May 21, 2006

Violence in Brazil--The Aftermath

All seems to be relatively quiet on the southern front. Police have control now, whether they got it back by themselves or had it relinquished to them by the gangs is another question.

Now horrified Brazilians begin to reflect on what has happened over the last two weeks, and why. One Brazilian I talked with summarized the problem to me very well:

Os direitos humanos estão prejudicando os humanos direitos.

Rough translation: an emphasis on human rights is making it tough on the humans who do right. The Brazilian penal code is built on the (quite unbiblical) assumption that man is basically good. The goal is to rehabilitate the criminal, not punish him. Hence, there is no fear of the law on the part of the criminal. There is no law inside prisons. Lawyers are not seached upon entering maximum security(!) prisons, and often sneak weapons and cell phones to their clients. The TV journals here are all carrying the story of how the attacks of the past weeks were coordinated from prison using cell phones.

The lawyers who brought them should be held accountable for the innocent lives that were lost.

Meanwhile, the blame game has begun on the part of the leadership. São Paulo governor Claudio Lembo came up with one of the most amazing examples of reality deprivation I have ever heard, courtesy of the BBC:

In an interview for a Sao Paulo newspaper, the state governor, Mr Lembo described the violence as a "wake-up call", opening the eyes of middle-class Brazilians to the cancer of crime. "We have a white minority that is very perverse," he said. "The bourgeoisie will have to open their pockets to lift the misery so there are more jobs, more education."

So, it turns out that the real villains were the ones crouching in their living rooms with their families as bullets whizzed overhead. The mother I saw wailing in the hospital because her little boy had been killed is more to blame than the thugs who killed him? What kind of twisted logic is this?

Governor Lembo's implication is that the "perverse middle class" is not paying enough to solve this problem. He forgets (or willingly ignores) that Brazilians are among the most taxed people of the world. The average middle-class Brazilian spends four months of the year just working for the government. The question lies in how the money is administrated--and THAT would be Governor Lembo's department.

The president has not been silent on this issue either. (source: AP)

"This problem of violence is cultural and needs a lot more than police," the leftist president said at the inauguration of a new union hall. "Why are the bandits free to do what they want and we don't have control? Why do lawyers not want to be searched when they visit prisoners? We need to meditate more deeply over a solution."

Yeah. Meditation. That is what is going to solve this issue. Sr. Presidente, Brazil needs decisive action on the part of it's leaders. That would be you.

I'm sorry if I seem a little passionate about this subject. I love my adopted country. I was grieved as I watched the events unfold. The image of the mother in the hospital is one I will never forget. The pastor of our Brazilian church had some great insights in this evening's message, which was on I Peter 2. This is the time for Christians here in Brazil to reaffirm their support for honest law-enforcement, to fight corruption on all levels (including compromise in our own personal lives), and to pray for those in authority (and seek to put good ones in office).

Posted by Andrew on May 21, 2006 9:19 PM.