Brazzil
April 2000
Politics

The Worse the Better

It's important to note that by and large, Brazilians weren't exactly enthralled by their nation's 500th birthday. To say Brazilians celebrated would be an overstatement—observed pretty well describes what happened on April 22nd and the days leading up to it.

Adhemar Altieri

Way back when the planning began more than a year ago, it was going to be a festive occasion. The general idea was a celebration of Brazil's 500th birthday, its "birth" as a nation being the arrival of Portuguese explorers on the coast of present day Bahia state, on April 22nd, 1500. But from several quarters came valid reminders: perhaps the 500-year mark would be a time for more reflection than partying, more thought and analysis about what worked out and what didn't.

More consideration for what still needs to happen if the "country of the future" is ever to become the nation of today. Points well taken: more reflection did ensue, in the media and throughout society. But in the end Brazil got neither the party nor a full intellectual exercise. Instead, it got a highly incompetent reaction by the government to predictable protests, fuelled by an irresistible desire by opponents and opportunists to cash in on the big event. In the end, it was the protestors who got what they wanted, sad to say, at the expense of the vast majority of Brazilians, who don't see things their way.

By now, Brazzil readers around the world may have seen a short TV news clip of protesting landless peasants and native Brazilian Indians scuffling with military police, who prevented their protest march from reaching Porto Seguro, the town that now stands where the Portuguese first came ashore. In many parts of the world, that clip may well have been the only news item shown that had to do with Brazil's 500th birthday. A superficiality that's likely to leave viewers with the impression that protests were the order of the day—repressed, of course, in authoritarian fashion. Points for the extreme Left, always looking for a way to mess up Brazil's image abroad, in a never too clearly explained tactic that seems more appropriate for shooting one's own foot than reaching practical objectives.

For years, the Left has been branded with an impromptu slogan in Brazil: "Quanto pior, melhor", loosely translated in the title of this article: the worse things are, the better they are. When Brazil returned to civilian rule in 1985 following a 21-year military regime, the outlawed Left returned to political life. Naturally, there was a lot to say, as they were the most targeted by the repressive outgoing regime. And most of what they had to say was negative—a stark contrast to the prevalent discourse during the military years, when Brazilians were often led to believe their country was steps away from becoming the world's next superpower. In that context, the phrase actually made sense: to make political headway, the Left's chosen strategy was to hammer away at how bad things were. In most cases their points were valid, but their tone and persistence made the Left easy to describe as card-carrying, exaggerating "negativists".

The Left would not seriously review that approach until the election of Fernando Henrique Cardoso in 1994. Their candidate, Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva of the Workers' Party (PT), campaigned against the recently-introduced Real Plan, calling it a sham, nothing more than a short-term ploy designed to elect Cardoso, and end like so many other economic adjustment plans—in the dustbin of history. Cardoso romped to a first-round victory, and the Real Plan's results, ups and downs notwithstanding, are still around—six years later, the balance is positive.

The negative take had flopped miserably, and finally led part of the Left to search for a new approach—one they have yet to identify and agree on. The 1998 campaign saw Lula and the PT accused of bringing loads of dogma to the campaign, and not enough concrete proposals. Fair criticism, which Lula acknowledged after much arm-twisting from the media: close to election day, he told reporters the opposition had "no obligation" to come up with concrete proposals because they were not in power—proposals he said, would be made after they were elected. Predictably, Cardoso was again re-elected with a first-round victory.

Since 1998, there's often been the impression that some in the Left are truly attempting to find a new, more practical approach, and at last kiss off "Quanto pior, melhor". Unfortunately, there have been even more numerous occasions when the Left can't seem to resist trying to cash in on circumstances, showing it really has not gotten any closer to that new approach. This was quite visible through much of 1999, in the aftermath of the devaluation of the Brazilian currency on the heels of the Asian and then the Russian crisis. While the government attempted to keep things in control, the Left organized marches and demonstrations, including the so-called "March of 100-thousand" on Brasília, which fell far short of its ambitious title.

There were more and more land invasions by the MST, the organized landless peasants movement, as well as numerous, often violent protest acts not related with land reform, supposedly the MST's priority. And a new slogan was introduced: "Fora FHC", or out with president Cardoso, an ill-explained proposal—if it could indeed be described as such—which, when taken literally, would involve institutional breakdown. How else do you remove an elected president without good reason?

By the final quarter of 1999, the Left realized it was all for naught. Brazil didn't have a great year, but all things considered, it was no disaster—certainly nothing remotely close to what the Left insinuated all along. The end result was another whack on the Left's credibility. The most prominent left-wing voices in Brazil went silent for a few months, in an obvious retreat following yet another tactical flop. Then, along came "Descobrimento", the approaching 500th anniversary of the so-called discovery of Brazil by the Portuguese. Another opportunity not to be missed…

It's important to note that by and large, Brazilians weren't exactly enthralled by their nation's 500th birthday. To say Brazilians celebrated would be an overstatement—observed pretty well describes what happened on April 22nd and the days leading up to it. As one long-time foreign resident of São Paulo put it, "this was no World Cup Final". Instead of attending mostly small, isolated "500 Years" events scattered throughout the country, Brazilians were far more likely to be seen on the beach, enjoying the long weekend which got under way on Thursday because of Easter—most got the day off work on Good Friday. Exceptions were a free outdoor concert in Brasília with several pop stars performing live, thus the big turnout, and the marquee event in Porto Seguro on Saturday the 22nd, attended by Presidents Fernando Henrique Cardoso and his Portuguese counterpart, Jorge Sampaio. The latter was the desired focal point of most organized protests.

There are numerous plausible explanations for this apparent lack of interest. First, Brazil is no longer essentially Portuguese, so the former "motherland" is only seen as such by a minority of Brazilians. The last century saw inflows of immigrants from various parts of the world, which dramatically changed the makeup, look and feel of Brazil. Western and Eastern Europeans, Asians, Jews and Arabs, and the largest Japanese community outside Japan, are integral parts of today's Brazil—all intertwined with the original Portuguese, Afro-Brazilians and their traditions brought in with slavery, and native Indians.

A true melting pot, Brazil has developed pretty much its own culture, which includes aspects from all newcomers, but has a way of its own—to a point where it now heavily influences Portugal, especially through television, while little if anything of current Portuguese culture finds its way into Brazil. Another explanation would be that Brazilians realize their nation isn't a "finished product"—there's much to be done, including many wrongs to be corrected: against the Indians, blacks, and more broadly, the excluded. Not the best party material.

The government seemed to read the national mood accurately, and did not go overboard with 500 Year celebrations. The event in Porto Seguro was pretty well it—again, an observance more than a celebration. The media got it right as well: there were special programs on television, 500 Year issues and pullout sections in major papers and magazines, but nothing beyond the expected, or in any way exaggerated or overdone. In fact, whatever celebratory mood existed changed dramatically in the past two or three months, as much more questioning took place. Indian issues were very prominent, with their status examined and re-examined in numerous media specials and open events.

The status of blacks in Brazil became a topic of heated discussion—they were introduced as slaves in the 1600s, freed in the late 1800s, and continue to occupy the bottom rungs of the social ladder. Even environmental consequences got plenty of discussion space, although it's a bit childish to blame explorers from five centuries ago, or settlers from two or three centuries back, for not displaying today's levels of awareness and concern about preserving biodiversities.

Still, judging from the amplitude and intensity of the protests organized to converge on the 500th birthday, one could easily conclude Brazil was partying blindly and ignoring the many issues that surround its first five centuries of nationhood. The protestors' message seemed to be that no level of observance or positive recognition of the date would be appropriate—many were quoted as saying "there is nothing to celebrate", which comes off like a totally unacceptable imposition, a "my way or no way" stance that Brazil's Left, so victimized by authoritarian regimes in the past, should be smart enough to steer clear of, but apparently isn't. Here's how they went about driving home their 500 Year message:

* Weeks before the date, the Landless Peasants Movement (MST), which works in tandem with left-wing political parties, intensified its land invasions throughout Brazil, adding to the list invasions of public buildings, including the INCRA (Land Reform Institute) offices in Salvador, state capital of Bahia, where the main 500 Year event was scheduled to take place. Some 450 MST members kept INCRA employees hostage and later released them, but remained in command of the building, demanding a meeting with Land Reform Minister Raul Jungmann.

He refused to meet them until they vacated the building. This has become typical of MST actions. To put it in perspective: the Justice Ministry has just received a report outlining unlawful captivity of government employees by MST members: since January of 1999, 530 officials have been held hostage in numerous separate incidents. Tough to understand how an organization that bases its claims on the respect for human rights can defend this.

* Mid April, MST members invaded the Bahia State Security Secretariat, the state government office in charge of security and policing, and thrashed the building, including numerous vehicles in its parking lot. Television footage captured MST leaders taking active part in the destruction. Following this, The Workers' Party (PT) announced in its website that it was not supportive of MST-led invasions of public buildings, nor of its most radical leaders. Likewise, the National Confederation of Agricultural Workers (CONTAG), often an MST ally, declared that the landless movement had "reached the limit", and announced it would also keep its distance.

* Indian chiefs representing some 140 nations throughout Brazil met near Porto Seguro in what they described as an "anticelebration". A strongly worded document was released, describing Brazil's history as "infamous and undignified", and listing 20 demands from the federal government, including land demarcations, removal of invaders, and compensation for environmental damage to Indian lands—primarily by gold prospectors who pollute rivers by using mercury to separate gold from silt. All valid demands, except for the direct involvement in creating the document by CIMI, the Indigenist Missionary Council, a left-wing sector of the Catholic Church. The irony here is that historically, the church in Brazil was notorious for not supporting Indian causes, and always siding with the ruler of the day against Indians. From that Indian meeting, an April 22nd march congregating several protesting organizations began towards Porto Seguro, and was blocked by a large contingent of Bahia state Military Police—this is the conflict that made it on worldwide television.

* In various cities, the MST and members of the less prominent urban version of the movement, the MTST (Homeless Workers' Movement), promoted numerous violent acts, in some cases using Molotov cocktails, often attempting to destroy a number of 500 Year "countdown clocks" installed nationwide by TV Globo, Brazil's largest television network. The clocks were created by Globo's multi-award winning graphic artist Hans Donner, and attacking them might only serve as a general protest against past positions by the network, traditionally anti-left. In the 500 Year context, there was no discernible reason for destroying the clocks, except as a violent response to the 500 Year observance they symbolize.

From all this, two conclusions: the government certainly played into the situation, by ordering heavy police contingents to keep demonstrators out of Porto Seguro on April 22nd. The MST and other groups planning demonstrations had been making their intentions crystal clear for several days, perhaps weeks. Ordering a blockade was almost like guaranteeing there would be a clash, although it's difficult to say whether more dialogue might have prevented violence, given the declared intentions of the protestors—many actually promised or implied violence on the big date. President Cardoso actually engaged protestors in a verbal media battle, but retreated in his Discovery day speech, in which he accepted as valid the reasons behind protests by Indians, blacks and the excluded.

The way things turned out is also a direct consequence of the federal government's incredible tolerance when it comes to the endless list of illegal acts committed routinely by MST militants—acts which are then exploited at the political level by left-wing parties. It is, indeed, a tandem: the MST does the field work, and the PT and other less prominent parties on the Left take advantage of it on the political arena. Brasilia has allowed this to grow to a point where it will now have extreme difficulty enforcing the rule of law.

The MST has long ago moved away from its priority—land reform, to take on a broader political stance, often using violence to reach its goals. Why this is tolerated has yet to be properly explained by Brasília, especially since it does little to promote its own accomplishment when it comes to land reform: some 300 thousand families settled since Cardoso's first election, more than all previous Brazilian governments put together.

Finally, it is disappointing to see the same old methods and approach firmly entrenched in Brazil's left wing, and particularly in the Workers' Party. Worse, the PT leadership is talking out of both sides of its mouth—it says it is not supportive of the violence promoted by the MST in the past few days, but then… some of its most prominent leaders, including party president and São Paulo congressman José Dirceu, were present when those marchers clashed with police in Bahia. So which is it? For, against, or just another "opportunity" to take advantage of?

None of this is to say the Brazilian government requires no criticism or makes no mistakes—any regular Brazzil reader knows how we feel about this government's performance, which falls short on numerous items. Which is why expecting the Left to play a more prominent role in the political arena is only natural. They will not accomplish the prominence they ought to have until they shed the idea that they must continue to play to the lowest common denominator.

Things remaining as they are, the PT will continue to spin its wheels come election time—hoping for the best, which in their case will always be the worst. Voters will take note, as they've done consistently, and keep the Left, once again, on the sidelines. There's just no more time to waste diving to the bottom of the pit, to then look for ways to rise back to the top—which is, in no uncertain terms, what the Brazilian left wing insists on asking Brazilians to do.

Adhemar Altieri is a veteran with major news outlets in Brazil, Canada and the United States. He holds a Master's Degree in Journalism from Northwestern University in Evanston, Illinois, and spent ten years with CBS News reporting from Canada and Brazil. Altieri is a member of the Virtual Intelligence Community, formed by The Greenfield Consulting Group to identify future trends for Latin America. He is also the editor of InfoBrazil (http://www.infobrazil.com), an English-language weekly e-zine with analysis and opinions on Brazilian politics and economy. You can reach the author at editors@infobrazil.com 

Send your
comments to
Brazzil