Campaigns under siege

Supreme Electoral Court discuss
sending army forces to Rio de Janeiro

Brazilian Supreme Electoral Court has authorized today the use of army forces in Rio de Janeiro, in order to guarantee a free-of-violence campaign period for the city’s candidates for mayor. Union forces are now waited to act togheter with local police and Federal Police.

Since the campaigns period started, a couple of months ago, several candidates have been prohibited by drug dealers to enter some favelas (slums). This outlaw force has also prohibited journalists to cover campaigns in those places. Only candidates supported by drug dealers are welcome in certain poor communities, leaving democracy and free will of choice for inhabitants behind.

In a certain way, I’m surely in favor of the army in my city. We live today a situation of civil war that hasn’t been treated like a civil war so far by no one in power. Of course. With a vast majority of voters living in poor areas, actions to stop drug dealers would certainly affect people living there. By consequence, mayors and governors would have their votes affected too.

But, in other way, I feel awfully ashamed of this. It’s a sad, sad feeling for cariocas (how Rio de Janeiro born citizens are named) to live in such a beautiful place, but without any sort of freedom.

I keep asking myself why politicians have led Rio de Janeiro to the actual situation of total abandon. Maybe the answer is written above in the third paragraph. But I believe it’s more, it’s got to be more. I can’t accept that my dear city is abandoned and thrown into it’s own luck because of one or two men greed. I can’t accept that, as years go by, as elections go by, things continue to be the same.

The presence of army forces, as “comfortable” as it seems, just serve to tell us one more time in the face: Rio de Janeiro is gone.

We have had army support several times in the past, but we must remember that their presence should be seen as band-aid, something that must be removed after the cut stops bleeding. The problem is that our blood never stops to drop.

I hope at least that, from now ’till the day of voting, people, wherever they live, rich or poor, are able to see, listen and choose any candidates they want. Democracy is the main pillar for hope in every place. If we lose this, than you can consider us officially dead.

Speaking of hope, I hope the next mayor will be more serious, more efficient, more fair and more in love with Rio de Janeiro than the actual one. Let’s see.

Cuffed System

Brazilian Supreme Court has approved today an act that forbids policemen to put handcuffs on prisoners that offers no risks of aggression or escape.

This decision was made after a construction worker, condemned for 13 years as a murderer, sued the State because he was kept handcuffed throughout his entire trial. This case got to the Supreme Court and served as a base for this new rule.

At a first glimpse, some may say the Supreme’s decision is ok. That’s surely not my opinion.

I’m a law student and I have no shame in saying that I feel sorry for the brazilian law system. In order to understand the true meaning of this new rule, we must remember that recently some important figures, like bankers and politicians, have been arrested by our Federal Police.

Actions of the Fed’s have a singular characteristic, which, by the way, I’m not a fan. Almost all of them are previously leaked to TV stations so that, at the moment of the arrests, cameras are able to capture every moment of the action.

Surely that’s not appropriate, but well, It’s also not something that keeps the Federal Police from doing it’s job! If you want to know, Fed’s here in Brazil actually work. Big fishes are taken to jail everyday.

The problem is that these fishes are thrown back into the ocean in a day or two because our justice system sets them free. And, because of all that media coverage, the system has also taken the cuffs away from criminals.

Imagine if a politician or a really rich banker can be seen on TV handcuffed? Of course not!

It’s a shame. Definitely, a shame.

Cheers! Or not…

Last month, Brazil’s government approved a new law, popularly named “dry law”. As the name suggests, this law forbiddens any quantity of alcohol to be consumed before driving a car. If someone drinks a can of beer or a single glass of wine and gets pulled over by the police, a fine up to almost one thousand Reais is given (something like US$600) and the driver’s license is apprehended for one year.

Brazil has a sad characteristic of having laws that no one respects, mostly because the lack of fiscalization. But with the dry law, things are happening in a different way. You actually see lots and lots of police barriers in the cities, specially on fridays and saturdays, pulling over drivers near known bar areas. Nationwide press is showing these actions almost everyday. Government representants are saying that car accidents have dropped almost 20% in the entire country after the law began to take effect.

At a first glimpse, some may say “well, that’s excellent! Nice job!”. But there a few points that should be taken in consideration before judging.

As I said before, no alcohol is permitted before driving. Neither a small cup of wine, or fifty packs of black ale. But I believe there’s a difference in there. Here in this country, it’s part of the culture to meet friends, loved ones and family at a bar just to chat and cheer something. This practise doesn’t mean that everyone is going to get their heads blowing drunk every night. No, far from that!

Also, it’s no longer permitted to go out to a restaurant and ask for a fine glass of wine with your wife or your friends to celebrate a birthday, an engagement, a job promotion, or anything. If you drink, you will be treated like a criminal.

This law is unnecessarily harsh. I’m strongly in favor of hard punishment for drunk drivers who put other people lives in danger. But that’s not what this law is about. It has actually reduced the penalty for those who commits a crime while drunk driving, like hit someone else. It’s totally nonsense.

There’s another point. Before this dry law, Brazil had another similar law, but not that severe. The difference is that when that old law was on, police didn’t care. There was absolutely no barriers, no fiscalization, no equipment to detect alcohol, nothing. But now, with a new sensation and with the media daily coverage, policemen and government are having their 15 minutes of fame. All on the people’s back.

To finish, car accidents are not caused only because of alcohol. Amongst the several causes, we can list badly conserved streets and roads, covered with holes; lack of signalization; narrow two way roads; cars with absolutely no conditions to be on the streets, but out there anyway; lack of driving education; animals on the road, and so on. All of those items listed we have plenty here in Brazil, and many others I’m forgetting right now.

If you want to visit Brazil and taste the famous Caipirinha, remember: don’t rent a car!