The Other Side of The Story

Logos of Brazil's political parties

In class this past Wednesday we gave our final presentations on a theme related to our experience here in Brazil over the past several weeks.  Our group decided to look into the “why” behind the civil unrest surrounding the World Cup.  There has been an enormous disparity in living standards in Brazil for centuries.  Why are people so upset now?  We delivered a well-researched address highlighting the inefficiencies in the Brazilian bureaucracy (they spent billions on stadiums that will most likely stand empty after the tournament), corruption, and failed promises. I thought we’d done a decent job of portraying the reality of the situation.  However, after our presentation I had conversations with a couple of the Brazilian students that made me think twice.  The most prominent and oft repeated theme of our course has been to think critically about any information that is presented to us.  I failed to do so with my own presentation.  Therefore, I’d like to try to represent another perspective on the same issues here.

Dilma Rousseff - President of Brazil

It’s an election year here in Brazil.  The current governing party in Brazil is headed by Dilma [i].  Dilma’s current cabinet was not indicted.  After I had quite scathingly blamed this government for the civil unrest in the country a Brazilian friend of mine gently corrected me.  She told me that, while the party is clearly fallible (a concept we must remember any time humanity is involved in an endeavor), they have done a lot for the country especially in terms of helping lift people from poverty.  She said that 30 million people have been raised from extreme poverty to a better quality of life under this government.   That’s a hefty achievement.  That got me thinking, if this government is for the poor here in Brazil, why are the poor upset?  I posed the query to another friend of mine who made an interesting observation.  Is it the poor who are upset?  At the opening ceremonies to the World Cup the crowd loudly and publicly (the entire world witnessed this) cussed out their president.  Who was in attendance at the opening ceremonies?  Not many of Brazil’s lower classes. 

Rousseff.  She leads the Partido dos Trabalhadores (Worker’s Party) which has been in power since 2002.  She was elected President in 2010 and succeeded the very poplar Lula Da Silva.  The socialist party had attempted to redistribute income through programs such as the Bolsa Familia (Family Grant) and Fome Zero (Zero Hunger).  The party was rocked by a corruption scandal in 2005

In Brazil, ties to broadcast technologies can bring a candidate about twelve percentage points of the vote.  It is also common for voters to “punish” incumbents by changing their vote when corruption scandals are revealed[ii].  So who benefits from painting a picture of the governing party as corrupt and inefficient?  I think I was quite heavily influenced in my presentation by my host family who tend to be very right-wing.  I could have been more objective and portrayed both sides of the story.  The World Cup provides the opportunity for many voices to be heard.  I think a conclusion I have to reach is that without more time and a greater grasp of the Portuguese language, I will probably never completely understand all of the forces in play here.

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[i] Q&A: Brazil's 'big monthly' corruption trial, BBC News, November 2013, June 20, 2014

http://www.bbc.com/news/world-latin-america-19081519

[ii] Boas, Taylor C., Media Barons and Electoral Politics: Politically-Controlled Broadcasting in Brazil, March 18, 2013 http://www.bu.edu/polisci/files/2010/10/media_boss_politics.pdf

Brazilian Gold

Did you know that Brazil has won 5 World Cup Championships and that they’re the only country to participate in every World Cup since the tournament began?  That’s a pretty impressive résumé.  Their national team roster has and continues to boast some of the best players in the world.  I grew up playing soccer.  I love soccer.  And I even thought I was pretty good.  I maybe even dreamt that I would one day be a pro soccer player.  So I can’t help but ask, are Brazilians just naturally better at soccer?  My experience thus far in Brazil has led me to a resounding no.  But why, then, has Brazil found so much success?  Why, I thought you’d never ask!  Let’s dive into the nitty gritty of Brazilian soccer talent development. 

Brazil has a very intense talent recognition and development system in place with some very positive and very negative aspects.  “[O]ne fourth of all non-European players in ‘soccer Hollywood’ (European Premier Leagues) are Brazilian.”[1] It’s a pretty big business finding the next Messi or Neymar to send to Europe.  We’ve had the opportunity to meet with both of the local clubs here in Curitiba and they both talked about how it’s a financial necessity that they “sell” their best players to the European market.  How do they do so?  Both clubs scout kids as young as 13 years old to come train at their facilities.  Atlético Paranaense (that’s the name of the older more popular club) has schools all around the country that train kids and search for the next “great one.” 

The study I’ve already cited also says, “In order to become a professional soccer player today, around 5000 h of training, spanning approximately 10 years, are necessary. Investments are made in training the physical body through disciplined, strenuous and monotonous routines. The targets are children and adolescents, many of whom come from lower social classes. They are invested with representations of masculinity that make them suitable for the challenges exacted by soccer, inside and outside of the playing grounds. Their career effectively starts – and sometimes ends – in the training centres.”  It’s a pretty intense process searching for and developing talent.  But I can’t help but feel the ominous portents of the quote above for those whose careers “end” in the training centers.

            When one of the Atlético representatives gave his presentation to our class he continually stressed how their programs are socially responsible because they help develop good citizens.  I have to applaud the fact that soccer here in Brazil is a legitimate pathway for some individuals from the levels of poverty to superstardom.  However, there are some glaring holes in their socially responsible programs.  One in particular bothers me.  The kids who go to train at these centers after the age of 14 live there, permanently.  They live, eat, breathe, and sleep soccer.  They even sign contracts.  Here’s the scary part.  They are given the opportunity to pursue education every morning but it’s not mandatory.  So what happens when an uneducated young adult washes out of these programs at the age of 18 or 19?  How are they productive to the society these clubs claim to be aiding? 

The bottom line is, soccer is big business in Brazil and the commodity is the athletes.  Unfortunately, people are willing to discard a product that no one will buy, even when that product is a human being.  And the clubs hide behind the guise of selflessly bettering society.

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[1] Arlei Sander Damo (2014) Training soccer players in Brazil, Soccer & Society,

15:1, 93-107, DOI: 10.1080/14660970.2013.854570

Shattered Perceptions

                When you think of Brazil, what images come to mind?  Arial footage taken from a helicopter of the Senhor Redentor statue in Rio de Janeiro?  Miles and miles of pristine beaches before a mountainous tropical coastline?  A small boat on the Amazon River surrounded by the greatest display of floral and special diversity known to man?  A little over a month ago, what I imagined as I giddily prepared to participate in a university exchange to Brazil was a nation crazy about football.   I saw children playing the game barefoot in the streets in every other neighborhood.  I saw teenagers with crazy dangles tearing up the futsal courts at the local parks.  I saw the world’s most storied soccer nation overjoyed to be hosting soccer’s biggest event and cheering for their beloved team to bring home a sixth World Cup.

                It’s funny how often my naïve perceptions get blown out of the water by reality.  The reality of Brazil is far different than I expected.  The natural beauty of the country is real.  But the soccer lover’s paradise that I’d envisioned has yet to reveal itself.  When Brazil was awarded the right to hold the 2014 World Cup back in 2007 the news was greeted with enthusiasm.  But things have changed since then.  The optimism cooled to a simmer as the economy of the country slowed and then was replaced with skepticism and even outrage as extravagant spending on stadiums lead to accusations of corruption and missed deadlines lead to fear of the event being an embarrassing fiasco.  Matthew M. Taylor’s article here does a good job of concisely explaining the conditions leading to the current unrest in Brazil.

                I have yet to speak with a Brazilian who is happy that the World Cup is going to be in Brazil.  The members of the family with which I am living expressed to me their concerns.  The money spent on the stadiums was excessive.  The stadium in Brasilia, the nation’s capital, cost over a billion reais.  And for what?  To host an expensive soccer game that most Brazilians can’t attend?  The government funded education system is terrible.  The public health system is swamped and lacking resources.  Why are funds going to pay for a party for the rest of the world when it could be put to use helping people who need it?  One person told me, “Don’t get me wrong, I love Brazil and I love our soccer team, but I almost don’t want them to win because I’m afraid if we win the cup people will forget all the problems and mistakes that have been made.”

                I explained these shattered perceptions to a lady on the bus two days ago.  (My Portuguese is improving!)  She’s a professor at the federal university here in Curitiba.  She explained to me that Curitiba is not indicative of the rest of Brazil.  Things culturally are different here.  But something that is almost universal in Brazil is the unrest and dissatisfaction about the World Cup.