Anarchy in the SP

Every day I become a little more of a democratic anarchist.

Maybe it’s because I never hung out with people on Welfare in the U.S., but coming from a lefty big government crowd, I assumed that welfare was a great thing. Tax the rich and provide for the poor, it’s the best way to keep the ravages of capitalism in check.

But I do hang out with people in Brazilian slums, the recent recipients of billions of dollars worth of upgrading projects. Not welfare exactly, but still a big government scheme to, ostensibly, improve people’s lives. If only it were that simple. Here is what appears to happen in practice: the money goes to government employees and private companies who draw up plans for big construction projects. Hundreds of families get evicted to make way, and when lucky, they are sardine-ed into overpriced soviet-style public housing that, unlike their old homes, is not built to flexibly fit the needs of residents. Participation in the decision-making by residents is attempted but usually fails, so that government and private companies have the ultimate control over intimate aspects of poor peoples lives. It’s degrading and dehumanizing, and in a matter that is close to my heart, it is not democratic.

This happens all over the world. Poor people either get screwed without a thought, or they have to submit to dehumanizing and undemocratic philanthropy on the part of rich people, NGOs, and governments to meet basic needs. I get to buy filtered water if I don’t want to drink possibly contaminated water from the tap. A slum dweller has to submit to an interview from government officials in her home, two years of waiting, and finally a water-main installation project that displaces her neighbors before she can legally drink cleanish water out of her tap. Think about how that difference feels psychologically. It sucks.

Democracy means, or should mean, the idea that people should have control over the decisions and processes that affect their lives. And in a globalizing world this becomes more and more out of reach for all people, but especially the urban poor in “developing” countries. The answers we are generating to solve this are big-hearted international institutions (think the UN, multinational NGOs) to ameliorate the actions of big bad international actors (corporations and certain governments *cough* the U.S.). Side note: I don’t know how to classify the World Bank here- they seem to be in the middle of an identity-crisis between the two poles.

Perhaps the good and bad are not the problem, but size. Being BIG means something is too far from the people who matter to ever get it right, regardless of intentions. Small and anarchic is what we need, putting aside for a moment that I only have vague ideas what that might look like and not the faintest clue how it might be achieved.

Apartment Found

Moving into my apartment today! Was squatting on the floor of a fellow American researcher in hip Pinheiros, but I now live in an older building near the city center. My roommate is a 30 year old teacher who spent some time in Canada a few years back so she speaks English (though I will try really hard not to use it).

I am excited primarily because the place is so cheap. There are a few good reasons for this - it’s on the edge of a sketchy neighborhood, and there is no furniture - but it has the basics: close to the Metro and bus stations, has a kitchen and laundry, and hopefully internet too in the coming days. With the money I am saving I can invest in some furniture and perhaps a few excursions around Brazil.

The other reason why cheap rent was paramount – I ultimately plan to move further south or west of the city when the location of my fieldwork is solidified. Most people will not rent for the short term like this, so I have been promising 3 months rent regardless of whether I stay that long or not. And I can afford blowing an extra month of rent on a cheap place, which wouldn’t be the case otherwise.

Buenos Aires

(PHOTO CREDIT: Ralph Blessing, 2008)

Went to Buenos Aires, Argentina last week for a Fulbright regional conference. Unlike a good portion of American researchers in this neck of the globe, I do not have a background in Latin American studies, so it was a great chance to learn about all the countries of the Southern Cone vicariously through the projects of other grantees.

There are about 42 research grantees in the region this year (in Uruguay, Paraguay, Chile, Brazil, and Argentina) with 25 different disciplines represented. Most of the week consisted of presenting our projects and sharing our experiences. This spurred some fruitful and enlightening conversations, cross-pollination in academic jargon, and one or two instances of “wait…what the hell is that guy’s project about? Something about ecosystem fragmentation, whatever that means…”

As a tourist, being in Buenos Aires felt a bit like catching royalty in the act of an embarrassing gaff. You see the mud on the dress from the fall out of the carriage, they know you see it, and despise you just a bit for it. Which is to say that urban Argentines, once residents of the uber-expensive “Paris of the South,” now have to stomach tourists from the likes of Uruguay and Brazil to support their economy after the financial crash of 2002. It is now one of the cheapest cities in the Southern Cone. Imagine, a top-notch steak dinner in a decadent Parisian-style building for the same price as a pizza in a modest Brazilian diner. It is a bit of an ego kill for the Europe of Latin America to find itself in this position. But I am not complaining, I got some great meals and a nice pair of jeans out of the trip.

More images from Argentina... a path at the estancia (ranch) where we rode horses.

(PHOTO CREDITS: Anne Sweet, 2008)

The last highlight is Tierra Santa: Parque Temático (literally “Holy Land Theme Park”). That’s right, an entire theme park dedicated to the life of Jesus Christ. Only Latin American Catholicism is theatrical enough to come up with this one (although the folks of Kentucky’s Creation Museum are giving them a run for their money). I laughed, I cried, I watched a 40 ft. tall mechanical Jesus rise from a fiberglass hillside to the tune of Handel’s Messiah- a process which repeats every ten-‘til-the-hour.

I could go on for days about this place - the reproduction of the creation with smoke and green rave lights, park staff dressed in a mix of “Middle Eastern” and Franciscan monk outfits (among other charming anachronisms), a random homage to Mahatma Gandhi, and belly dancing performances in a temple. Perhaps this last one was to portray the depravity right before Jesus would have thrown her kind out in a temple-cleansing rage? If you plan on going to Argentina, don’t miss this.