Essay - I am unable to see what the assignment is as I did not give it a proper name. PDF

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I am unable to see what the assignment is as I did not give it a proper name. Apologies...

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FE1023 (SN:116369016) Dr. Edward Lahiff

Brazil An outline of some socio-economic concepts ___

By Aoife Flattery

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INTRODUCTION The largest country in South America is Brazil. It’s capital is Brasilia, while the largest city is Sao Paulo. Brazil’s economy is the 7th largest in the world by GDP. According to the World Bank, Brazil is classed as an upper-middle income economy. It’s population in 2015 was 207,847,528 (World Bank, 2015). In 2010 the population was 198,614,208 (Worldometer, 2015). Since the population is growing this means there could be a problem as a country's growth in population must be relative to growth in the economy.

Poverty Even though Brazil is an upper-middle income economy, the richest 10% of the population of Brazil owns 40% of the country’s wealth. The poorest 10% have access to 1% of the country’s wealth. Poverty is prevalent throughout Brazil, particularly in overcrowded cities such as Rio de Janeiro. People move from the country to a city such as Rio de Janeiro in search for job opportunities and an improved lifestyle. Unfortunately, many people are oblivious to the fact that these massive cities are overcrowded. It is extremely difficult to acquire a job and therefore, families end up building make-shift houses in ghettos called Favelas. A Favela is a type of slum or shanty town. The Instituto de Geografia e Estatistica released findings from the census they carried out in 2010 which stated that 22% of the 6,323,037 people living in Rio were living in Favelas or ‘irregular’ housing communities.1,391,068 people are currently living in these slums and the knock on effect of this is a drastic one. The majority of slum children will experience malnourishment, crime, lack of education as well as a litany of other problems. Drugs are a massive problem in the context of poverty as a lot of the street kids do not have any other option but to join a gang. There is rampant corruption within the police force and this leads the youth into the criminal gangs. CV or Comando Vermelho. are the main providers of electricity, homes, job opportunity and this means the government are not trusted by the communities in the favelas. These communities are left to fall into poverty the richer keep getting richer.

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 Technology Technology is very important as it provides a means for cheap communication. It helps people to do business, explore ideas, and most importantly, educate themselves. If you are a child living in the favelas, there is a very low chance that you will get an education. The facilities are not available due to the government not properly allocating funds to these areas. In terms of economics, it means a person-with some technical knowledge-can set up an online business at a fraction of the price compared to setting up a physical business. This allows many people that are not in the upper/middle classes to make a living without an education. The amount of information that is now available for free is something we have not seen in the past and it drastically changes the education people have access to which means potential for better jobs. Recently , the Brazilian economy is in crisis (see graph below), whereas the technology sector is booming. A rough estimate has been made that there has been a growth rate of over 800% since 2010 (Techcrunch, 2015). This is a considerable amount of growth even if the figures are vague. This investment means jobs-and more importantly-foreign investment. This foreign investment creates more growth as once there is a potential to make money, the big corporations will follow. It is obviously just one sector within the economy, but it is an important one. A great example of how technology is helping the economy is that there are online loan platforms which can save a person up to 70% on their loan (Techcrunch, 2015). This has a drastic knock effect as 25% of brazilian GDP comes from household debt. This means people are able to spend money on things they previously wouldn’t have been able to. This creates growth which is essential for a country. The money is being circulated through shopping and other means which can potentially create jobs and industries.    The graph below indicates the decrease in GDP between 2011 and 2016. We can see the drop off point towards the far right of the graph (Google, 2014).

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Slavery The abolishment of slavery in Brazil occurred in the year 1888. Princess Imperial Isabel, the monarch at the time, signed this golden law. During the slave trade, 5.5 million slaves were taken to Brazil. 700,000 of them died before they reached Brazil due to the horrific conditions endured on the slave ships. The slaves were abused, unable to practice basic hygiene, and contracted all sorts of diseases including scurvy-which was caused by a lack of vitamin C. Overall, 38% of all Africans taken for the slavery industry went to Brazil (Black women of Brazil, 2013). Upon arrival in Brazil, the African slaves were called p  eça, which means ‘Piece’. They were then sold at public auctions for a good price. They were forced to shave their hair, polish their teeth, apply oils to hide body diseases and also to help make their skin shine. Slaves were generally worth more when they were Adult males. Slaves were considered adults when they were aged between 12 and 30. On average, they worked from 6am to 10pm every day without rest. Planters were allowed to import 120 slaves every year from Africa. By law, the maximum amount of lashes a slave could receive each day was 50. Cultural events and festivals were permitted by masters as they believed that it would diminish any chance of rebellion. Some historians state that capoeira ( physical discipline and movements) was born from an Angolan ritual called the zebra dance. This was a competition which sought a winner in order to decipher who would get the girl who had reached the age suitable for marriage. This practice changed with time and became a display of skill and dexterity. Prior to the abolishment of

 as 300 lashes and the dungeon. slavery, the consequence of practising capoeira w    

Human Trafficking Unfortunately, Brazil is a source and a destination for men, women and children who are being subjected to human trafficking. Sex trafficking involving women and children is a major issue.

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Women stuck in the sex trafficking industry from Brazil are also found abroad in Western Europe. The transexual community can be victims of sexual crime and prostitution. 250,000 children are employed as domestic workers. Some trafficking victims are forced to participate in criminal activities such as the trafficking of drugs.  The Government of Brazil is making an effort to comply with the elimination of trafficking. They have improved the collection of data for victim identification, and they have increased the penalty for the trafficking of child sex. However, it has been difficult to accurately address government efforts. Most cases of trafficking took several years to progress into final convictions, and the amount of reported convictions was extremely low when compared to the scale of the trafficking problem. The government failed to provide services for victims and the authorities admitted to only providing services to a small portion of victims identified. To help reduce human trafficking in Brazil, the Government needs to prosecute and investigate trafficking offenses adequately. Specialised services and shelters need to be funded for victims of sex trafficking and forced labour.       

Baile Funk (Funk Carioca) Baile Funk is a music genre that comes from Brazil, specifically Rio de Janeiro (Eyes on Brazil, 2008). It is similar to Miami Bass in that it contains aggressive vocals and deep rapid beats. In Rio it is most commonly referred to as ‘Funk’. The songs typically consist of sexually explicit lyrics, drugs, violence and social injustice. The rising popularity of Baile Funk is raising awareness about what life is like in the Favelas. An artist who goes by the name ‘Mr. Cara’ has created songs that are so explicit that the Brazilian

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 ome funk proibido artists police have outlawed this genre and have named it funk proibido. S have recorded a second set of lyrics for these explicit songs, while others sell their music on the black market and play the banned songs live. In 2000, a law was passed by the Rio state assembly which stated that baile funk parties can only take place under strict conditions. The presence of police is necessary. It is believed that baile funk parties are part of a criminal enterprise that drug lords invest in. Drug cartels stage baile funk parties deep in the favelas so as not to be discovered by police. They use these parties to distribute drugs. While baile funk raises awareness about the problems associated with favela dwellers, it also creates problems such as the abuse of drugs and murder. Police do not dare enter the favelas without guaranteed gunfire.          

Bibliography 1-http://www.drodd.com/html7/map-of-brazil.html "Map Of Brazil- Dr. Odd". Drodd.com. N.p., 2016. Web. 30 Oct. 2016. 2-Reiner, L. (2016) 55 facts about brazil ← FACTSlides →. Available at:http://www.factslides.com/s-Brazil(Accessed: 23 October 2016) 3-http://data.worldbank.org/indicator/SP.POP.TOTL?locations=BR "Population, Total | Data". Data.worldbank.org. N.p., 2016. Web. 30 Oct. 2016. 4-https://blackwomenofbrazil.co/2013/12/29/25-curious-facts-about-slavery-in-brazil/ "25 Curious Facts About Slavery In Brazil". Black Women of Brazil. N.p., 2016. Web. 30 Oct. 2016.

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5-"Brazil". U.S. Department of State. N.p., 2016. Web. 31 Oct. 2016. 6-"Brazilian Social Issues". Brazil.org.za. N.p., 2016. Web. 31 Oct. 2016. 7-"Rio Favela Population Largest In Brazil, Up 27 Percent In Ten Years: Daily Update | The Rio Times | Brazil News". The Rio Times. N.p., 2016. Web. 31 Oct. 2016. 8 "Brazil Population (2016) - Worldometers". Worldometers.info. N.p., 2016. Web. 31 Oct. 2016. 9-https://eyesonbrazil.wordpress.com/2008/08/07/origins-of-funk-carioca/ "Origins Of Funk Carioca". Eyes On Brazil. N.p., 2008. Web. 31 Oct. 2016. 10-https://techcrunch.com/2015/09/27/as-brazilian-economy-descends-into-crisis-tech-is-growing-dou ble-digits/ "As Brazilian Economy Descends Into Crisis, Tech Is Growing Double Digits". TechCrunch. N.p., 2015. Web. 1 Nov. 2016. 11-"World Development Indicators-Google Public Data Explorer". Google.ie. N.p., 2014. Web. 1 Nov. 2016. 12-h  ttps://lilyantebi.wordpress.com/baile-funk/baile-funk-goes-gobal-and-criminal-and-stays-local/ "Baile Funk Goes Global. And Criminal. And Stays Local.". Understanding the Favelas. N.p., 2016. Web. 1 Nov. 2016. 13-http://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/americas/rio-2016-microwave-murders-lost-bullets-skullcar-life-mafia-run-favela-ioc-olympics-don-t-want-you-a7192156.html "‘Microwave’ Murders In The Mafia-Run Rio Favela The IOC Don’T Want You To See". The Independent. N.p., Augfust, 2016 accessed. 1 Nov. 2016. 

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