Why is there so much poverty in Brazil?

[bigtimespaghetti]

Is it due to the semi fascist government misallocating resources or is it something else? obviously the drug laws do not help which create a problem when there shouldn't be one.

This is a complicated subject, but it is something that I would like hopefully some native Brazilians to tell me, other than my Brazilian family.

Thanks!

[Lethn]

Well it's a mixture of all those factors which is right, you also have the issue of hyperinflation, paper money never leads to prosperity in an economy.

[Agestorzrxx]

Is it due to the semi fascist government misallocating resources or is it something else? obviously the drug laws do not help which create a problem when there shouldn't be one.

This is a complicated subject, but it is something that I would like hopefully some native Brazilians to tell me, other than my Brazilian family.

Thanks!

Most of country can't be rich as USA.
That's a nature.

[bigtimespaghetti]

I'm not talking about excess, I'm confused over the stifling poverty in what should be a prosperous and resource rich nation.

[bigtimespaghetti]

Well it's a mixture of all those factors which is right, you also have the issue of hyperinflation, paper money never leads to prosperity in an economy.

Yes my father in law has lost much money in inflations and bank holidays. But this is more of a state issue made worse by fiat.

[Lethn]

Well it's a mixture of all those factors which is right, you also have the issue of hyperinflation, paper money never leads to prosperity in an economy.

Yes my father in law has lost much money in inflations and bank holidays. But this is more of a state issue made worse by fiat.

Well the state IS responsible for the hyperinflation in the first place so you're not wrong, they're the ones allowing the money printing.

[TrailingComet]

Bad government policies, racial issues, colonial legacy, developing worls issues like corruption and nepotism
The usual suspects I am afraid

[bigtimespaghetti]

Bad government policies, racial issues, colonial legacy, developing worls issues like corruption and nepotism
The usual suspects I am afraid

Okay, thanks. I have visited once, and I thought that while developing it still had potential to do well.

[AllTheBitz]

The government is very corrupt and useless.

[AllTheBitz]

Is it due to the semi fascist government misallocating resources or is it something else? obviously the drug laws do not help which create a problem when there shouldn't be one.

This is a complicated subject, but it is something that I would like hopefully some native Brazilians to tell me, other than my Brazilian family.

Thanks!

Most of country can't be rich as USA.
That's a nature.

For the world to support people to live like the average American the world could only support 2-3 billion people

[jjacob]

Corruption seems to be an underlying problem in most emerging economies.

[Lethn]

Is it due to the semi fascist government misallocating resources or is it something else? obviously the drug laws do not help which create a problem when there shouldn't be one.

This is a complicated subject, but it is something that I would like hopefully some native Brazilians to tell me, other than my Brazilian family.

Thanks!

Most of country can't be rich as USA.
That's a nature.

BHAAHAHHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAAAA!

America rich that's rich, you seriously think all that paper is worth something?

[bigtimespaghetti]

Is it due to the semi fascist government misallocating resources or is it something else? obviously the drug laws do not help which create a problem when there shouldn't be one.

This is a complicated subject, but it is something that I would like hopefully some native Brazilians to tell me, other than my Brazilian family.

Thanks!

Most of country can't be rich as USA.
That's a nature.

BHAAHAHHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAAAA!

America rich that's rich, you seriously think all that paper is worth something?

I think he means the standard of living on TV.

[Lethn]

Is it due to the semi fascist government misallocating resources or is it something else? obviously the drug laws do not help which create a problem when there shouldn't be one.

This is a complicated subject, but it is something that I would like hopefully some native Brazilians to tell me, other than my Brazilian family.

Thanks!

Most of country can't be rich as USA.
That's a nature.

BHAAHAHHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAAAA!

America rich that's rich, you seriously think all that paper is worth something?

I think he means the standard of living on TV.

Some people really are just fooled and brainwashed :S it's quite sad sometimes, but other times it's mostly hilarious.

[TaunSew]

I'm not talking about excess, I'm confused over the stifling poverty in what should be a prosperous and resource rich nation.

No country has enough natural resources to sustain a high standard of living for 200 million people.   Australia and Canada have a hard enough time doing it, with a far smaller population, due to the boom-bust cycle where commodities can tank in value or demand can collapse overnight and millions can lose their livelihood as a result.  

I don't really see what avenue there is these days for developing an economy.. you can't out manufacture the quantity of East Asia or the quality of Europe...   There might be a lot of money in tech but tech is very efficient where all the demand for software and products are already being mostly met by a few tech companies based out of California and other tech hubs in the United States.

[bigtimespaghetti]

I'm not talking about excess, I'm confused over the stifling poverty in what should be a prosperous and resource rich nation.

No country has enough natural resources to sustain a high standard of living for 200 million people.   Australia and Canada have a hard enough time doing it, with a far smaller population, due to the boom-bust cycle where commodities can tank in value or demand can collapse overnight and millions can lose their livelihood as a result.  

I don't really see what avenue there is these days for developing an economy.. you can't out manufacture the quantity of East Asia or the quality of Europe...   There might be a lot of money in tech but tech is very efficient where all the demand for software and products are already being mostly met by a few tech companies based out of California and other tech hubs in the United States.

Interesting points, thanks! Paints a bleak future though.

[TheIrishman]

OP and most other people on this thread don't seem to know much about Brazil at all, although TrailingComet came pretty close when he mentioned "bad government policies, colonial legacy, corruption and nepotism". I'm Irish/Brazilian and have LIVED in Brazil most of my life. You people seem to be talking about how Brazil was 30+ years ago. The government is corrupt, yes, but a government is nothing but a mirror of the society it represents, and this is a society where corruption is a cultural thing. Inflation is currently at 6-7% yearly, which could hardly be called "hyperinflation".

The most important thing to bear in mind, though, is that Brazil is, like the USA, basically a bunch of States forced to remain together in spite of a series of profound differences between them. How would you define the USA, for example? Is it New York? Is it the southern states? Is it California? Is it Montana? See the point I'm trying to make?

In Brazil's case, in terms of wealth, we basically have 2 very different countries: the States from the North and Northeast regions, and the States from the Central-West, Southeast and South regions (Brazil is divided like that, in 5 regions). The northern and northeastern States are poorer, but we're definitely not talking of poorer as in "people starving to death" here. They are just less developed. The southeastern and southern states are way more developed (in all senses).

Brazil and the US are actually very similar, which could help Americans understand Brazil better than people from other countries. There are, like I said, the differences between the various States and regions. I think I don't even need to start talking about corruption, about how large corporations run both countries from behind the scenes, or how passive and brainwashed by the media people have become. Both are also countries of immigrants, mainly European - just replace the English with the Portuguese in Brazil's case. Brazil has the largest number of Italian descendants in the world, with the US coming in at a very close second place. In the southern states there's a strong German presence, with at least 20% of the population being of German descent. There's even a significant number of Dutch descendants in some northeastern states, from the time the Dutch invaded that region until they were expelled by the Portuguese. Unlike the US, though, we do not have a significant hispanic component in our population - Brazil and hispanic South America are in practice like two separate continents, and the two do not mix much.

There are so many other misconceptions I could address - favelas, violence, drugs, etc. - that writing an in-depth essay about the complexities of Brazil would be too much work, so I'm just gonna leave you with these observations:

- OP seems to come from a poor family and that directly affects his ability to see the big picture (which is perfecly understandable). Pick anyone from any country who is not wealthy and that person will describe that country in a completely different way than a wealthier person.

- For Satan's sake, take everything you see in the media with ten grains of salt.

- If you really want to get a glimpse of Brazil, come live here for a few months (or years), and in different regions - and no, a 2-week holiday won't suffice.

[bigtimespaghetti]

TheIrishman, I appreciate your comment, it was exactly what I was interested in reading and has put the issue into perspective for me.

I never claimed to know much about Brazil. I have family connections, but they have lived outside of Brazil for 15+ years, my wife is Brazilian but left when a child.

While I come from a poor background at least by UK standards- (a backwater of England) and I am certainly not wealthy, affecting my ability to see 'the big picture' is probably incorrect and seems as big of an assumption as perhaps I have made concerning Brazil in some respects, I did not expand upon my Brazillian family- which I in fact married into as I wrote before in this post so I can understand the misconception. I am just ill-informed of the complex nuances of Brazil and fully expected (and appreciate that) the issues to be numerous and interconnected as you have expounded.

I was interested in the anecdotal and brief summation of these issues that can only be obtained communication such as here, so I am sorry if my ignorance has ticked you off!

[Febo]

Is it due to the semi fascist government misallocating resources or is it something else? obviously the drug laws do not help which create a problem when there shouldn't be one.

This is a complicated subject, but it is something that I would like hopefully some native Brazilians to tell me, other than my Brazilian family.

Thanks!

It started that land was divided by few people and not among all people that come to Brazil. So most people was working on that land and got paid. Owners had lots money and of course did not spend it wisely.
Other countries, where all people get piece of land, those people fight to make most out of it and worked hard. So their country started growing much faster then Brazil did.

So now you see USA is much more developed as Brazil is, altho Brazil actually had much better land.

[AllTheBitz]

OP and most other people on this thread don't seem to know much about Brazil at all, although TrailingComet came pretty close when he mentioned "bad government policies, colonial legacy, corruption and nepotism". I'm Irish/Brazilian and have LIVED in Brazil most of my life. You people seem to be talking about how Brazil was 30+ years ago. The government is corrupt, yes, but a government is nothing but a mirror of the society it represents, and this is a society where corruption is a cultural thing. Inflation is currently at 6-7% yearly, which could hardly be called "hyperinflation".

The most important thing to bear in mind, though, is that Brazil is, like the USA, basically a bunch of States forced to remain together in spite of a series of profound differences between them. How would you define the USA, for example? Is it New York? Is it the southern states? Is it California? Is it Montana? See the point I'm trying to make?

In Brazil's case, in terms of wealth, we basically have 2 very different countries: the States from the North and Northeast regions, and the States from the Central-West, Southeast and South regions (Brazil is divided like that, in 5 regions). The northern and northeastern States are poorer, but we're definitely not talking of poorer as in "people starving to death" here. They are just less developed. The southeastern and southern states are way more developed (in all senses).

Brazil and the US are actually very similar, which could help Americans understand Brazil better than people from other countries. There are, like I said, the differences between the various States and regions. I think I don't even need to start talking about corruption, about how large corporations run both countries from behind the scenes, or how passive and brainwashed by the media people have become. Both are also countries of immigrants, mainly European - just replace the English with the Portuguese in Brazil's case. Brazil has the largest number of Italian descendants in the world, with the US coming in at a very close second place. In the southern states there's a strong German presence, with at least 20% of the population being of German descent. There's even a significant number of Dutch descendants in some northeastern states, from the time the Dutch invaded that region until they were expelled by the Portuguese. Unlike the US, though, we do not have a significant hispanic component in our population - Brazil and hispanic South America are in practice like two separate continents, and the two do not mix much.

There are so many other misconceptions I could address - favelas, violence, drugs, etc. - that writing an in-depth essay about the complexities of Brazil would be too much work, so I'm just gonna leave you with these observations:

- OP seems to come from a poor family and that directly affects his ability to see the big picture (which is perfecly understandable). Pick anyone from any country who is not wealthy and that person will describe that country in a completely different way than a wealthier person.

- For Satan's sake, take everything you see in the media with ten grains of salt.

- If you really want to get a glimpse of Brazil, come live here for a few months (or years), and in different regions - and no, a 2-week holiday won't suffice.

thanks for the info. made me start to think a bit about the U.S

[HeroCat]

I think country government must take care of poverty, this is not easy and take a lot of years - Brazil is large country, so it can take ~ 30 years in total. Good laws and new working places 

[Agestorzrxx]

Is it due to the semi fascist government misallocating resources or is it something else? obviously the drug laws do not help which create a problem when there shouldn't be one.

This is a complicated subject, but it is something that I would like hopefully some native Brazilians to tell me, other than my Brazilian family.

Thanks!

The reason is simple.
The total resource of earth is certain.
And some of rich, the others must poor.