Post #3: Brazil’s Nationalism
People from every country have pride in their great nation for various reasons and that is what makes up Nationalism.
Nationalism, an ideology based on the premise that the individual’s loyalty and devotion to the nation-state surpass other individual or group interests (Britannica, 2018).
Countries will show their own Nationalism in many different ways. Being a citizen of the United States, I am proud to be an American, but I show my support differently than my own friends or neighbors. With many ways to get involved, the opportunities are endless to show pride for my country. I support sports teams, our olympic teams, participate in political activities, travel to other states, etc. These are a few ways I choose to show my nationalism, but for those in other countries it will depend on their lifestyles.
In Brazil, many people recently showed a lot of their pride during the 2016 Summer Olympic Games that was hosted in Rio; a city rich in culture. This gave Brazil the opportunity to show the rest of the world what they have to offer. The olympics always attract thousands of tourists to come visit and watch the games, so all eyes were on Brazil at this time. The news coverage focused on olympic events, while also highlighting some other issues and news occurring in Brazil.
I remember watching the games myself and noticing some discussion about issues going on in Brazil, more specifically Rio. There was talk about how their diving pool turned green and that may have to do with their low quality water. Many people noticed the location of most of the stadiums were near a military base, so tanks and other military equipment were seen fairly close to the games. This made some athletes and spectators feel odd about the first summer olympics in South America.
“The problem is not just sewage. It’s also trash, tons of it, floating in the bay. And some athletes say they’re worried about running into it” (Severe Water Pollution…in Rio, 2016).
“…it created the impression that Brazil wasn’t 100% prepared for these Olympics” (Rio 2016: The good…first Olympics, 2016).
There were also discussions on issues such as their pollution, living conditions, poor economy and crime. These are issues that have continued on for several years, but were not going to improve overnight for the olympic events. I think people were a little harsh on Brazil, because we all know most countries face similar issues too.
Despite all the negative topics in the news, Brazilians were still proud of their country and helped celebrate their achievements during this time. The olympics brought their country together and made them forget about the bigger issues; at least for a little while. Beyond the olympics, they also take pride in their religious involvement, social events, and culture. I have seen their passion when reading and researching more about this country in the past few weeks and I think their nationalism will continue strong in the coming years.
Unfortunately, not everyone sees this rise in nationalism as a positive thing. In the book, The Post American World, Zakaria describes his opinion on the dangers of the rise in nationalism. He goes on about how nationalism has some potential to start deconstruction in a global sense (Zakaria, 2009). With a growing country trying to figure out their identity, there comes some power play in the post-Americanism world. He is basically saying that people can feel so strongly about their country, but those feelings will not prove how strong they actually are. The only power that will really matter is the legitimate power to have over other countries (Zakaria, 2009). I can understand his thoughts on the dangers of nationalism, but I may not fully agree with them. I see nationalism as such a compelling thing to express and I would like to see it continue to rise.
“But the intensifying population movements in the era of globalization have challenged some of the most crucial powers of nation-states: immigration control, population registration, and security protocols” (Steger 67).
One example of the nation-state conflict involving migration, is the increase in migrants coming from Venezuela into Brazil in recent years. I had touched on this issue in my first blog post, but it is an on-going issue that multiple countries are facing right now. With poor economic conditions in Venezuela and their government taking little action to improve the situation, it has led many people to flee to nearby countries for help. Columbia and Brazil are seeing a majority of these refugees enter their countries due to this issue. Brazil’s border towns have found it difficult to host such a large amount of immigrants every day and it has put pressure on both locals and migrant families (“How Venezuela’s crisis developed and drove out millions of people”, 2018). This nation-state issue has been occurring for the past few years and there are only small signs of improvement thus far. I am not sure where this problem will be in the next few months, but I hope these neighboring nations can work together to improve conditions for their citizens.
Brazil faces several issues large and small, including their continuous problem with inequality. Brazil ranks at number nineteen on the C.I.A.’s GINI Index with a 49.0, as of 2014 (WorldFactbook, 2014). This information does need to be updated, but it still gives us a look into Brazil’s distribution of income in comparison to the world. Brazil sits in the middle of this inequality scale, but this does not mean they have good equality distribution throughout their country.
Over the past few decades, Brazil has been able to make great progress to reduce some inequality. They have taken millions of people out of poverty, which has improved the basis of their social scale. Even with these efforts, they have progressed at slow rates and are still considered to be one of the most unequal countries in the world (Brazil: extreme inequality in numbers, 2018).
To put it into perspective…
“Brazil’s six richest men have the same wealth as poorest 50 percent of the population; around 100 million people. The country’s richest 5 percent have the same income as the remaining 95 percent” (Brazil: extreme inequality in numbers, 2018).
People have predicted that Brazil is still decades away from having wage equality, but efforts are still being made to make improvements. There is hopes to close the large gap between their richest and poorest. The World Economic Forum has published their Inclusive Economic Growth and Development Report that identifies the structural and institutional features of economies that equip them to grow in a socially inclusive way (Is Brazil Making Progress on Inequality?, 2015). The following image is Brazil’s report for 2015.
Brazil has grown tremendously over the past few decades and since they are such a large economy, I still see great potential for this country. They have room to still develop stronger, but just need some more time and effort to get there.
Sources:
Zakaria, Fareed (2009). The Post-American World. Penguin, pp. 7–61.
Steger, Manfred B. (2003). Globalization: A Very Short Introduction. pp. 62–79.
