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2/10/2014 @ 6:35PM |2,209 views
'Brazil Is Not A Civilized Country' Says The Country's Most Controversial News Anchor
Brazil is a violent country, in both urban and rural areas. The issue
of violence in the South American nation has become so deep rooted that
it is now an obstacle to growth, as a 2013 study by the Center for Hemispheric Policy of the University of Miami pointed out. “As in most of Latin America, the police and security forces [in Brazil] are poorly paid and poorly trained,” the study said.
“During the 2013 protests, it was clear that the security forces used unnecessary force to confront the mostly peaceful crowds. A disturbing development has been the appearance of young people wearing black masks, who are unafraid to confront the police with force,” says the study, authored by Professor Riordan Roett, a political scientist whose focus is Latin America.
The study goes on to note that due to the proximity of the 2014 FIFA World Cup, “the discontent in Brazil is widespread but there does not appear to be a consensus on what should be done first and who should do it,” since Brazilians are dealing with two choices: accepting cutbacks in overgenerous handouts or continuing to put up with appalling infrastructure and public services.
According to official statistics, between 2007 and 2013 more than 33,000 people were murdered, about 1,070 of those as consequence of being mugged. Some 5,412 people died in conflicts with the police — and that’s only in Rio de Janeiro. Earlier this month a group of so-called vigilantes beat up and stripped a boy who allegedly tried to mug a pedestrian in the Flamengo neighborhood of Rio de Janeiro. The image of the teenage boy ambushed made news all over the world.
In Brazil, the case became even more notorious after being addressed
by news anchor Rachel Scheherazade, who hosts the most watched news show
on SBT, Brazil’s third-largest network. In an Op-Ed broadcast last
week, Sheherazade said their actions were “understandable,” and those
who were pro-human rights and felt sorry for the boy should “do Brazil a favor and adopt a thief”.
She was bombarded with criticism, but praised for her comments by many.
Now a household name in her native country, Sheherazade — whose salary
is pegged by Brazilian media at south of $1 million per year — has a
point of view about mostly everything, from Brazil’s famous Carnival (“A party for the rich, for the drunk and for the misuse of police forces“) and Justin Bieber (“Just a little boy growing up“). Even former President Lula da Silva was reportedly uncomfortable with Sheherazade’s criticism of his Worker’s Party government.
In an exclusive interview with FORBES, Sheherazade explains her point of view. Here’s an excerpt of our conversation:
From a civilized standpoint and within what is expected of a civilized country, what happened to the teenage boy ambushed by the vigilantes is wrong. Why do you consider it “understandable”?
Brazilians are unarmed and unattended; they don’t have any means to defend themselves. In extreme situations like this, where there’s no order or the presence of the state, it is understandable that people will try to protect themselves. To unite against crime is not a crime, it is self defense. What I don’t approve is the insanity of the justice by the hands of vigilantes. There is a big difference between self defense and justice. Moreover, Brazil is not
a civilized country. Nobody believes in that anymore. Just read the news and you will find out what Brazil is really like. Children burned on buses, prisoners being beheaded, tourists being raped collectively… And what the media reports is just the tip of the iceberg. In what comes to civility we have reached rock bottom.
You are in a position where everything you say will influence people in a way or another, and you have recently said that Brazil’s democracy is “at risk.” Do you think there is a lack of opinions in Brazil?
I don’t think so. What is lacking is more room for counterpoint. The problem is anybody who says something that differs from what most people think, or what most people are taught to think, ends up suffering all sorts of persecution. There are already threats to control the media with the sole purpose of silencing those who promote a free speech.
Your remarks about that teenage boy were quite polarizing. Apparently, a lot of regular people seemed to have agreed with you, while many in the media and other sectors strongly condemned what you said. How to explain this?
Some members of the Brazilian media are still playing by the rules of leftists. There are several blogs and websites which are financed with public money, they are paid to promote an “official speech” and to vilify anybody who says anything against the government. It is a dirty, unfair and undemocratic game.
The case of the “Mensalao” scandal is widely accepted by members of the ruling Workers’ Party as “ acceptable for the greater good.” What is the difference between addressing this crime as “acceptable” and the crime committed against the teenage boy as “understandable”?
Understand that there are many good people within the Workers’ Party, as in any other party. But there also many leftists in the party who are inclined to justify anything, even a crime, in order to stay in power. That’s what happened with the Mensalao. They say it’s all about political persecution, which in fact never existed. It’s also disrespectful to Brazil’s judicial system. As for the boy, he ended up becoming an escape goat for dubious speeches and for opportunistic politicians who falsely use it to defend human rights. I would like these people and the government to feel the same way about the people and to take actions to bring safety to a society that has become a victim of the banditry that has gripped Brazil.
“During the 2013 protests, it was clear that the security forces used unnecessary force to confront the mostly peaceful crowds. A disturbing development has been the appearance of young people wearing black masks, who are unafraid to confront the police with force,” says the study, authored by Professor Riordan Roett, a political scientist whose focus is Latin America.
The study goes on to note that due to the proximity of the 2014 FIFA World Cup, “the discontent in Brazil is widespread but there does not appear to be a consensus on what should be done first and who should do it,” since Brazilians are dealing with two choices: accepting cutbacks in overgenerous handouts or continuing to put up with appalling infrastructure and public services.
According to official statistics, between 2007 and 2013 more than 33,000 people were murdered, about 1,070 of those as consequence of being mugged. Some 5,412 people died in conflicts with the police — and that’s only in Rio de Janeiro. Earlier this month a group of so-called vigilantes beat up and stripped a boy who allegedly tried to mug a pedestrian in the Flamengo neighborhood of Rio de Janeiro. The image of the teenage boy ambushed made news all over the world.
TV news anchor Rachel Sheherazade (PHOTO: Courtesy of SBT)
In an exclusive interview with FORBES, Sheherazade explains her point of view. Here’s an excerpt of our conversation:
From a civilized standpoint and within what is expected of a civilized country, what happened to the teenage boy ambushed by the vigilantes is wrong. Why do you consider it “understandable”?
Brazilians are unarmed and unattended; they don’t have any means to defend themselves. In extreme situations like this, where there’s no order or the presence of the state, it is understandable that people will try to protect themselves. To unite against crime is not a crime, it is self defense. What I don’t approve is the insanity of the justice by the hands of vigilantes. There is a big difference between self defense and justice. Moreover, Brazil is not
a civilized country. Nobody believes in that anymore. Just read the news and you will find out what Brazil is really like. Children burned on buses, prisoners being beheaded, tourists being raped collectively… And what the media reports is just the tip of the iceberg. In what comes to civility we have reached rock bottom.
You are in a position where everything you say will influence people in a way or another, and you have recently said that Brazil’s democracy is “at risk.” Do you think there is a lack of opinions in Brazil?
I don’t think so. What is lacking is more room for counterpoint. The problem is anybody who says something that differs from what most people think, or what most people are taught to think, ends up suffering all sorts of persecution. There are already threats to control the media with the sole purpose of silencing those who promote a free speech.
Your remarks about that teenage boy were quite polarizing. Apparently, a lot of regular people seemed to have agreed with you, while many in the media and other sectors strongly condemned what you said. How to explain this?
Some members of the Brazilian media are still playing by the rules of leftists. There are several blogs and websites which are financed with public money, they are paid to promote an “official speech” and to vilify anybody who says anything against the government. It is a dirty, unfair and undemocratic game.
The case of the “Mensalao” scandal is widely accepted by members of the ruling Workers’ Party as “ acceptable for the greater good.” What is the difference between addressing this crime as “acceptable” and the crime committed against the teenage boy as “understandable”?
Understand that there are many good people within the Workers’ Party, as in any other party. But there also many leftists in the party who are inclined to justify anything, even a crime, in order to stay in power. That’s what happened with the Mensalao. They say it’s all about political persecution, which in fact never existed. It’s also disrespectful to Brazil’s judicial system. As for the boy, he ended up becoming an escape goat for dubious speeches and for opportunistic politicians who falsely use it to defend human rights. I would like these people and the government to feel the same way about the people and to take actions to bring safety to a society that has become a victim of the banditry that has gripped Brazil.
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