Brazil is not only the carnival and soccer country but one of the most violent nations around the world. In this country, "there are as many homicides as the United States, China, Europe, Northern Africa, Japan, Indonesia, Australia, Canada, and New Zealand combined." Daily, more people die victims of violence in Brazil than in the conflict between Israel and Palestine. The low quality of the educational system, the social inequality, and the tradition of corruption can be the main reasons for this situation.
A military dictatorship ruled Brazil from 1964 to 1988. During the military regime, "an education reform denied the children any kind of philosophical or political instruction"(GOUVEIA, J.G. QUORA); the intention was to keep the population unconscious about their condition. This created a culture of neglecting education in Brazil. Despite the fact of the military regime was over about 30 years ago, the situation of the educational system in Brazil is almost the same. According to Brazil’s Indicator of Functional Illiteracy, 27% of adults between the ages of 15 and 64 have only rudimentary reading and writing skills. Nowadays, if any person wants to have access to 'a better' education in Brazil, this person must have the resources to pay for it. Consequently, the poorest Brazilian do not believe that education can change their reality, and many children do not finish school. Out of school, these young people are easily enticed by criminal gangs.
In 1988, after years of violent repression from the military forces, the constitution of Brazil was announced; seeking to guarantee all manner of rights and restricting the state's ability to limit freedom. However, the constitution text is confusing what created a perfect scenario for privileges and impunity. For example, Brazil Prisons offer their prisoners to reduce their sentence for 4 days (up to 48 days/year) for every Book they read and write a report about it. The criminals have little or nothing to fear by way of punishment. In addition, several people in the police force and the political system are involved in the organized crime. The inefficiency of the judicial system is evidenced by the fact of about 90% of murder cases, in Brazil, are not solved.
The violence is so usual in Brazil that it is common to be robbed on the streets, in any hour of the day. The most of Brazilian fear more the criminals than they trust the police force. Therefore, many people carry an extra cell phone (they call it the “thief’s phone”) so they can give it to the robber when the crime happens; because, it is common the thieves kill people who do not have any "valuable thing" to be robbed. In addition, the TV programs in Brazil defend two standards, from one side those that defend "The only good criminal is a dead criminal” to justify the nation’s staggering levels of police violence; on the other side the "victimization of the criminals". In the end, these two standards just increase the violence level across the country.
Beyond that, Brazilian pay one of the highest taxes around the world; in 2018, since January 1st until January 19th, Brazilian have already paid about 1 billion dollars in taxes. Although, the distribution of wealth is unequal, and there are many corrupted politicians who share the money instead of solving the problems. According to Oxfam International (Oxford Committee for Famine Relief), "In Brazil, someone earning the minimum monthly wage would have to work 19 years to make the same money a Brazilian from the richest 0.1% of the population makes in one month", and "Brazil’s six richest men have the same wealth as poorest 50 percent of the population; around 100 million people. The country's richest 5 percent have the same income as the remaining 95 percent."
In conclusion, without access to a good quality of education system or to an opportunity to overcome poverty, fearing the police force, surrounded by criminals, and living frustrated by an unfair social inequality, it is no surprise that many Brazilian would find in the violence the answer to face their reality. The "Eye for an eye" culture is disseminated across the country.
REFERENCES:
1. "Access to Quality Education in Brasil" - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pmkJX8MTJB8&feature=youtu.be Accessed January 28th, 2018
2. "Assessing Brazilian educational inequalities"- Rev. Bras. Econ. vol.62 no.1 Rio de Janeiro Jan./Mar. 2008
3. "Brazil education standards contribute to learning crisis" - http://articles.latimes.com/2012/nov/17/world/la-fg-brazil-bad-education-20121118; Accessed January 29th, 2018
4. "Racial inequality in the education system: The modern-day slavery that Brazil insists it doesn’t see" - https://blackwomenofbrazil.co/2017/02/24/racial-inequality-in-the-education-system-the-modern-day-slavery-that-brazil-insists-it-doesnt-see/ Accessed January 25th, 2018
5. "Social Inequality in Brazil: The People, Politics and the World Cup"- VICTORIA LIVINGSTONE https://www.fairobserver.com/region/latin_america/social-in-inequality-brazil-the-people-politics-and-the-world-cup-66971/
6. "Teenagers, Violence, and Crime in Brazil" Cléssio Moura de Souza, LL.M. http://f3magazine.unicri.it/?p=33
7. "Wage inequality and the distribution of education: A study of the evolution of regional differences in inequality in metropolitan Brazil" - Jose GuilhermeAlmeida dos ReisRicardoPaes de Barros Journal of Development Economics; Elsevier: 1991
8. "Welcome to Brazil, a Paradise of Impunity for All Kinds of Criminals" Augusto Zimmermann
9. Bailey S. Legacies of race: Identities, attitudes, and politics in Brazil. Stanford University Press; Stanford, CA: 2009.
10. Barros, R. P. d., Henriques, R., & Mendonça, R. (2002). Pelo fim das décadas perdidas: Educação e desenvolvimento sustentado no Brasil. TD 857, IPEA.
11. Blom, A., Holm-Nielsen, L., & D., V. (2001). Education, earning and inequality in Brazil: 1982–98. the implication for education policy. Working Paper 2686, World Bank Policy Research.
12. http://www.brazzil.com/content/view/10042/1/ . Accessed January 25th, 2018
13. Ianni O. Raça e classes sociais no Brasil [Race and social class in Brazil] Editora Brasiliense; São Paulo, Brazil: 1987.
14. REIS FILHO, Daniel Aarão; RIDENTI, Marcelo; MOTTA, Rodrigo Patto Sá. A ditadura que mudou o Brasil: 50 anos do golpe de 1964. Rio de Janeiro: Zahar, 2014.
15. SAVIANI, Dermeval. Política e educação no Brasil: o papel do Congresso Nacional na legislação do ensino. Campinas: Autores Associados, 2008.
16. https://www.oxfam.org/en Accessed February 11th, 2018
