One can travel to Venezuela, Argentina, Chile, Ecuador, Peru, Uruguay, and even across the Central American countries and one will find a similarity in cultural traits. Of course, it would be ignorant of myself to ignore the significant cultural differences amongst each country, yet there is a combined sense of Latin American pride among the nations. Although I have not travelled to every single one of these countries, I have been able to interact and talk to people from these various nations and I can say that I have been able to connect on various cultural perspectives whether it be music, literature, art, or history. Thus, I can say there is a sense of being Latin American thanks to a cultural identity within my Latin American brothers that unites us all.
I must say that Brazil is definitely the exception; it seems to me as if this nation is resistant towards all of that which represents Latin America, its history, and its culture. Initially, one could argue that this is due to the difference in language: Portuguese in Brazil and Spanish in the majority of all the other Latin American countries. Hence, one would assume that its Portuguese heritage would be the factor behind such radical and extreme resistance towards integrating and assimilating into Latin American culture. In other words, it's as if Brazil wants to stand out from other Latin American nations by trying not to be Latin American. I am no one to judge whether this is good or not, but I must say that Brazil's integration and further collaboration with Latin American countries would make the region grow in global influence, power, and significance on the word stage when merely assessing population and geographical size. However, the already weakening bond among Latin American nations due to varied national interests is exacerbated by Brazil's lack of efforts in embracing the region's history, heritage, culture, and identity. This is evident whenever I talk to a Brazilian and he or she is more capable of identifying European and North American cultural traits rather than that of neighbouring countries. As a simply example, the fact that most Brazilians are more eager to learn English rather than Spanish seems astonishing to me since there is a huge economic and political importance in Brazilians being capable of communicating with companies, businesses, and governmental institutions in neighbouring countries. If english were well spoken across all the countries of Latin America then there would be a good justification for the use of english, but in fact english proficiency across Latin America, although improving, is quite lacking. Others may argue that it is more important for Brazilians to learn english because the majority of international trade and business is done with the USA. Well...in fact this is not so. Brazil's major trading partner, by a large margin, is China and then the Latin American region...so how about learning Chinese? It would be the most logical solution. Yet, the truth is that Brazilians themselves, specially upperclass citizens, have been disconnecting themselves from their endemic culture and identity. One can blame globalization for this, but the rate of which this is happening in Brazil is drastic. Brazil's newest generation is more aquatinted with Ed Sheeran, Katy Perry, Justin Beiber, and the Kardashians than they are with local Brazilian artists and musicians. Is as if, at a rapid pace, Brazilian heritage was being erased, wiped out, and replaced by American culture. I must say that even in upperclass schools there is a move towards an American education while the Portuguese curriculum becomes more insignificant every day. This is not a new phenomenon. As some scholars note (Guedes-Bailey & Jambeiro Barbosa 2008 and Matos 2012) the consolidation of Brazilian media (Television and Radio) has been greatly influenced by the US model and its content constantly includes American advertisement and programming. As Guedes Bailey & Jambeiro (2008, p. 55) argue, Brazil has been politically, culturally and economically influenced by the American media and Brazilian culture has developed parallel to American mass market industrialization, capital concentration, and consumeristic mentality. This has definitely shaped Brazilian society as it has become a society of mass consumption in its ambition to obtain its capitalist goals. The cause of this, under my analysis, is that the Brazilian elite is doing anything possible in order to become more ‘modernized’ and more Western while the middle and low class population are steadily getting fed the same content as mass media attempts to reach a wider audience. Hence, this results in a society that resembles a western philosophy, or in this case an American one where every aspect of society is exposed to American culture and practices through media, arts, music, and education. This transition from a traditional Brazilian culture to an American ‘way of life’ happens at a much more rapid rate with a much higher degree of intensity at the elite level when everything American or Western becomes the desired, the fashionable, and the norm. When local elite schools try to implement American curriculums as their educational platform through partnerships with American universities such as Texas Tech or Missouri University, the extent in which American culture is replacing Portuguese culture becomes worrying and saddening. It is indeed sad that today's Brazilian young generation knows more about American history and literature than they do about their own Brazilian history and literature. This is a sad occurrence when Brazil is a country that has so much to offer when we look at its own heritage and its rich and colourful culture full of life and diversity. DIVERSITY....that is precisely what Brazil should represent and that is exactly what it should strive for. Diversity is what should identify Brazilians. Brazilians should not fall into the great mistake of loosing their diversity just for the simply fact of satisfying American trends and desires.
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So, after two months after arriving in Brazil I am now able to comment on some first impressions of this country and its society. Being driven to Brazil due to the continuous emphasis that experts put on its emerging economy and rapid development, I was eager to see the product that economic growth and steady modernization looked like in Latin America's largest and most influential country. Maybe I held the misconception that economic growth, rapid modernization (whatever that means), and steady rise in international influence meant an improvement in living standards, reduction in extreme poverty, and an overall development in social well-being. Yet, I must say that I have been largely disappointed by what I have seen.
In other words, I do not see the benefits of economic growth. I do not see prosperity anywhere. The streets are still filled with poverty, misery, and injustice. Although Brazil's GDP is exponentially larger than other Latin American countries, I do not see a significant difference in the country's infrastructure, health care, nor do I see it in the government's provision of public services. To put it all into context, Brazil does not even come close to the US, Canada, or any of the Western European countries in terms of quality of life, yet Brazil has a larger GDP than many of nations considered developed. On the contrary, Brazil is filled with deplorable levels of inequality, embarrassing levels of corruption, and a deteriorating system of government. To be honest, I think other criticized South American nations are way better off than Brazil. I can assure you that, as a Colombian national having spent some time living Colombia and in Brazil, I feel less ripped off and lied to by the Colombian government than any Brazilian here feels about their own government. Why is this? Three simple reasons: 1) Brazilian politicians make almost three times what a Colombian politician makes. 2) Although Brazil has a significantly larger GDP and is also exponentially more powerful in regards to its resources, which should essentially mean more money to invest in the country, the conditions of its infrastructure, its health care system, and the government's provision of public goods and services are as mediocre or even worse than that of Colombia. 3) Colombians and the Colombian government can at least partially blame 50+ years of internal civil war for its inability to bring economic and social prosperity to the country. Yes, Brazil has gone through two dictatorships (Gertulio Vargas 1930-1945 and the authoritarian regime that ruled Brazil from April 1, 1964 to March 15, 1985) which gives many people the possibility to argue that this is the root cause behind Brazil's various socio-economic problems. However, if we take a look at Chile's and Argentina's experience with dictatorships and their aftermath, we can see that these two countries are currently far better off than Brazil in various aspects of social well-being. Hence, reading scholarly work and hearing academics talk about Brazil being one of the most important emerging economies, and seeing mass media outlets place Brazil as an economic model that other countries should seek to follow...I must say that I do not want anything to do with this type of economic growth and modernization. Seeing small children living under a bridge that marks the boundary between Sao Paulo's luxurious neighbourhoods and the favelas which are home to the city's 'mendigos', begging for money, and waiting for the day to bring them something to eat while my most cars pass by ignoring this part of Brazilian reality reassures me that there is a big hole in the definition of economic growth and modernization. Who is to blame for this? How does media shape the way we perceive and accept this reality? Does the media help shape these perceptions of economic prosperity and modernization? |
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David Romero Archives
August 2019
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