Mr.Dandy
01-13-2005, 04:59 PM
Following Petr's* suggestion, I am creating this thread with the purpose of helping Phora members getting rid of their misconceptions regarding Brazil and its people which have been undoubtely caused in great part by exposure to years of misinformation, lies and myths pushed by Hollywood, american cartoons (like that silly The Simpsons episode "Blame it on Lisa"), propaganda for tourists paid by my goverment, etc.
First of all, I must say that Brazil is a very heterogeneous country. It's like 3 very different countries that only happen to hold together because of the apathy of the vast majority of its peoples and because of the media demonization of any serious separatist movement (which usually come from the South).
These 3 regions can be divided as such:
1) The Northern (North and Northeast) and Centralwestern regions: The poorest, most lawless and corrupt regions of my country. In the Northeastern coast, there has been some development and improvement of order (mostly thanks to tourism revenues) in the last years and in the Centralwest, there are many big farms that produce soya and other cereals for export. Unfortunately, though, the rest of this region is a wasteland (except for the Amazon forest in the Northwest and Pantanal in the Centralwest) where many children still die of malnutrition and preventable diseases. Not surprisingly, these regions are over 90% non-white.
2) The Southeastern region: It’s the most industrialized, populous and racially diverse region (there are significant numbers of Chinese, Japanese, Arabs, etc, in some areas). Thanks to large-scale immigration from the Northeastern region in the last decades of the 20th century, Southeastern metropolises like Rio de Janeiro and São Paulo have become chaotic and ultra-violent. The situation is particularly bad in Rio where huge slums can be found almost everywhere (it’s a city full of hills, and almost every hill has been occupied by slum-dwellers). In Rio, few houses and buildings and no public monument, ornament, etc, are safe from burglars and vandals. The Southeast is probably less than 30% white (though the gov. says 50-60%).
3) The Southern region: It’s by far the most civilized region. Despite some immigration from the Northeast in the last few decades (which still occur today) the Southern population is still over 80% white (mainly of Italian and German origin). Also, separatist movements are growing popular despite media demonization (Southern separatism is always motivated by “racism” according to the media). Finally, one very interesting thing: in the South, there can still be found several beautiful villages founded by Italian and German immigrants where their mother tongue is still spoken to this day by their inhabitants.
Of course, the paragraphs above are meant to be just an introduction to the subject. Any questions (preferably about things that can’t be easily found on the internet) or comments about my country and its culture, people, etc, by those who care to know or discuss it will be appreciated.
*Petr, the thread title you suggested was good but I couldn’t use it because it was too big.
First of all, I must say that Brazil is a very heterogeneous country. It's like 3 very different countries that only happen to hold together because of the apathy of the vast majority of its peoples and because of the media demonization of any serious separatist movement (which usually come from the South).
These 3 regions can be divided as such:
1) The Northern (North and Northeast) and Centralwestern regions: The poorest, most lawless and corrupt regions of my country. In the Northeastern coast, there has been some development and improvement of order (mostly thanks to tourism revenues) in the last years and in the Centralwest, there are many big farms that produce soya and other cereals for export. Unfortunately, though, the rest of this region is a wasteland (except for the Amazon forest in the Northwest and Pantanal in the Centralwest) where many children still die of malnutrition and preventable diseases. Not surprisingly, these regions are over 90% non-white.
2) The Southeastern region: It’s the most industrialized, populous and racially diverse region (there are significant numbers of Chinese, Japanese, Arabs, etc, in some areas). Thanks to large-scale immigration from the Northeastern region in the last decades of the 20th century, Southeastern metropolises like Rio de Janeiro and São Paulo have become chaotic and ultra-violent. The situation is particularly bad in Rio where huge slums can be found almost everywhere (it’s a city full of hills, and almost every hill has been occupied by slum-dwellers). In Rio, few houses and buildings and no public monument, ornament, etc, are safe from burglars and vandals. The Southeast is probably less than 30% white (though the gov. says 50-60%).
3) The Southern region: It’s by far the most civilized region. Despite some immigration from the Northeast in the last few decades (which still occur today) the Southern population is still over 80% white (mainly of Italian and German origin). Also, separatist movements are growing popular despite media demonization (Southern separatism is always motivated by “racism” according to the media). Finally, one very interesting thing: in the South, there can still be found several beautiful villages founded by Italian and German immigrants where their mother tongue is still spoken to this day by their inhabitants.
Of course, the paragraphs above are meant to be just an introduction to the subject. Any questions (preferably about things that can’t be easily found on the internet) or comments about my country and its culture, people, etc, by those who care to know or discuss it will be appreciated.
*Petr, the thread title you suggested was good but I couldn’t use it because it was too big.