Journalled on Sunday, 5th of March 2023 | Copacabana, Rio de Janeiro: 33 degrees, hot, sunny, and slightly overcast.
Something happened this morning that I am not proud of, but it shows what life in Brazil is like right now.
Even though it was Sunday, I woke up early to exercise. It wasn’t as early as on weekdays, but it was still quite early. When I arrived at the end of Leme and started setting up my TRX to begin my workout, three guys approached from different directions.
One guy on my right side was carrying a large beer and looked drunk, while two shirtless guys on my left side were talking.
As I set up my TRX on the lamppost, the guy on the right looked at the two guys on my left with a sly, suspicious smirk on his face, as if he were looking at me. I became suspicious and thought it was a trap or that I was about to be mugged. My brain immediately went into emergency self-defence mode.
I looked at the guy on my right and counted him and his possible friends out loud, showing him and the others that I was aware of the situation.
He was stunned and asked me if I was English or American. I answered, slightly aggressively and sarcastically, that I was Cearáense from Ceará, the northern state in Brazil, which has a reputation for being incredibly good with a knife.
I told him not to talk to me and that I didn’t want to talk to him. He saw the small rucksack by my side and assumed it could contain anything, even a knife or a gun. I kept setting up my TRX and began exercising with my rucksack nearby.
Nothing else came of this situation, but I was a little shaken. It accurately reflects what we are living through in Brazil right now.
During the last right-wing government, there was no tolerance for street crime, and the statistics showed that crime had gone down in Rio and, in general, in all of Brazil.
But with the new left-wing government, which has a reputation for corruption and treating criminals as victims, there is a greater feeling of impunity and vulnerability on the streets.
This aggression and insecurity permeate our daily lives. It is not just me; everyone feels it in Rio de Janeiro. I have a 15-year-old daughter, Yasmin, and I am slowly giving her more freedom to go out alone. Even though she lives in one of Rio’s safest regions, the South Zone, I am still worried until I know she’s home and safe.
Metaphorically or figuratively, Brazil is at war.
The politicians and institutions are fighting among themselves. Because society is a pyramid, this spills down into all the other social and class layers. Consequently, what happens at the top of our society eventually influences and affects all other layers.
For the rest of the day, I was disappointed with myself for being aggressive towards a stranger, even though my actions were in self-defence and self-survival. Later, I read that I played chess with Yasmin, lost again, and went to bed early at 9 p.m.
Thanks again.
Thanks for reading my blog. Check out my other posts and share your thoughts in the comments.
Richard
