Poverty in Brazil

Poverty and economic inequality are social problems that affect most of the countries nowadays. Poverty exists in all countries, rich or poor, but economic inequality is a problem that affects mainly undeveloped countries.

Poverty in Brazil is most visually represented by the favelas, which are slums in the country's metropolitan areas that suffer with poverty and low standards of living. In an attempt to erase this problem, President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva launched the "Fome Zero" program in 2003. He also launched the "Bolsa Família" program, a cash transfer program that gives money to poor families under the condition that they keep their kids vaccinated and in school.

President Lula has reduced the rate of poverty by nearly 20% with those programs. In June 2006, the rate of misery was 18% of the population.

The rate of poverty is mainly attributed by the country's economic inequality. Brazil ranks among the world's highest nations in economic inequality. Although the country has developed in recent years, there is still much to be done by the government in order to eradicate poverty from the country once and for all.

Violence in Brazil

Violence is a very big problem in Brazil. It is usually manifested by means of tyranny, oppression and force abuse. There are many different forms of violence, such as wars, ethnical or religious conflicts and banditism.

Violence is a historical phenomenon in the making of the Brazilian society. Slavery, mercantilist colonization, colonelism, oligarchies, plus an authoritarian state, all contributed to the rise of violence in the history of Brazil.

The Brazilian government has shown uncapable of facing this problem. The worst of all is to know that violence exists with the consent of the police, legislative officials and even judicial officials. Corruption, one of the worst problems in Brazil, is associated with violence, with one rising the other, two sides of the same coin.

The solution for this problem involves not only public safety and a efficient judiciary system, but also demands better educational, health and housing systems, more job opportunities, and other factors. It mainly requires great change in public politics and a greater participation by society in the discussions and solutions of this problem.

Hunger in Brazil

Hunger is the consequence of the lack of food, which strikes a large number of people both in Brazil and the World. Despite of Brazil's advancements on the economical, social and technological fields, hunger still strikes millions of Brazilians. This happens because of the unbalanced income distribution in the country, which causes 32 million Brazilians to suffer from hunger, and 65 million more don't ingest the minimum quantity of callories needed.

This is an extremely high number, if you consider that the Brazilian territory has a large agricultural potential. But this is irrelevant, since there is an elevated income concentration in the country. A large percentage of the money is in the hands of only 10% of the population.

Even with federal and state social programs, the problem of hunger is still far from being solved. What makes it even harder to be solved is that it is present in small, medium and large cities and also in rural areas, independent of the state or region.

Education in Brazil

Nowadays, education in Brazil is a very important issue. Brazil does not fulfill its constitutional duty of assuring that all people receive quality education. Not all Brazilian public schools have adequate conditions for its students to study.

With no motivation, many students drop out of school before completing their basic formation, which will make them finding work much harder.

The data about student performance, mainly in public schools, is alarming. Public education encounters many problems and difficulties: lack of teachers, poor teaching material, low salaries, strikes, violence within the schools, and many other. This is the consequence of the low ammount of public investment in education. According to UNESCO, developed countries invest 71% more in basic education than Brazil. Brazilian education will only develop if the government has education as one of their main priorities.

Deforestation in Brazil

Deforestation in Brazilian rainforests began in the minute the Portuguese arrived in the country, in 1500. The Portuguese were interested in the sale of the pau-brasil tree in Europe, and started exploiting the Mata Atlântica, a rainforest region that used to be located along the Brazilian coast. Portuguese caravels shipped from Brazil loaded with pau-brasil so that they could sell it in the European market. While wood was used to make furniture and musical instruments, pau-brasil’s nectar was used to make clothes.

Ever since the arrival of the Portuguese, deforestation became a common issue in Brazil. After the Mata Atlântica, it was time for the Amazon Forest to suffer the consequences of illegal takedown of trees. Nowadays, 13% of the Amazon Forest was deforested. As for Mata Atlântica, only 9% of its original area remains. Many different animals were already extinct because of this.

The growth of Brazilian cities has also affected our green areas. The population’s growth and industry development demand wide areas in the cities. Huge forest areas are taken down in order to make room for highways, condominiums and industries.

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