DIFERENCES BETWEEN BRAZILIAN AND AMERICAN DEMOCRACY

by Fernando Raphael Ferro.

There are many similarities between Brazil and United States that sometimes is a little bit hard understand why both countries are, in the end, so different. But the electoral system is one of the huge and most important differences between Brazil and United States. First of all, USA begins as a democracy, a Republic, and Brazil as an Empire. This is the first historical difference. But, along the year, Brazil has become a republic so, and even in its imperial times, was a democracy. But ours electoral system has never been divided in districts like in USA.

            Here in Brazil we adopt a system of proportional vote, what means that the most voted parties share the chair on parliament between the most voted candidates of his party. In this system, we can guarantee that some candidates with less than 1,000 votes can be elected together with others whit more than one million votes.

            People who create the American electoral system was though to establish the best system to fit to the needs of American people. It is not perfect, I believe, but it works. Here in Brazil, the electoral system was created to fit the needs of political class, just legitimating this. So, in every elections, what we see here in Brazil, are lots of small parties with pop star candidates (like clowns, football players, actors, singers) who try to get lots of votes to help elect candidates without popular expression.

            As a result for the fact that we don’t have districts, all candidates of all parties run against everybody for popular vote, what ruins that sense of political identity of a party. Two candidates of the same party, during the election, are like enemy, and there’s no ideology that survives in such environment. The campaign also becomes too expensive, and riches candidates or riches candidatures are benefitted.

              Here in Brazil we have 32 different parties in National Congress as a final result of this confuses electoral system, created to fit the only needs of political class. And there are other 23 parties to be created. Of those, at least to are near to became recognized: NOVO, a soft right party, and REDE, a kind of left party mixed with green party.

            This difference in the electoral system may see a little thing in a huge universe of similitudes. But it explains lots of social, political and economic behavior of Brazilian people, and why is so hard to us be pragmatic sometimes. To a Brazilian is hard to image a congress that works harmonic whit the government, without blackmail, and endless negotiations. At same time, in the Brazilian economy an intricate system of subsides, protections and privileges operates with the help of congressman, what is absolutely invisible for who is outside of the country and the game.

            I don’t know USA as well I know Brazil. I believe that in USA, in some scale, those things should also happen. But here, this is part of our political and social system, and without understand this, you will never survive in Brazil.

PROTESTING FOR FREEDOM, OR FOR SLAVERY?

By Fernando R. Ferro

I admit: I am a pessimist guy about the future of Brazil. And I have a very great distrust of the masses, whether the indoctrinated party and unionized masses or the amorphous masses of the middle class who protest against corruption for the output of the PT (Work Party). I suspect even more of the real reasons that lead people to the streets. It will be a cry for freedom or be a cry for slavery?

 During the twelve years of PT government, the excesses were constant news. We saw on TV, in newspapers, magazines, internet, finally, on all vehicles swarmed news on ethics, economic and political bankruptcy of the national institutions. The mass remained silent this whole time, while the foundations of their freedom were undermined. Despite the feeling of prosperity of the first eight years of the PT government, the truth is that we became poorer than the rest of the world. Our economy grew less than the world average. Saved by the weight of our demographics, we move on and we gain prominence, but the situation has never been good.

The industry experienced a clear declaim process and the only answer found was more government protection. Our overvalued currency masked the stagnation of economic productivity. The services nor improved. We were twelve years stuck in time. The people, however, in the splendor, never complained. Or rather, complained during a brief period in 2013. The complaint was, I suspect, driven by an increase in bus fares, followed by a request for free pass. Then it turned a wave of diffuse protests against the World Cup, which shortly before had been celebrated as conquest, and also against corruption.

In 2014, the patriotic euphoria of the National Cup calmed tempers and the crushing defeat in the semi-final and then in the end, put the Brazilian in a dormant state. In the election that could have changed the course, however, the Brazilians were conservative and preferred to keep the PT by other four years in power. But let's be fair: the election polarized Brazil among those who wanted change and that satisfied who wanted to keep everything as it was.

Now, that is more and more evident is the destruction of Petrobras by the systemic corruption of the PT and the account for the years of uncontrolled spending spree is charged, the populace revolt themselves. Again it is a correction. This populace includes, educated, middle and high income people, which was against Rousseff in the October elections. It is a skilled populace so.

But what motivates the protests? It will be corruption? Or is the destruction of Petrobras, underdevelopment symbol, known by the name of national developmentalism? It motivates me more indignation the incompetence than corruption. Let me explain: the corrupt rest sometimes, as well as the evil one. But the incompetent is relentless. Not for ever. He works seven days a week, twenty four hours a day, 365 days that lasts the translation. And just as the men of that story, who born ignorant, he haven’t learn nothing throughout life and even forget half before he died. I suspect that Brazilians are not outraged by the fact of corruption. They are outraged, in fact, by the release of controlled prices.

When gasoline had its artificially controlled prices, no one complained; when prices of buses were opportunistically below the equilibrium price, no one went out to the streets. And I don’t see anyone crying for privatization of state-owned company. Nor I see people crying for the end of the subsidies given to BNDES. What people want, deep down, are virginal politicians. Political incorruptible, undefiled. They want a Sebastian who, risen, save them from foreign judge.

But there are no saviors. Corruption is  in man (and woman). To stay in the metaphor, after Genesis, chapter 12, no one is exempt from the sinful nature. That does not stop us, of course, be honest and fair. But when we choose to transfer 40% of our wealth, voluntarily, for a group of 513 ruffians and a president to manage it, guarded by a dozen judges chosen by this same president (or its antecedents), we are condemned to slavery. Not only that. We are offering a generous booty for sharing.

If Petrobras were a private company, any internal corruption scandal would not affect us. If the BNDES was a private bank, its strategic investment errors do not affect. If the Caixa Econômica Federal or the Banco do Brasil were private institutions, their presidents could invite as many socialites they wanted to share the bank airplane in his travels, to wherever they went. None of these problems would affect us. But we chose to have these problems. Throughout history, Brazilians gave their wealth to the government in exchange for "blessings" and "rights."

Labor rights, for example, favoring 1 million union workers and undermine 25, 30 million underemployed. Drown microentrepreneurs. The civil service works rights benefit the richer class of the country, which makes more strikes, work less, sooner retires, and contributes less time to social security. But it is widely supported by the population. Also, is the most envied, because more than being rich, all Brazilians want is to be civil workers.

So, readers and friends, I have a great suspect of the voice that comes from the streets. I know some of those that are directly involved with the movement, as my dear friend and co-author Anselmo Heidrich, and I know he agrees with almost everything I write. But I sincerely believe that what that mass he commands want is not freedom, but servitude. Just want to change the master. Not that it's a bad start.

Honestly, I want to be wrong in my reading. I would like to sincerely believe that we are facing an awakening to freedom. A dawn the fight to end slavery. Those are people eager to take charge of their destiny, without the paternalism of a strong government to guide them that are on the streets. That this unhappy mass awoke to the fact that the great evil is statism, nationalism, protectionism, interventionism, and there is no more liberating force in the world than the competition. But I doubt it.