When it comes to brazil, football, beaches, carnivals, etc. Provide a general picture of it. The list is both proud and embarrassing for brazilians. Because they seem to be mere symbols of luxury and beauty. However, brazil, regarded by portuguese colonizers as “a paradise on earth”, enjoyed a gift from heaven — the amazon rainforest was one of the world's most precious resources. Today, brazilian democracy is on the right track, rising to the seventh largest economy in the world, being one of the members of the brics that represents the rise of emerging powers, and having achieved energy autonomy as one of the world's leading energy exporters。
Brazil is, of course, a regional large country that is rising or has already emerged, called “the state of the future”, a metaphor that quotes stefan zweig, “brazil: the state of the future” — “brazil has created a whole new civilization that is destined to become one of the most important players in the future development of the world”. Larry rott, 14 years in brazil, was first a journalist in rio de janeiro for the united states newsweek and currently a cultural journalist in the new york times, while writing a current affairs review for the brazilian media, a world-recognized brazilian. He wrote south of the equator: brazil’s emerging and light (roth, guo jie-kil, 2011 edition of china’s sin press) to show brazil in a more objective way, in terms of its political, economic, cultural, social structure, energy and diplomatic image, and to trace the dramatic changes that it had made over the past four decades, as well as a profound, real and serious brazil。
So-called "know-how"
Optimism is the true spirit of brazil. Brazilians regard themselves as “good faith” and regard it as personal and national. Their interpersonal contacts are often warm and friendly, even in general terms. In brazil, it's the sun in life. However, along with these characteristics, there are other characteristics that are less than desirable and that perpetuate brazilian contradictions. While the concept of equality is promoted and promoted in brazil, the actual functioning of society is highly stratified and the gap between class, race and gender is widening. What, then, is the means by which different classes, races, in this highly stratified society, can be closely linked and mobile? The answer is the social norm — “know-how” — which is widely accepted and accepted by brazilians。
“technology” implies the skills required to circumvent laws or social practices that prevent individuals or organizations from achieving certain objectives, similar to “relationships” or “backdoors”. It is precisely because of the corruption and inefficiency of many institutions that brazilians are more inclined than others to support one another. As a tool that cuts across social relations and achieves social ends, the “teaching” translates into a disguised bribe — a “thank you fee”. As a result, they do their job by finding “know-how” and establishing informal, parallel mechanisms for solving problems back to back. The focus is on caring for each other or establishing lasting private relations with those who are able to provide care。
The “know-how” is the prevailing social culture that places law in a position of stigmatization and exclusion. For as long as there is a door, a know-how, no matter how written in the law, and a relationship with a powerful person, it is always possible to grant an extralegal favour and to forgive an unlawful act. Even if brazil had been transformed into a democracy, the people had not felt equal before the law. Powerful people are above the law, and the police are not trusted and even fear. As a result, the law has become an instrument of abuse and coercion, rather than an instrument of justice。
In addition to this, brazil's strong hierarchy has in fact been incorporated into the law, with power and money as indicators of discrimination. The hierarchies under the hierarchy have created many distortions in the formation of brazilian values and behaviour, and a large number of the middle class are not sympathetic to those who are inferior to themselves, but tend to mimic the elite that they aspire to join, reinforcing the idea of the “segregation” of the slave and colonial era. It has to be acknowledged that as a means of channeling social relations, the wind of “know-how” acts as a lubricant in brazilian societies. But for a society governed by the rule of law, it must be disciplined. It is not easy for people at the bottom to find “know-how”, they have no financial rights, and it is indeed difficult to integrate into this social climate。
Brazil's social contradictions are further exacerbated by corruption and hierarchies associated with “know-how”, but there are similar signs of change in the civil and political spheres on the road to building a democratic state. A group of young reformist prosecutors have been at the forefront of protests and prosecutions for corruption and abuse of power by the government. However, the hierarchies stemming from slavery and colonial times, as well as the deeply rooted and widespread winds of “know-how”, are not overnight capable of changing and removing, and many of the investigations into these anti-corruption cases will ultimately fail. However, i believe that the very existence of groups that are unwilling to accept or submit to it reflects the initial signs of social change in brazil, which is of great significance。
Race paradise and nationalism in the jungle
“technology” is a social norm that is widely accepted and accepted by brazilians, while racism is a widespread social consciousness that brazilians are ashamed of, yet ashamed of. Brazil is a self-evident “racial democracy” state and has spared no effort to sell the concept to the outside world so that it is almost universally recognized as a symbol of tolerance and friendship. At the cultural level, brazil is indeed a multicultural crucible, with cultural cannibalism combining european, african and indigenous elements, tolerant and extremely creative. However, reaching deep within brazilian society reveals that brazil's inter-ethnic relations are not what it describes as “the heavens” and “the myths”. “stages based on race exist in modern brazil, like virtually all other racial societies”. Racism is hidden under the smoke screen of the class, focusing on the class in order to divert public attention and criticism from the deeper issues of race and racism. It permeates all aspects of social life, and brazil has never been required to formalize racial exclusion, because it is itself part of the underlying social rules that are understood by brazilians of different colours。
In fact, race in brazil is not as simple as race in the united states. Brazil's ethnic division is complex, with its mixed ethnic groups of indigenous indians, portuguese and african blacks, coupled with a growing flow of immigrants from europe and asia, and a large number of mixed-race brazilians. It is argued that in any society the first step towards solving the problem of race is to recognize its existence, while brazil is self-evident as an ethnic paradise and is unwilling to look directly at the dark side of its history, which does not help to resolve the problem of race。
Brazil's nationalism is another prominent social consciousness, reflected in a more paranoid attitude towards the amazon. The slogan “amazon is ours” can be said to have been inculcated in brazilian minds since childhood and reinforced repeatedly in life to the point that it has become a nationalistic hymn. Despite these claims, brazilians are not aware that they do not have the means to exercise control in the amazon and even to provide basic services to many inhabitants of the amazon region. This has given rise to a fanatical national sentiment that is convinced that outsiders — especially the united states — are trying to take the amazon for granted in order to maintain and expand the dominance of “hegemonic states”。
Any nation-state will have different degrees of nationalism at different historical times, and it is not excessive for brazil to have nationalism. The spread of nationalism through modern media was highly susceptible to incitement, especially in countries with colonial histories, such as brazil. In recent years, the brazilian government has committed itself to a radical change in its policy towards the amazon, taking into account the special status of the amazon region's “past of the world” and the pressures of public opinion from around the globe, which in part demonstrates brazil's courage and willingness to allow foreign participation in sensitive issues. However, commitment needs to prove that brazil's nationalism remains a formidable obstacle to governance and development in the amazon。
“latin american leader” or “state of the future”
Despite strong racism and nationalism in brazilian society, these social perceptions have not impeded socio-economic development in the short term. Today, brazil is one of the most balanced and diverse economies in the world. In 2016, brazil's gross domestic product (GDP) reached us$ 1. 77 trillion. In brazil, agriculture, known as the “green anchor”, has unparalleled prospects and strength. Brazil's arable land covers approximately 152. 5 million hectares, has 46. 6 million hectares of arable land and 177 million hectares of rangeland. It is the world's largest producer and exporter of sugar, the second largest producer and exporter of beans and the third largest producer of maize, with maize being the world's fifth largest exporter of beef and chicken. The agricultural sector grew by 4. 6 per cent in 2009, with a total food production of 149. 5 million tons. In addition, brazil has the highest industrial strength and processes in latin america. In the 1970s, brazil established a more complete industrial system with a stronger industrial base. Industry grew by 10. 1 per cent in 2010. The main industrial sectors include iron and steel, automobiles, shipbuilding, oil, cement, chemicals, etc., so that industry is a top priority for brazil's economic development. During his term of office, which was politically stable in brazil during the period of cardoso, he carried out major reforms in state institutions, invested heavily in physical infrastructure and supported social education and health care. When lula took over, he continued to promote social projects and gained the right to host the 2016 olympic games, which gave brazil new recognition in the world and elevated its international standing。
So is brazil able to achieve the “brazilian miracle” in such a short period of time, and have it become a latin american leader and a future nation that holds a prominent place in the global landscape? At present, brazil is still facing serious structural bottlenecks, and the lack of physical infrastructure, the size of the bureaucracy, the cost of development that is inefficient and corrupt, and the fundamentally flawed political system are constraining its development. Under conditions of internal instability within political parties, the adoption of any piece of legislation requires lengthy negotiations, and the environment for political transactions contributes to the spread of corruption. According to the brazilian newspaper globe, brazilian officials misappropriated government funds of $37. 7 billion between 2003 and 2010. It can be said that the current problem of corruption in brazil is greater than violence, poverty and even the division of wealth, making it the greatest embarrassment for brazilians。
Corruption is not only detrimental to the maintenance of democracy, it affects the legitimacy base of the ruling party, but it also adversely affects economic growth. Brazil's political institutional problems, such as the stalemate in executive-legislative relations, the weakness of the party system and the accompanying corruption, have further reinforced the negative effects of the political culture。
When it comes to diplomacy, as mentioned above in the social culture of “modernity” and “teaching”, brazil attaches importance to “modernity” in its international contacts, emphasizing the need for convergence and sometimes even the absence of real differences in order to reach a compromise, and to create a picture of diplomacy that is happy and harmonious. As a result, brazil is often seen as an expert in the mediation of international disputes。
In objective terms, this is the best time for brazil to seek regional leadership. The growing role of regional powers in brazil is reflected not only in regional affairs, such as integration, but also in the changing attitude of major countries and groups around the world towards brazil. First, brazil is an important option for the united states government in coordinating latin american relations, maintaining stability in the hemisphere and the balance of power in the south american region; and secondly, through the establishment of strategic partnerships, the european union uses brazil as a bridge to strengthen its relations with mercosur and south america. Finally, the growing relationship between other developing countries and brazil also reflects brazil's special position in the region. However, if brazil is to truly become a latin american leader, it must address some of the long-standing constraints on its development: the “tight spell” of economic growth — high taxes, low investment, poor infrastructure; regional development imbalances — large competitive disadvantages in backward regions and low levels of domestic integration; and social polarization — the gap between rich and poor, racism and, as mentioned earlier, lack of commitment and courage as regional leaders。
For the time being, therefore, brazil does not have the conditions of the world's major powers, but its economic power, regional and international status is on the rise and even a trend towards accelerated and sustained growth. Brazil's growing regional and international influence is increasingly recognized by the international community and can be said to be in a state of “emergence”。
The causes of latin america's backwardness — development strategies, inequality and the economic crisis
From the above-mentioned exploration of brazil's development problems, which extends to those of the latin american region, some commonality exists in the development history of the region as a whole. An analysis of the root causes of latin america's backwardness in the second half of the twentieth century, prepared in conjunction with francis fukuyama, can be summarized as four main problems: lack of exports, excessive exchange rates, neglect of economic inequality and a serious underinvestment in human capital. Even the regional power of latin america, brazil, has solved its first problem through a series of drastic economic reforms. The symptoms of backwardness of inequality are reflected in racial and class discrimination. The backwardness of institution-building is reflected in the unpopular nature of the laws and systems in force in most latin american countries, and brazilian law, in the shadow of the “wind of know-how”, is seen as an ideal and pursuit. The latin american countries have not devoted much more attention and investment to human resources and have not made the necessary efforts to combat poverty and inequality than the united states and other countries with very successful economic development. “the vulnerability of the brazilian economy remains, social problems need to be addressed further and political democracy needs to be further strengthened”
In addition, latin american countries have a unique economic strategy for authoritarianism. While it is true that it will lead to rapid economic growth, in the long run it will not be conducive to the upgrading of economic structures and competitiveness. “in the face of the economic crisis, the latin american countries have not committed themselves to structural economic reform, poverty eradication and the promotion of equality, but have, instead, irresponsibly and vigorously resorted to external debt and state terrorism.”
In order to overcome the root causes of backwardness, latin american countries need a democratic political framework and stable institutional foundations that provide reliable guarantees of the rule of law, a sound market economy and sound economic policies, as well as a national think tank to train more highly qualified people. In the latin american region, brazil, as a rising regional power, should take the lead in bringing about change and, through ever-expanding regional radioactivity and influence, lead latin america out of the source of backwardness, progress and prosperity。
