Brazil's Future

Today, we have almost 200 million people here and we are the largest catholic country in the world. We are the land of the differences, extremities, inequalities.

For those who were born here, it is easy to perceive everything. Devoted Catholics and the famous naughty Carnival live on the same soil. It’s the nation of every skin color and race, all mixed.

And, at the same time, we make sure to keep separate the ones with money and the ones with nothing in such a large gab between them. The ones with nothing can’t be born with hope or expectations. They are born in a family that can’t give them education and the government doesn’t do it either. It isn’t easy to understand but it is, at least, comprehensive. Those kids have no choice. They will steal, rob, kill if they have to.

Back in 2005 the government reported that one fifth of the Amazon forests had been cleared by deforestation. A third of our population lives in favelas, or slums. The level of violence in some large urban centers is comparable to a war zone. Brazil has the most unequal distribution of wealth in the world. According to UNESCO, Brazil's education still shows very low levels of efficiency. And, yes, growing social security debts, inefficient public services, and the low value of the minimum wage are all here, very clear and quite obvious.

Martin Luther King once said: “We must accept finite disappointment, but we must never lose infinite hope”. And he’s probably right. In Brazil we can complain, discuss what can be done, cry for those in difficult situation, help the ones we can and even ignore what’s happening. But we shouldn’t give up.

What about the next generation, the Brazilian kids of the future?