Comment by ravieira | Hacker News Reader

Comment by ravieira | Hacker News Reader

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For those who enjoyed the article, and are further interested in reading more about this central theme of frustrated economic/historical development specially as it took and takes place in Brazil, I recommend reading the late Professor Darcy Ribeiro.

In my view, largely influenced by Ribeiro, Brazil's elites are immensely selfish and petty, as well as always stuck in outdated economics and politics (e.g. rural elites have always been way too influential, ). The State is blatantly *negligent* and does not think about serving its people (e.g. let them build and live in favelas and leave them to their faith, build a new housing project but make it 20 miles from the beach and nevermind planning for transportation or education in the area).

There's definitely much that I love about Brazilian culture and the "general disposition" of my fellow nationals, but I agree that as a whole we have developed this sense of morbid ironic detachment from our social environment.

It is not just that.

For example if you read letters from Dom Pedro I to Dom Pedro II, and also see the opinions they had, both believed Brazillian economy was backwards and stupid, they believed strongly that it would be far more profitable, not just for the country, but even for the large landowners, if they agreed with the end of slavery, because it would create a consumer class (among other things).

I also saw similar issues regarding modernization of manufacturing, with the government wanting it but the elite resisting.

When the State finally ended slavery for good (after many attempts! For example one thing I was never taught in school, is that Brazil explicitly allowed England to sink Brazillian slaver ships way before slavery officially ended, as an attempt to end slavery while not antagonizing the elite), instead the elite kicked the government out and created its own.

Things basically remain this way, whenever the leadership is promising, the elite kick it out somehow.

The idea that land owning elites deposed the emperor because of emancipation is a mix of grade school historical simplification and monarchist propaganda, which is scarily pervasive on any google search about the period, given how small of a political movement it is.

> Brazil explicitly allowed England to sink Brazillian slaver ships

Killing all slaves in the ship?

Well, theoretically the threat of sinking the ship would make people not attempt at all, or surrender the slaves to England.

But I really doubt this theoretical approach always worked... probably trigger happy english captains existed.

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