Growing pains

John Briley for the Washington Post

Most accounts about Brazil fall into one of two categories: they either talk about the country’s booming economy and rising political importance, or about rampant corruption, crime and delusional megalomania. Those are the more “serious” accounts, of course. I prefer not to delve into popular myths about pristine beaches populated by supermodels and endless parties (I have yet to meet someone who, after finding out I am Brazilian, does not talk about how he/she plans to visit this “idyllic” place very soon).

That is why I enjoyed the story the Washington Post published on its travel section this saturday. It was a realistic narrative about Rio, its problems and wonders, without falling into the temptation of seeing only the good or the bad nor gloating about the “country of the future”. No glorification of poverty, but a seemingly balanced appreciation for its culture.

When the reporter visited favelas (slums), he commented about how his initial fear turned into a sense of safety, a real change for the city. But he also talked about locals concerns about losing recent security gains after the World Cup in 2014 and the Olympics in 2016, which would echo previous experiences. We all remember how Rio was “cleansed” before the “Eco 92” conference on climate and before the Pope’s visit in 97 (theme of the celebrated movie Elite Squad, which I recommend).

There is a joke that says that “Brazil is the country of the future, and always will be”. The joke is outdated: it is common now to say that the future has arrived. It is undeniable that we have risen considerably in political relevance in the past decade, much due to the diligence and ambition of our former chancellor, Celso Amorim, who currently serves as Defense minister. We also benefited greatly from the financial crisis: Brazil became an even more attractive destination for foreign investment, to the point where capital flows turned into a problem and forced the government to implement taxes and other measures to try to slow it down.

Obviously, these improvements come with caveats. We feel the pressure to be more present in general world affairs, which are sometimes beyond our capacity. And Brazilians are suffering from a generalized process of “gentrification”. Growing foreign interest in the country is bringing inflation (already above the Central Bank’s target) and a housing bubble. Rent prices are sky rocketing. When I visited Sao Paulo for the holidays a few weeks ago, I saw several friends looking to move into cheaper neighborhoods, not being able to keep up with the jump in living expenses in the nice areas they used to live.

It is not clear yet how much regular Brazilians will benefit from all the attention the country is getting abroad. We now talk with a certain longing about the days when “things were more simple and we weren’t on the cover of  The Economist every other week”, as one of my friends put it.

I do think it is all for the better. But we are clearly having growing pains.