as of 2010. Brazil can only wait and see if it will incur a similar fate.

The World Cup and other international sporting events are superb testament to international cooperation and the ability of countries to set aside common goals to celebrate the universal languages of sports. However, a worrying trend in recent years of developing countries pushing aside and marginalizing those who are already marginalized by poverty and inequality is emerging. The responsibility to ensure that these peoples are not forgotten or pushed to the way side for the sake a country’s bottom line and international news coverage rests with those who attend these events as well concerned and socially active citizens around the world.

– Arthur Fuller

Sources: International Business Times, Bloomberg, Forbes, Index Mundi, ESPN, CIA World Factbook, Global Post, Huffington Post
Photo: Open Knowledge

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Sochi, Brazil and a Global Health Nightmare

Brazil_Sochi_Global_Health
The passing of four years signifies the completion of an important unit of time for the sporting world, a marker that brings the World Cup and the Olympic Games back, blissfully, to the forefront of the global stage with 2014 being no exception. This year, Brazil will host the FIFA World Cup and Sochi will host the Winter Olympics, to begin June 12 and February 6, respectively.

Headlines anticipate security concerns for both events, which include the threat of terror attacks, widespread protests and general mayhem.

In Sochi, officials have mobilized thousands of security cameras, instituted new security checks and passport screenings, deployed scores of military personnel and amped up surveillance to ensure that “everyone in the city… feel[s] at home and safe.”

Authorities in Brazil are making similar arrangements in hopes that extensive precautionary measures will entice tourists despite the nation’s — particularly, Rio de Janeiro — volatile and violent history. Furthermore, Colonel Alexandre Augusto Aragon, head of the Brazilian National Security Force, recently revealed that 10,000 hand-selected riot troops would police the 12 cities hosting soccer matches this summer.

These reports serve as reminders that mass gatherings, even of sportsmen, can spell danger for participants and fans alike. These events are, moreover, virtual breeding grounds for another invisible threat: pathogens.

The less-publicized public health risks inherent in occasions similar to the Olympic Games are familiar to virtually every global health organization. The World Health Organization (WHO) maintains a Global Alert and Response page dedicated to mitigating risks associated with mass gatherings, which top officials consider “a stress test for public health.”

Even nations with well-established health services and fully-briefed support staff can be overwhelmed by the burden associated with an unexpected outbreak in a mass gathering situation. Not only do gatherings draw visitors from a variety of geographic areas (read: different regions of germs) but they are also, by nature, densely packed and fraught with opportunities for transmission.

WHO officials employ the International Health Regulations to govern disease surveillance programs in the 196 countries that have agreed to certain legal rights and obligations described in the regulations in applicable circumstances. Should unexpected cases of influenza, polio or respiratory illness surface, Russia and Brazil will undertake highly targeted, pre-mediated actions to prevent a public health nightmare.

Unfortunately, very real risks to traveler and fan health go generally unmentioned by the press, whose stories generally touch on political and public interest stories associated with the Olympic Games and the World Cup. Any participant in 2014’s festivities should ensure that they are up-to-date with annual and seasonal vaccines, including the flu and measles.

Appropriate action and active awareness will spell gold for Russia and Brazil, nations hoping to leave a positive public health legacy on the landscape of sports history.

– Casey Ernstes

Sources: CBS News, The Huffington Post, The New York Time, The World Health Organization

Photo: The Age