[OT] Why is Brazil like Bulgaria?

Richmond richmondmathewson at gmail.com
Fri Jan 7 14:19:26 EST 2011


Just got back from 5 days holiday in the Rhodopes; usual stuff; snow, 
log-fires, long country walks,
no Livecode, high-class red wine out of earthen-ware jugs, biography of 
Leonardo da Vinci . . .

err . . . *ISBN:* 9780141035338***Pages :* 640 *Published :* 06 Sep 2007 
*Publisher :* Penguin

read it even if it is the last book you ever read!!!!

Interesting to see how my brief 'squib' about that nasty half-Bulgarian 
terrorist expanded.

Wonderful potted history, Andre . . . however be aware that not all of 
"us" like the "United
Kingdom" and await its collapse with anticipation.

Over here, in Bulgaria, it is a case of "new guys in power, who turn out 
to be nephews, catamites or
otherwise of old ones" so, while not being exactly totalitarian, stinks 
fairly strongly.

Scotland, on the other hand . . . well, let's not go there . . . except 
for the odd RunRev conference.

Interestingly enough, more, many more, Scots live outwith Scotland than 
inwith the kinrick; which says
something . . .   :)

On 01/05/2011 03:07 PM, Andre Garzia wrote:
> On Wed, Jan 5, 2011 at 7:40 AM, Curry Kenworthy<curry at pair.com>  wrote:
>
>>> Unlimited power in the hands of few is the main common
>>> characteristic between Bulgaria and Brasil.
>>
> Oh there is no unlimited power in here. People outside imagine Brazil being
> some banana republic where carismatic leader can do any ruthless thing and
> get away with it but this is not the case, they can get away with robbing
> any amount of money, passing any kind of idiotic law, doing every kind of
> moronic display of ignorance, complete lack of common sense and really bad
> sense of fashion and so on but it is not unlimited.
>
> Brief Story of Brazil:
>
> Brazil was "discovered" in the 16th century, it was made into a colony and
> that was how it stood for couple centuries until napoleon went land
> acquiring over europe. Portuguese royalty fled (or went on vacation) to
> Brazil which was a colony made of mud, coffee, slaves and nasty diseases.
> When royalty arrived in 1808 they decided to make this a proper country,
> specially Rio.
>
> Like mushrooms after rain, a country was made with proper buildings and
> culture (at least on Rio). It doesn't really matter that all the slaving
> went on and that the rest of this really big place was still farms and pain,
> Rio was beautiful. Now Brazil was an United Kingdom - the United Kingdom of
> Portugal, Brazil and Algarve. Scottish and Englishman among us knows how
> this works. Heck from colony to united kingdom, looks good.
>
> Royalty decided to go back to europe where moskito bites do not kill you and
> where the natives could speak something you could understand (common people
> often spoke tupi, guarani or some other indian tongue) but but but but...
> TA-DA!!!! The portuguese royal guy decided NOT TO GO BACK! famous words: "if
> it is for the general happiness of the nation, tell everyone that I stay!".
> So Brazil was no longer an United Kingdom but was on its own with a new
> royal guy. The new country was named The Empire Of Brazil (as far as empires
> goes, this was a pretty big place) plus we had an emperor! Time went on,
> monarchies were overthrown in lots of places and then it was not fashionable
> to have emperors anymore. The last ball of the Empire went on 500m of where
> I am right now on a very cute castle, they even had electrical lamps during
> the ball.
>
> http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2017/1582977140_5757617cf7.jpg
> (this is the castle, worth a look. It is called "Castelo da Ilha Fiscal",
> the ferry boat I take everyday pass by it)
>
> The next day republic was proclaimed - "Independence or Death!!!!" - by the
> same guys who were in charge since forever. Now we had presidents.
>
> Our republic played a game of rinse and repeat, alternating presidents from
> São Paulo and Minas Gerais for a while and then some other bastards came
> along till we're almost at the second world war when a military coup made
> Brazil into a dictatorship (New State they called). Brazil under
> dictatorship was ironic, we had a fascist goverment full of people who
> admired fascist ideas (including my grandpa) but fought the axis on the side
> of the non-fascist guys.
>
> After Getulio commit suicide, military really took over the dictatorship and
> leftist armed guerrilla started. Students like Dilma Roussef and many others
> robbed banks, kidnapped ambassadors and did all kinds of nasty stuff to make
> a Cuba out of Brazil. Our mudererer goverment did worse with tortures,
> deaths and everything you don't want to hear, this went on until after I was
> born (hey, I was born during a military dictatorship!).
>
> Civil disobedience and protests got too big with strikes all over the place
> and students on the streets with their faces painted in green and yellow
> demanding free elections and guess what, it worked! After decades of
> military dictatorship, they stepped down! No war, no coup... a organized
> civil election and newly elected leaders, it doesnt help that the newly
> elected president died right on the spot (I think he was overwhelmed with
> joy of democracy). So after that we had some really bad democratic elected
> presidents. Inflation was really bad to the point that on the market you had
> to race the market staff trying to pick the goodies before they re-tag them
> with new prices (this is actually true). Till FHC came along and he and
> other really clever people created a magic plan to con the whole country and
> stabilize the economy. Brazilians are tricksters and that presidency tricked
> all the country into believing there was no such thing as a bad economy and
> it worked out and money stabilized. Yay for impossible plans! After him the
> labor party was elected and I cried of joy. Eight years later, I've learned
> that the labor party is the same as the other 40 or so parties we have and
> President Lula managed to get President Dilma elected much to my disgust, I
> vote for the green party. During the last election my choices for President,
> Senator, Governor lost but at least my choices for Federal Congressman and
> State Congressman were elected. Silly people, always voting for thieves.
>
> So in summary:
>
> Same guys in power: really big muddy place ->  United Kingdom ->  Empire ->
> Republic
> New guys in power, as bad as the previous ones: Last 8 years
>
>
>




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