I was very excited to reach our course’s deep dive into Brazil’s culture & economy for a number of reasons. For one thing, I have long been fascinated by the country’s unique history and society and, as a former jazz student, its beautiful and influential music. Additionally, I am engaged to a woman whose mother is from Brazil. Over the last several years, I consider myself exceedingly fortunate to have spent time learning about the country and its people from my future mother-in-law and grandmother-in-law (who goes by Vóvó, an informal version of the Portuguese word for grandmother, avó).
Time spent in their company – either in casual conversation around the house or traveling abroad in Portuguese-speaking countries like Brazil, Portugal, and Mozambique – has allowed me to observe the minutiae of day-to-day interactions typical to Brazilians. With my goal of someday obtaining a professional role that allows me to work in Brazil or with Brazilians, these observations will undoubtedly serve me well. Some small examples of these were even included in our text, like the double cheek kiss greeting and the way that some people are routinely called “Doctor” as a sign of respect; “Doutor or Doutora (Doctor) is commonly used to express respect even if the person is not a doctor or PhD (especially with older folks)” (Abramson, Moran, & Harrris, 2018, p. 423). This exact thing happened on a trip to Brazil in which a local friend who was driving us around Rio de Janeiro constantly responded to my fiancée’s mother with “nada, Doutora” (roughly translated as “don’t worry about it, ma’am”) – a frequent refrain that I found novel and endearing.
I also adore the way that family is conceptualized and prioritized in Brazilian culture. As our text explains, “[t]he meaning of family in Brazil is not limited to the immediate family, but instead includes the entire parentela, or extended family, from both the mother’s and father’s sides. This group can consist of hundreds of people, and it provides the foundation of the individual’s social structure. It is not unusual to see many generations living together under one roof…” (Abramson, Moran, & Harrris, 2018, p. 421). I find that my fiancée’s family is often hazy on the precise ways in which individuals are related, and Vóvó has always lived in the house with them. I’ve interpreted this as a sign that the family being together is of the utmost importance, and “family” is much bigger than just one’s immediate relations.
All of that said, one of the qualities that most characterizes my impression of Brazil is the idea of contrast and conflict. On the one hand, I see a massive, diverse country with a beautiful culture, great economic promise, and people for whom I care deeply. On the other, there exists significant economic inequality, widespread political corruption, high crime rates, and an epidemic of violent attacks on environmental and civil rights protestors (Central Intelligence Agency, 2019). Just this past week, yet another person was murdered who had been protesting the illegal and environmentally disastrous deforestation industry (BBC News, 2019). These killings have occurred with astounding regularity and the current political administration’s response has ranged from indifference to outright support for the perpetrators (Simões, 2019).
Why, you may ask, would this be the case? Ultimately it comes down to money. Brazil has achieved its status as the world’s eighth-largest economy (Central Intelligence Agency, 2019) primarily by exploiting its natural resources like lumber and mined materials. Across South America, “the logging industry has… grown, as much of the mining occurs in the Amazon forests” (Penn State World Campus, n.d.) and “the expansion has been led primarily by Brazil, which has grown to become the eighth largest economy in the world” (Penn State World Campus, n.d.). Due to that fact, there are many Brazilians (including the current President, Jair Bolsonaro) who push back forcefully against the idea of diminishing reliance on those industries for fear that it would cause the economy – and by extension, the national identity – to regress on the global playing field. Because nearly 90% of the country’s population lives in urban centers (Central Intelligence Agency, 2019), it is easier to understand why there is not more political support for the minority rural and forest populations.
Brazil, like every country, is a society of contrasts. Given its size and diversity, it is even more complicated than most others. That said, my overwhelming feelings about Brazil are optimistic about the future. I am hopeful and encouraged by the country’s long term progress towards economic prosperity and social freedoms, and I have a profound love for its culture and people. It will take time and the hard work of people like the environmental protestors, but I believe that a better future is within Brazil’s reach.
References:
Abramson, N. R., Moran, R. T., & Harris, P. R. (2018). Managing cultural differences: global leadership for the 21st century. Abingdon, Oxon: Routledge.
BBC News. (2019, November 2). Brazil: Amazon land defender killed by illegal loggers. Retrieved November 4, 2019, from https://www.bbc.com/news/world-latin-america-50278523.
Central Intelligence Agency. (2019, October 24). The World Factbook: Brazil. Retrieved from https://www.cia.gov/library/publications/resources/the-world-factbook/geos/br.html.
Penn State World Campus (n. d.). The Modern Middle East. November 4, 2019, from https://psu.instructure.com/courses/2008449/modules/items/27026983
Simões, M. (2019, August 27). Brazil’s Bolsonaro on the Environment, in His Own Words. Retrieved November 4, 2019, from https://www.nytimes.com/2019/08/27/world/americas/bolsonaro-brazil-environment.html.
smn5378 says
Hi Eric,
I really enjoyed reading your post. You mentioned that Brazil is “exploiting its natural resources like lumber and mined materials”. Unfortunately, these actions are often bad for the environment and destroy the natural beauty of Brazil. For example, the large fires in the Amazon rainforest this year were likely set by “cattle ranchers and loggers who want to clear and utilize the land, emboldened by the country’s pro-business president” (CNN, 2019). That pro-business president, Jair Bolsanaro, supported this by saying that Brazils economy “will truly take off once we manage to sensibly extract the riches” in the rainforest (The Guardian, 2019). Our course textbook, penned in 2014, suggests that Brazil was moving in the right direction environmentally by creating the Amazon Fund to protect the rainforest (Moran, Abramson, & Moran, 2014). However, Brazil recently suspended that program under Bolsanaro (The Guardian, 2019). This shows how poor leadership can negatively impact the direction and morals of a country.
References
CNN. (2019). Blame humans for starting the Amazon fires, environmentalists say. Retrieved from https://www.cnn.com/2019/08/22/americas/amazon-fires-humans-intl-hnk-trnd/index.html
Moran, R. T., Abramson, N. R., & Moran, S. V. (2014). Managing Cultural Differences (9th ed.).
The Guardian. (2019). Norway halts Amazon fund donation in dispute with Brazil. Retrieved from https://www.theguardian.com/world/2019/aug/16/norway-halts-amazon-fund-donation-dispute-brazil-deforestation-jair-bolsonaro
zsj2 says
I have to say Eric, this was one of my favorite posts to date. Your post was informative, and your personal connection to Brazil adds a completely different dimension. I started working for Boeing and they just recently acquired a large portion of Embraer, so Brazilian culture and business dealings have certainly caught my eye as I wonder what the means for the future of the Global enterprise and particularly what that means for manufacturing in the United States. That being said I would welcome the opportunity to travel there to establish a production system for a continuation of aircraft in Brazil. My question to you is, what industry do you work in that some day allow you to work in Brazil or with Brazilians? It’s wonderful you would have the support of your family and even first hand exposure to Brazilian customs (pleasantries) and culture. Looking forward to more posts from you, and hearing your perspective from such a family driven place.
Thank you for a great cultural lesson!
-Zach
Eric Anderson says
Madeline,
Thanks for reading my post and for providing your feedback! I’ll have to check out that Viceland program as it sounds quite interesting. You’re not wrong that there are indeed many scary and disheartening things about living conditions in many parts of Brazil these days. That said, I’m constantly struck by the high degree of cautious optimism that most Brazilians I’ve met express about the future of their country. In Brazil, there is a popular tongue-in-cheek phrase that “Brazil is the country of the future and always will be”(Hoge, 1995). In other words, Brazil is full of potential to become a top-tier global economy, yet it seems perpetually unable to realize its full potential. I, for one, hold out hope that it will eventually break that cycle.
Hoge, W. (1995). Always The Country Of The Future. The New York Times. Retrieved from https://www.nytimes.com/1995/07/23/books/always-the-country-of-the-future.html
Madeline Blandford says
Eric,
I thoroughly enjoyed reading this post. Your connection to Brazil is very interesting and your fascination with the country is inspiring. Recently, I have read/heard/watched a lot about Brazil. Just the other day I watched a Viceland TV show where they visited the rap and dancing scene in Rio de Janeiro. It was really informative. While I knew the state of the country was relatively bad, I had no idea that the violence, drug and gang-related issues, and corruption were so problematic. It is sort of… scary. However, the country is beautiful; full of life, color, and history. The potential is huge and I see why you aspire to work with Brazilians/in Brazil. Moran, Abramson, & Moran (2014) state, “Brazil’s diverse economy produces everything from automobiles and airplanes to shoes and orange juice. The service and high-tech industries are rapidly growing. By trying to understand this culture better, it is easier to avoid committing blunders that could potentially lead to negative results in business situations.” It seems as though the country could be economically booming, overflowing with opportunities and cash. Hopefully Brazil will send the end of violence and corruption and become involved in the greater global economy.
Moran, R. T., Abramson, N. R., & Moran, S. V. (2014). Managing Cultural Differences (9th ed.). Oxford: Routledge.