Rodrigo Contrera *

Brazil is not doing well, and it's not a recent issue. I'll try to outline the basics.

Rio de Janeiro, the city, is being fought over by everyone except the population, which is held hostage either by crime, corrupt and/or negligent politicians, the current governments, also held hostage by the state of affairs, and the federal government, which doesn't know what to do or, if it does, does so insufficiently and incompetently. The future is uncertain. The present is one of desolation. There is no security, no healthcare, much less education, and other signs of civilization. Videos from the region show something akin to Haiti.

Bahia, especially small cities around the capital, Salvador, has long ceased to be under formal power. São Paulo, the State, is becoming publicly what everyone has known for a long time – a space for gangs here and there, organized or not.

The economy is struggling, everyone is in debt, with few opportunities for growth, except in the agricultural and food sectors, and the reforms that have already passed will only have an effect in a few years.

The government is torn between spending irresponsibly and being responsible without prospects, and this promises to extend ad infinitum. Power struggles are ingrained, impossible to contain, let alone resolve, and they relate to contexts that everyone loses sight of. Ghosts come from decades, or even centuries, past.

There are achievements, but they are small, localized, or concern segments of populations that use them as leverage or as a tool for gaining political or media space. The destitute have no space when they are truly destitute. But some manage to climb out of the abyss and start floating amid the bits of wood left to the luckiest.

Culture is weak and divided by the same people who always seek benefits from those who feel comfortable playing political games dating back to the post-dictatorship years. Intellectuals, even with the usual exceptions, are coerced into silence and not thinking, which they should do by mission or lack of shame. Those who stand out are the result of calculations based on interests or schemes, except for rare exceptions that rarely surface.

This is not the fault of anyone in particular, not even the politicians, who continue to act as they always have, only contributing to the worsening of the situation, sometimes without even knowing exactly what they are doing. Politics only endorses age-old injustices and administrative incompetence that has persisted since the Portuguese landed here (and fought hard to prevent the French and Dutch from competing for space with their own enterprises).

The military is at ease for now, accustomed to living in the shadow of everyone and appearing competent, which, between us, they are not. And for 2024? I'll speak about it later, based on something I have. Merry Christmas.

* Journalist.

Translated by ChatGPT 3.5