IS IT GOING TO LAST?
I want it to. And to this end I’ll deliver information, independent and objective, bilingual and multimedia, about the momentous transformation that began in 2008 in Rio de Janeiro.
Is it just a mask? In 2017, should we expect the BMWs to revert to pumpkins and the politicians to turn back into myopic rats?
A BLOG WITH AN AXE TO GRIND
I want it to last. I want the changes to be deep and real. I can see that the way cariocas are thinking and talking about favelas and their residents reveals new tolerance, concern and solidarity.
The more we know about what’s going on, the more we can contribute to the process, whether we are cariocas born and bred, transplants like me, onlookers, investors, tourists, transients, or cynics.
I will give you links, original reporting, questions, ideas, images, sounds, reflections, answers and more questions. No bullshit. You won’t have to read between the lines. My only agenda is I WANT IT TO LAST.
This is Rio Real, a blog created in 2010 by Julia Michaels, an American writer, editor and journalist who has lived in Brazil for more than thirty years.
If you speak both languages, I suggest you read both texts. I’ll be providing more context in English and more detail in Portuguese.
We’re still pinching ourselves. Only five years ago you couldn’t walk in Ipanema and talk on a cell phone, for fear someone would snatch it off your ear. Now everyone has a cell phone, everyone walks and talks. You thought cariocas were a relaxed sort.
But only now are they finally starting to chill!
Construction is booming, favelas have an increased police presence (and more social services as well) rents and real estate are up, jobs and income are on the increase, education indicators are heartening, frozen yogurt is everywhere, health and sewage are getting serious attention for the first time possibly ever, the Lagoa Rodrigo de Freitas is being cleaned, new restaurants and shops are opening, Brazilians are moving here from other cities, the beaches are policed, drunk driving is almost nonexistent, the Olympics are coming, the metro is expanding and best of all, key parts of the city are safer than since just about any carioca can remember. Politicians are buddies: President Lula da Silva, elected in 2002, and then President Dilma Rousseff, after 2011; Governor Sérgio Cabral, reelected in 2010 and mayor Eduardo Paes, reelected in 2012, are working in concert to turn around the decadence that set in back in 1960 when the capital moved to Brasília.
But will it last, will the politicians persist and businesses invest?
Please tell me what you want to know about. Meanwhile, I’ve got tons of questions…
VAI DURAR?
Quero que dure. Para que dure, me lanço mar adentro pelas águas da mídia social para fazer oferenda à Iemanjá: informações, independentes e objetivas, bilíngues e multimídia, sobre a transformação histórica que começou há quatro anos no Rio de Janeiro.
É apenas uma máscara? Em 2017, os BMWs irão voltar a ser meras abóboras e os políticos, ratos míopes?
UM BLOG POSICIONADO
Quero que dure. Que as mudanças sejam profundas e reais. Constato que os cariocas pensam e falam das favelas e de seus moradores de maneira diferente do passado, que revela uma nova tolerância, consideração e solidariedade.
Quanto mais informações tivermos sobre o que acontece, mais poderemos contribuir, quer sejamos cariocas da gema, adotivos como eu, observadores, investidores, turistas, flaneurs ou cínicos.
Vou postar links, reportagens minhas, perguntas, ideias, imagens, sons, reflexões, respostas e mais perguntas. No bullshit. Nada de entrelinhas. Minha única agenda é QUERO QUE DURE.
Chegou Rio Real, um blog criado em 2010 por Julia Michaels, escritora, editora e jornalista americana que mora no Brasil há mais de trinta anos.
Se você fala tanto inglês como português, sugiro que leia os dois textos. O inglês terá mais contexto e o português, mais detalhe.
A gente ainda não acredita. Apenas cinco anos atrás, não se podia caminhar em Ipanema e falar no celular –apesar dos seguranças fortões da Richards e da Mr. Cat— pois um assalto era certeza.
Agora, todo mundo tem celular, todo mundo se dá ao luxo de perambular e fofocar. O carioca tem fama de ser relax, mas só agora a noia está começando a se dispersar.
Cresce o número de construções, temos as UPPs e a ocupação social das favelas, esquenta-se o mercado imobiliário, há mais empregos e a renda cresce, os dados educativos são animadores, as lojas de frozen yogurt se espalham, pela primeira vez a saúde e o saneamento básico recebem atenção pra valer, a Lagoa está ficando limpa, abrem-se lojas e restaurantes novos, brasileiros de outras cidades chegam para morar no Rio, nas praias temos o choque de ordem de verão já adentrando o inverno, a Lei Seca pegou, os Jogos Olímpicos estão a caminho, o metrô se expande, e o melhor de tudo é que partes importantes da cidade estão mais seguras do que qualquer época que o carioca consiga se lembrar. Em todos os níveis governamentais, os políticos se tornaram amigos de infância: Dilma, Cabral e Paes estão trabalhando juntos para reverter a decadência que se instalou em 1960, quando a capital se transferiu para Brasília.
Mas vai durar? Será que os políticos irão persistir e as empresas vão investir— ou seja, se comprometer com o futuro a longo prazo?
Me diga o que quer saber. Da minha parte,tenho muitas perguntas...
Rio real
RioReal 
Julia, the mensalão in 2005 might have been a LITTLE tipoff for us that things were not hunky-dory in Rio.
Also in that year, police murdered 29 citizens – including women and a 14-year-old boy – whose only crime was being poor. Not one politician spoke in outrage for the murdered. Where are the families of the murdered now, what do they think of things – the Olympic Games and so on? If one wants to look at Rio from the ground up, maybe those families would be a good place to start. Literate community activists have an important story to tell, but they are not the people – though I commend them, they do live in the communities.
It was staggering that year after year, politicians were shown to be robbing the people, particularly outside the less educated regions of Brazil. And the people kept electing them back to office. Brazil had to pass a special law to end this infamy. Now how could we have fantasized, during the Golden Age, Brazil was a true democracy?
We should also remember that before Lava Jato hit, about half of Dilma’s cabinet had to resign. Resign they did, and everybody forgot about them; they went on their merry careers in public service in slightly humbler and less lucrative positions.
Is it not being a little optimistic to hope that today’s politicians will wake up, see the error of their ways, and turn on the St. Francis act, giving all they have to the poor and serving for the greater good?
Your book is a noble endeavor – in my humble judgment, the best thing you could do. I am sure more competent people than me are giving you advice, which you alone can evaluate.
I will continue to send posts – at moment I trying to relieve myself of some of my ignorance. But here is something I have wanted to express for a long time.
Mechanism! There has to be a mechanism so that the underdogs can make their will felt. Some humble person suffers an injustice. Say, for example, the police steal something during the investigation of a crime. There has to be a series of mechanical steps the victim can take to obtain justice.
Right now, they burn buses, throw rocks at police, perhaps talk with community activists – perhaps demonstrate, release doves in plazas, wear red noses, etc.
It is simply this: the will of the people has no means of being expressed. That that will be expressed is the definition of democracy.
The chain the leads from the person on the street to those in power is broken – or rather, has never been forged. Again, it’s not nebulous, it’s not hearts and flowers. It’s a mechanical process that is going to take years to achieve – like the Panama Canal.
Hi, thanks so much for this comment. You are right, the mensalão was a tipoff, for sure. But — given the outcome together with one’s own wishful thinking, it was hard to imagine just how widespread corruption is. The big difference now is that LavaJato just keeps on and on and those who used to get away with white collar crimes are finding themselves in jail or on the way. As I said, citizens are responsible for strengthening their institutions– which do exist. The Ministério Público and the Federal Police are two that have matured tremendously since the constitution was ratified. There are mechanisms and they can be accessed: local ministério públicos, defensores públicos, the press. Not everyone is aware of this, but consciousness is growing. The institutions themselves work to carve out their space and shake off political influence, become more professional and more concerned with the public good. It’s a process…. check out the newly published book, Lava Jato, by Vladimir Netto. Best to you!
I need to learn about those mechanisms, so for a lark I will go down and buy Netto’s book right now. Thanks for the recommendation. I look forward eagerly to your book also. Hopefully it will be out in 2017. I flatter myself that I am person of good will and I think you are also; there must be many Brazilians of similar disposition, reading, thinking, and hoping. I have no confidence that the Old Guard, as exemplified by the Temer administration, will really turn things around. But hopefully, by 2018 someone from a new generation will step forward. If so, it is necessary that the people recognize her or him. Perhaps your book will help them to make that decision. Best of luck!
I ought to get a commission! thanks–
You might deserve a commission if you could make more money doing something else. But if you were earning money thus, your opinions of events in Brazil might be colored by your financial interests.
I personally don`t feel that I am “giving to Brazil”. Rather, it’s a symbiotic relationship. My efforts give meaning to my life; they will have meaning if they result in the good of Brazil. It’s a win-win situation. Thank you for helping.
Thank you for reading!
What you have always done in your blogs is portray the humanity and small stories that make the story larger. I wish you well with your book. (I think you might be very successful with an English version.) I would love to see you give a TED talk about Rio. The book, of course, would be icing on the cake. A truly insightful interview.
“… the masters make the rules/For the wise men and the fools” — if only the small stories could add up to an effect on the big story of what really happens. The rulers of Rio are not sentimental men. They will not give up what they have without distinct nudges. For example, in the current crisis, I never hear it asked — who could most easily bear a larger contribution? NO ONE EVER TALKS ABOUT TEMPORARILY RAISING TAXES ON THE RICH. Of major countries, only the rich of Russia and Saudi Arabia pay less. Yet there are 90 poor voters to every rich voter. Why don’t the poor vote for larger taxes on the rich? Answer: the system is rigged so they can’t. There’s no one on the ticket for them to vote for. Now, we do have freedom of speech, you can say anything on social media, which is exactly what we are doing now. “The world will little note, nor long remember what we say here.” But it can never forget what the politicians do here, much as we would LIKE to forget Lava Jato. But maybe actual concrete proposal are made on social media. I haven’t seen them. Where can I read of concrete proposals on social media?
You are right. There are many proposals, complaints, criticisms, NGOs, community groups, etc. But not much vision, not enough thinking outside the box. People are used to certain ways of thinking and behaving. Who knows, maybe something will be learned or sparked by having hosted all these mega events? Time is ripe!
Thanks so much, Michael, and for reading, too!