Thread: Human Rights in Brazil

Are Brazilians very tolerant people? For instance is there a big gay and lesbian community in Brazil and if so are they able to live peacefully there without persecution from the general population? I know there are some class struggles that exist there between rich and the poor but I guess that is everywhere in the world.

Also, are there race tensions there like in the United States? Just curious, thank you.

Though Human Rights in Brazil is protected by its constitution and laws, there are still human rights issues being faced by the people and the government. Most of the reported human rights violations includes Police Brutality, Torture, Discrimination against women, blacks and indigenous people, Child Abuse, Human Trafficking and lot more. The Federal Government really have their respect of Human Rights but they cannot help these incidents.

yeah

in my opinion there is no orginised violation against human rights by the goverment. especaliy by the federal goverment. thanks God brasil in not myanmar, sudan or the iran.

but sure there are some problems on lower lewels. especialy the violence by the police.

gays seems to have more problems in the northeast region. but anyway there are... not alot but frequently news about violance against gays in sao paulo as well. but i think the violance against gays in sao paulo is not higher than in berlin or NYC.
by the way. sao paulo got a huge gay and lesbian scene. there is also the anual gay parade on the av. paulista which is the world´s biggest i guess. but i am not sure about that.

i guess there are some racist in brasil. met some heavy disturbed upper white class people with pretty strange ideas about black people in minas gerais.
but i think "simple" people got less problems with this. i know alot of black/white couples. totaly mixed familiys are pretty normal here. from negao (black, i mean blackblack) to alemao (blond man, usually pretty white) you can find everything in just one family! it´s great!
unfortunally there seems to be a kind of "no blacks in TV" rule. unwritten ofcourse! if there are blacks on TV like globo´s tele novelas they are housekeepingstuff, criminals or both! sure with exceptions. but i can feel it... maybe it´s subjective. but i think it´s pretty unfair.
but i don´t remember any race tention caused riots in brasil like seen after the rodney king case in the US for example.

in my opinion prejudices in brasil are usually caused by social differences.

Human rights in Brazil are legally protected by the Brazilian Constitution, statutes and laws. However, there are serious issues in regard to human rights abuses. Brazil had a remarkably poor record during the dictatorship of the 1960s, and still has many problems today. These include the use of police brutality, torture and summary executions by civil and military police and prison authorities. Slavery persists against the excluded persons.
The federal government generally respected the human rights of its citizens, however, there continued to be numerous, serious abuses, and the records of several state governments were poor. The following human rights problems were reported: unlawful killings, excessive force, beatings, abuse, and torture of detainees and inmates by police and prison security forces; inability to protect witnesses involved in criminal cases; harsh prison conditions; prolonged pretrial detention and inordinate delays of trials; reluctance to prosecute as well as inefficiency in prosecuting government officials for corruption; violence and discrimination against women; violence against children, including sexual abuse; trafficking in persons; discrimination against black and indigenous persons; failure to enforce labor laws; widespread forced labor; and child labor in the informal sector. Human rights violators often enjoyed impunity

Hi Danno, I am a native Brazilian and I live in São Paulo capital, and I can say that comparing to other countries, Brazil hasn´t so many conflicts such as others.

In Brazil, the main conflict is between rich people x poor people, but in the last few years we are observing some conflicts or attacks to gays (males) in São Paulo city.

Like other countries, Brazil has also some discriminations, but not so hard as other countries.

i am amazed to hear that Brazilian society have a lot of Gay!!!
in my opinion i can say that Brazilian Police are really very strict. sometimes they become violent. its a great problem.
they have some extra power than other country polices. they sometimes misuse their power too.
conflict with gay community is a common thing. you can't judge a country's criminal law by this matter. and i can only say that Brazil is less violent than other countries.

Hello Danno123,

Racial discrimination in Brazil is very tense and subtle. You sense it at the universities, in the stores, when you apply for a job and just about everywhere. In Brazil, blacks, and other ethic origins do not move forward very fast they are always oppressed because many think that they should not be here in the first place trying to take a Brazilian's place. I have a few foreign friends and they have felt this in the skin-- I have also seen how they have been treated myself- not very good. I think that the difference with the racial discrimination in the USA and Brazil is this: when you are good at what you do and have the education to back it up- nothing will hold you back from succeeding in the USA even if you are not American; however, in Brazil this is completely different-- you could go to the best schools and have the talent-- you will not be given chances to blossom as a foriegner- I know the USA and it is quite easy to make the comparison.

Brazil has a large gay community, but this does not mean that they are accepted by many people. They get beaten up some times-- just like in other countries. The government is trying to change the people's approach to this though and inflicting punishments and such--HOWEVER- there is where the cookie crumbles-- only the poor stays to rot in prison here the rich gets off free even with the most heinous crime-- a perfect example of this would be the gays that were attacked in São Paulo recently-- the attackers were rich youngsters and they have gone into and out of prison already!!!!

The population in Brazil consists of 144 million people.
Brazil is one of the fastest-growing nations in the Western
Hemisphere. Its population is increasing at the rate of about 2% a
year. The constitution of Brazil gives the president tremendous
powers. For example, the president may intervene in affairs of
Brazil's states. The chief executive may even create new states from
existing ones.

Brazil has three main ethnic groups-whites, blacks, and people
of mixed ancestry. Most of the whites are from Europe. According to
the Brazilian government whites make up about 60% of the nation's
population, and people of mixed races form about 30%. However, the
government of Brazil counts many lightskinned people of mixed ancestry
as white. Brazil's ethnic groups generally get along well with one
another. Racial discrimination in Brazil if far less widespread than
that in many other countries with people of several races. But
Brazilians of European descent have had better educational
opportunities. As a result, they hold most of the higher jobs in
government and industry. Many of the non-Europeans, particularly
blacks, have excelled in the arts, entertainment and sports.

Brazil's prison system system is in crisis. Four years ago, in
its 1990 urban violence report Amnesty International described the
prisons as being at breaking point, holding double their official
capacity in "inhuman" conditions. Four years later the situation
has not improved. In some respects, it has deteriorated. Overcrowding,
lack of medical and legal assistance, torture and ill-treatment of
inmates and harassment of visitors are endemic. A frightening and
rising proportion of prisoners carry the HIV virus. In the Women's
Prison of Soo Paulom, around 33% of the inmates are infected with the
virus, while in the male prison the figure reaches 27% of the prison
population. A study published in 1994 shows that the majority of

Thank you martinho9000 for that really thorough and thoughtful answer. Definitely sounds like you did your homework
on this subject, which is a very important topic of discussion!

:-)

No danno123, you will not find race tensions at least openly. Some cases of issues in this matter had bad repercussions in the media and people have to pay fines or go in jail, but it is very rare. The gay and lesbian community is well accepted, with no problems. The annual Gay Parade in São Paulo has official support from government. The worst human rights issue in Brazil is the overcrowding of prisons.

As many countries, Brazilians care about the Human Rights.