Recognizing Multiple Perspectives
Recognizing multiple perspectives is a key component of global education. Whether one is recognizing different views on issues within their own culture, or whether one is examining different cultural views on global issues, the ability to understand another's perspective is critically important to fully understanding an issue and to fully understand one's own opinions. One of the best ways to see things from another view is to travel and explore important questions first-hand.
How do people take action?
As a government teacher I am always thinking about how I can inspire my students to act upon a belief and provide them with the skills and knowledge to do so. Thus, for my trip to Brazil, the essential question I chose to explore was, "How do people take action?" I had many ideas to explore with this question, I wondered:
· Do people feel empowered?
· Do teachers have input in school policy decisions?
· Do students feel they can stand up for their rights in and out of school?
· Are there special interest groups in Brazil that people can join and impact policy as there are in
the United States?
· Do poor people feel like they can work their way out of poverty?
As I embarked on my trip to Brazil, I had all these thoughts in mind, unsure of how my exploration of them would unfold. During my time there, Brazil hosted the 2013 Confederation Cup. While the soccer tournament was going on, protests erupted around the country hoping to impact change in their government. Here are my observations.
The recent protests in Brazil started in São Paulo over an increase in bus fare. It may seem logical with increased energy costs that a 10 cent increase in bus fare is not out of the ordinary. However, many people in Brazil must pay each time they ride the bus. Some people have to ride multiple buses to and from work/school everyday, at a monthly cost of $82.46 for a person who may only make $312.33 per month. That increase is significant.
Before going on, let me provide a little background information. Brazil was “discovered” by the Portuguese in the 1500’s and was a colony until 1822. Brazil was then ruled by a king, until becoming a republic (meaning representative democracy) in 1889. In 1956, the capital was moved to Brasilia and the entire city was built in 4 years. Brazil suffered a military dictatorship between 1964-1985. Since 1985, Brazil returned to a representative democracy (republic.) Brazil has a federal government just like the U.S. meaning that power is divided between the national government and the state governments.
In 2002, President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva (Lula) began his first term. He was from the Workers’ Party (there are 27 different political parties in Brazil) and one of his main goals was to close the gap between the upper class minority and lower class majority. During his terms, he started a number of programs to support the lower and middle classes. As a result, the middle class grew significantly (by 40 million people between 2004 and 2010.) Lula was president for two terms (in Brazil you can be elected for two terms and then re-elected later as long as someone else is president in-between.) In 2010, Dilma (pronounced “Jilma”) Rousseff became president of Brazil. She had been Lula’s chief of staff and many saw her as a place-holder enabling Lula could run again in the future. At first Dilma was very popular, and she continues to have high approval ratings; however, there has been some new allegations of corruption during Lula’s tenure and Dilma is associated with that to some degree because of her close connection to Lula.
Originally the protests were very focused. However, within just a few days the protests had spread to cities all over Brazil. It was interesting to observe from within Brazil because even many Brazilians were surprised at how quickly the protests spread across the country. Quickly, the mayor of São Paulo and the governor of São Paulo state made an announcement that the government would cover the increased costs of the buses and the fare would not be raised. On the one hand, it seemed a smart move as the protests were gaining international attention and Brazil didn’t want any negative publicity with the Confederation Cup going on. They were eager to show that Brazil could handle large sporting events in anticipation of the World Cup and Olympics. However, lowering the price of the buses seemed a bit dangerous in that once the protestors found they could be effective at changing policy, perhaps they would continue to work toward further change. It seemed as if the rapid change in government policy might fuel the fire of the protestors.
It was exciting to be in Brazil for the next few weeks as the protests spread. One Brazilian headline read, “The Week that Changed Brazil” referring to the outburst of protests between June 13-20. Protests continued to erupt all over the country for many different reasons. As is always the case with protests, in some cases they turned violent and there was some looting; however, most of the protests were peaceful demonstrations. Many Brazilians were quick to condemn the violence and distance the protests from such activities. As the protests expanded across the country, the goals became less clear and consistent, but some trends were apparent. One common theme of the protestors was government corruption. With recent allegations of corruption and current leaders, and observations of wealthy politicians, many citizens of Brazilians were jaded with the political system and the influence and concern for the average citizen. The protests were a way for them to have their voice heard at the national and international level. Another theme was the budgeting of government dollars. Many protestors were upset with the fact that the Brazilian government was spending billions of dollars building stadiums and sports venues while basic needs of the citizens, such as education, health care and transportation,were underfunded. Protesting during the Confederation Cup when millions of soccer fans around the world were watching games played in these new stadiums presented a timely display for this disparity of funding. Another theme was taxes. Taxes in Brazil are very high and no one really knows how much they are or how they are divided between city, state and national government. People were concerned with this and wanted more transparency. When you have a lot of money coming in from taxes and concerns about corruption and poorly budgeted funds, it seems logical that the citizens of Brazil demand more information. A final trend was police brutality. People were concerned about corruption within the police departments and how the police interact with citizens, especially in poorer areas. There were protests held for many other reasons as well, but these were some of the underlying trends.
What was apparent being in Brazil as these protests developed was the influence and voice of young people and social media. Within only a few days, students at high schools in Teresina were asking us what we thought of the protests and inviting us to join in the protest being held in town. By June 20, there were efforts coordinating protests in cities all over Brazil. People were excited and animated. One student at a private high school, was eager to explain how the government is corrupt and the people have no choice but to protest. The evening of June 20th we met with students in a conversational English class (they were mostly around university age) and they were interested in knowing what we thought of the protests and what we would protest in our own country (what an insightful question for someone in a second language!)
I was often asked about my own opinion of the protests. On one hand I was impressed with the involvement and interest of the younger generations. I teach government and try to encourage my students to get involved in civic action. In a democracy it is exciting anytime people choose to take action. Robert M. Hutchins said, “The death of democracy is not likely to be an assassination from ambush. It will be a slow extinction from apathy, indifference, and undernourishment.” However, at the same time, as the protests continued to expand around the country, my impression was that without a clear goal (such as the original protest to lower the bus fare) it would be difficult to effect meaningful change. When we discussed the protests with classes I would always ask what exactly they hoped would result from the protests. There was never a specific or focused answer. It sometimes felt as if the idea of protesting itself was the important thing, just having their voices heard. In these situations it reminded me somewhat of the Occupy Wall Street movement as protests expanded around the United States in 2011, but the goals were not clearly organized or defined. I wondered if the Brazilian protests would fizzle out much like the Occupy movement did, or if they would develop a more clear focus.
When all of the TGC teachers reunited in Salvador we shared our various experiences with the protests. Everyone had encountered or discussed them in some way in their host city. Here are some quotes from Brazilians as we discussed what was happening:
“People caring enough to stand up for something is good.”
“People are easily influenced by social media and feel they can have a voice.”
“It’s fantastic that the voices of young people are being heard.”
“The protests give the people a voice and show that the people have power.”
“We need better schools and hospitals more than we need new FIFA stadiums.”
“Don’t you have similar protests in the U.S.?”
“The people are stronger than the police.”
“Protesting has worked in Brazil in the past, it is the way for the people to be heard.”
This last quote really stuck with me. I kept wondering, if concerned with government corruption, why not just elect new politicians? I thought about how I teach my students the many ways people take action to effect change in the United States: at the national level, the state level, the local level, through the legislative branch, media, special interest groups, court system, etc. I continued to ask people in Brazil in what ways they could effect change, could they contact a national representative, or talk with a local government official? The consensus continually seemed to be the only way to really effect change in Brazil was by protesting.
The protests continued through the Confederation Cup, which ended in Rio on June 30. Since the Cup ended, the protests seem to have subsided significantly. There were still a few focused protests, one strike protest by truck drivers, and one by medical professionals for better medical facilities, but overall the large scale, nation-wide coordinated protests seem to have died down. I’m anxious to see whether people continue to act on their frustrations to effect changes in the government system, or whether the protests will fade away now that international media has moved on from the Confederation Cup and back to instability in Egypt. Only time will tell whether or not the headline is true and the protests really did change Brazil. However, I think one lasting impact will be the increased involvement and political activity on the part of the youth of Brazil. Getting involved in political activity when in high school or college will certainly lead to greater political involvement later in life. I am excited to see how that involvement influences policy in Brazil.
As a government teacher I am always thinking about how I can inspire my students to act upon a belief and provide them with the skills and knowledge to do so. Thus, for my trip to Brazil, the essential question I chose to explore was, "How do people take action?" I had many ideas to explore with this question, I wondered:
· Do people feel empowered?
· Do teachers have input in school policy decisions?
· Do students feel they can stand up for their rights in and out of school?
· Are there special interest groups in Brazil that people can join and impact policy as there are in
the United States?
· Do poor people feel like they can work their way out of poverty?
As I embarked on my trip to Brazil, I had all these thoughts in mind, unsure of how my exploration of them would unfold. During my time there, Brazil hosted the 2013 Confederation Cup. While the soccer tournament was going on, protests erupted around the country hoping to impact change in their government. Here are my observations.
The recent protests in Brazil started in São Paulo over an increase in bus fare. It may seem logical with increased energy costs that a 10 cent increase in bus fare is not out of the ordinary. However, many people in Brazil must pay each time they ride the bus. Some people have to ride multiple buses to and from work/school everyday, at a monthly cost of $82.46 for a person who may only make $312.33 per month. That increase is significant.
Before going on, let me provide a little background information. Brazil was “discovered” by the Portuguese in the 1500’s and was a colony until 1822. Brazil was then ruled by a king, until becoming a republic (meaning representative democracy) in 1889. In 1956, the capital was moved to Brasilia and the entire city was built in 4 years. Brazil suffered a military dictatorship between 1964-1985. Since 1985, Brazil returned to a representative democracy (republic.) Brazil has a federal government just like the U.S. meaning that power is divided between the national government and the state governments.
In 2002, President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva (Lula) began his first term. He was from the Workers’ Party (there are 27 different political parties in Brazil) and one of his main goals was to close the gap between the upper class minority and lower class majority. During his terms, he started a number of programs to support the lower and middle classes. As a result, the middle class grew significantly (by 40 million people between 2004 and 2010.) Lula was president for two terms (in Brazil you can be elected for two terms and then re-elected later as long as someone else is president in-between.) In 2010, Dilma (pronounced “Jilma”) Rousseff became president of Brazil. She had been Lula’s chief of staff and many saw her as a place-holder enabling Lula could run again in the future. At first Dilma was very popular, and she continues to have high approval ratings; however, there has been some new allegations of corruption during Lula’s tenure and Dilma is associated with that to some degree because of her close connection to Lula.
Originally the protests were very focused. However, within just a few days the protests had spread to cities all over Brazil. It was interesting to observe from within Brazil because even many Brazilians were surprised at how quickly the protests spread across the country. Quickly, the mayor of São Paulo and the governor of São Paulo state made an announcement that the government would cover the increased costs of the buses and the fare would not be raised. On the one hand, it seemed a smart move as the protests were gaining international attention and Brazil didn’t want any negative publicity with the Confederation Cup going on. They were eager to show that Brazil could handle large sporting events in anticipation of the World Cup and Olympics. However, lowering the price of the buses seemed a bit dangerous in that once the protestors found they could be effective at changing policy, perhaps they would continue to work toward further change. It seemed as if the rapid change in government policy might fuel the fire of the protestors.
It was exciting to be in Brazil for the next few weeks as the protests spread. One Brazilian headline read, “The Week that Changed Brazil” referring to the outburst of protests between June 13-20. Protests continued to erupt all over the country for many different reasons. As is always the case with protests, in some cases they turned violent and there was some looting; however, most of the protests were peaceful demonstrations. Many Brazilians were quick to condemn the violence and distance the protests from such activities. As the protests expanded across the country, the goals became less clear and consistent, but some trends were apparent. One common theme of the protestors was government corruption. With recent allegations of corruption and current leaders, and observations of wealthy politicians, many citizens of Brazilians were jaded with the political system and the influence and concern for the average citizen. The protests were a way for them to have their voice heard at the national and international level. Another theme was the budgeting of government dollars. Many protestors were upset with the fact that the Brazilian government was spending billions of dollars building stadiums and sports venues while basic needs of the citizens, such as education, health care and transportation,were underfunded. Protesting during the Confederation Cup when millions of soccer fans around the world were watching games played in these new stadiums presented a timely display for this disparity of funding. Another theme was taxes. Taxes in Brazil are very high and no one really knows how much they are or how they are divided between city, state and national government. People were concerned with this and wanted more transparency. When you have a lot of money coming in from taxes and concerns about corruption and poorly budgeted funds, it seems logical that the citizens of Brazil demand more information. A final trend was police brutality. People were concerned about corruption within the police departments and how the police interact with citizens, especially in poorer areas. There were protests held for many other reasons as well, but these were some of the underlying trends.
What was apparent being in Brazil as these protests developed was the influence and voice of young people and social media. Within only a few days, students at high schools in Teresina were asking us what we thought of the protests and inviting us to join in the protest being held in town. By June 20, there were efforts coordinating protests in cities all over Brazil. People were excited and animated. One student at a private high school, was eager to explain how the government is corrupt and the people have no choice but to protest. The evening of June 20th we met with students in a conversational English class (they were mostly around university age) and they were interested in knowing what we thought of the protests and what we would protest in our own country (what an insightful question for someone in a second language!)
I was often asked about my own opinion of the protests. On one hand I was impressed with the involvement and interest of the younger generations. I teach government and try to encourage my students to get involved in civic action. In a democracy it is exciting anytime people choose to take action. Robert M. Hutchins said, “The death of democracy is not likely to be an assassination from ambush. It will be a slow extinction from apathy, indifference, and undernourishment.” However, at the same time, as the protests continued to expand around the country, my impression was that without a clear goal (such as the original protest to lower the bus fare) it would be difficult to effect meaningful change. When we discussed the protests with classes I would always ask what exactly they hoped would result from the protests. There was never a specific or focused answer. It sometimes felt as if the idea of protesting itself was the important thing, just having their voices heard. In these situations it reminded me somewhat of the Occupy Wall Street movement as protests expanded around the United States in 2011, but the goals were not clearly organized or defined. I wondered if the Brazilian protests would fizzle out much like the Occupy movement did, or if they would develop a more clear focus.
When all of the TGC teachers reunited in Salvador we shared our various experiences with the protests. Everyone had encountered or discussed them in some way in their host city. Here are some quotes from Brazilians as we discussed what was happening:
“People caring enough to stand up for something is good.”
“People are easily influenced by social media and feel they can have a voice.”
“It’s fantastic that the voices of young people are being heard.”
“The protests give the people a voice and show that the people have power.”
“We need better schools and hospitals more than we need new FIFA stadiums.”
“Don’t you have similar protests in the U.S.?”
“The people are stronger than the police.”
“Protesting has worked in Brazil in the past, it is the way for the people to be heard.”
This last quote really stuck with me. I kept wondering, if concerned with government corruption, why not just elect new politicians? I thought about how I teach my students the many ways people take action to effect change in the United States: at the national level, the state level, the local level, through the legislative branch, media, special interest groups, court system, etc. I continued to ask people in Brazil in what ways they could effect change, could they contact a national representative, or talk with a local government official? The consensus continually seemed to be the only way to really effect change in Brazil was by protesting.
The protests continued through the Confederation Cup, which ended in Rio on June 30. Since the Cup ended, the protests seem to have subsided significantly. There were still a few focused protests, one strike protest by truck drivers, and one by medical professionals for better medical facilities, but overall the large scale, nation-wide coordinated protests seem to have died down. I’m anxious to see whether people continue to act on their frustrations to effect changes in the government system, or whether the protests will fade away now that international media has moved on from the Confederation Cup and back to instability in Egypt. Only time will tell whether or not the headline is true and the protests really did change Brazil. However, I think one lasting impact will be the increased involvement and political activity on the part of the youth of Brazil. Getting involved in political activity when in high school or college will certainly lead to greater political involvement later in life. I am excited to see how that involvement influences policy in Brazil.
