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| Greve means Strike in Portuguese. One of many signs around the UNESP campus declaring the strike. |
I arrived in São José do Rio Preto
to a university on strike. UNESP,
Universidade Estadual Paulista, comprises 23 campuses across the state of São
Paulo. Last I heard, 14 of those are on
strike. Each campus has their specific
points of contention – including, but not limited to, insufficient housing and
dining on campus as well as opposition to an affirmative action law currently
in the works for the state of São Paulo, Programa de Inclusão com Mérito no
Ensino Superior Público Paulista (PIMESP).This spirit of protest served as my introduction to university life in
Brazil. And, as I was fortunate enough
to observe, transformed my entire experience into something so much bigger than
I ever could have imagined.
On a larger stage, protests began in
São Paulo and Rio de Janeiro on June 6 in response to a hike in public
transportation costs. However, they have
rapidly escalated to encompass concerns with corruption and misuse of public
funds throughout the federal government.
To be perfectly honest, my first reaction was disbelief that a R$ .20
(about .09 USD) rise warranted such a dramatic response. But, after a discussion with the students
hosting me here in Brazil, my position shifted.
I did a little math.
According
to my host (then verified here), minimum wage
in Brazil is approximately 315 USD per
month. With a full time work week comprising 44 hours and a month average four
full weeks, the
hourly rate comes out to about 1.78 USD.
Now, the fare increase would raise the price of one bus
ride to R$ 3.20, or about 1.50 USD. In
context, the problem seems much clearer.
The average minimum
wage worker will spend almost an hour’s worth of pay on a one-way bus ride to
work. The
day’s round trip will cost almost a quarter of the money he or she will earn
that day, before taxes. [Disclaimer:
The exchange rate between the US Dollar and the Brazilian Real changes with
some frequency. I used 1 USD = R$ 2.13 as that was correct the last time I got
money from an ATM.]
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| Source: REUTERS/Ueslei Marcelino |
This new perspective led me to seek
out more information regarding the concerns of the protesters. Here in Rio Preto, my new roommate is quite
involved with both the student strike and the local solidarity protests. She told me that the primary concern of the
protest is not the bus fare. While fare
increases may have served as the spark, the fire fueling the protesters feeds
on the misappropriation of tax revenue as the country prepares for the 2014
World Cup and the 2016 Olympic Games.
Video:
“No, I’m not going to the World Cup”
The people of Brazil are seeing
billions spent on soccer stadiums while public education and public healthcare
are in shambles. While I am not
thoroughly informed in either area of Brazilian life, I can comment on the
aspects I have observed first-hand while in Brazil.
Education: On June 12, I spent the day at Escola Viva a government-sponsored
project in the poorest neighborhoods of Rio Preto. The program was described to me as an
after-school program for disadvantaged youth.
Imagine my surprise when I was told I was to arrive at 9 am. What I learned was that Escola Viva serves as
an educational safe space for kids in elementary and middle school during the
hours in which they are not in school.
Due to an extreme lack of resources in public schools, the school day is
broken into half days. Students attend
classes in either the morning or the afternoon.
For the rest of the day, Escola Viva attempts to make up for the deficiencies
in the school day, primarily by providing activities that expose students to
the arts programs (theater, music, etc.) that have been necessarily cut from
the traditional school day. While I was
fortunate to see the benefits Escola Viva is able to provide to hundreds of
kids in Rio Preto, there are greater problems with the funding for public education
that make such programs necessary. Thus,
I was sold on the concerns of the protesters on this front.
Healthcare: A week or so later, I found myself in a Brazilian public
hospital. Long story short, food
poisoning and dehydration led to a first-hand experience with the public
healthcare system in Brazil. Again, I was very fortunate to be affiliated with
UNESP and a professor from the medical school in order to be admitted to the
Emergency Room. However, during my time
there, I observed many of the complaints I had heard from the protestors on the
news about the problems with healthcare. The waiting rooms were over-flowing
with people. Doctors were buried in more patients than they could handle. The line
for X-Ray took hours. Gurneys and
wheelchairs carrying patients lined every inch of hallway. Not to mention the
standing water on the floor in the exam room.
I was given IV fluids and eventually put in an employee lounge, as there
was no other place to sit while I waited.
Amidst all of this, I met doctors and nurses that went above and beyond
to help me, despite the fact that I was not a Brazilian taxpayer and did not
speak any Portuguese at the time. The
treatment I received was in spite of the resources (or lack thereof) provided
by the government rather than due to them.
My experience with the public healthcare system showed me doctors that
want to help, but are severely constrained by a lack of funding. Again, the concerns of the protestors became
much more clear to me.
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| Thousands gathered in Rio de Janeiro Source: AP |
While my knee-jerk reaction was to
diminish the protests in Brazil to a melodramatic response to seemingly
necessary rise in bus fare, I had completely misjudged the situation. These protests demonstrate an understanding of
democracy that seems to me to have lost credibility in the U.S. - the
collective voice of the people protesting against a government action that they
believe to be wrong. The power of the
taxpayer lies in their willingness to fight for representation that works in
the best interest of the people with honesty and transparency. The people of Brazil, at least those partaking
in the spirit of protest, want to see their taxes support public services, not
soccer stadiums.
A few other, more professional, interpretations of the protests:
[Disclaimer: I do not necessarily
agree with all of these portrayals of the protests. I tried to pull from
a variety of sources.]
Finally,
I am incredibly grateful for the
opportunities I had while abroad. On that note, I would like to take a moment
to thank the Department of Modern Languages, the Richard B. and Constance L.
Lewis Fund, and the McConnell Center for their assistance in funding this study
abroad opportunity. Also, special thanks
go to Dr. Manuel Medina (UofL) and Dr. Gisele Fernandes (UNESP), as well as the
students of UNESP who opened their homes to us.