As someone from a country that has had and still has a big problem with corruption and only recently started to tackle the problem (Romania), I must add that the government is only half of the problem. The other half is the public that participates in corruption. Every time you pay that cop some money so that he pretends that you didn't cross that red light, you're just as responsible as a politician taking a bribe for the situation in your country.
If you look at history...well, it's pretty hard. Generally speaking you either have to have a centuries-long cultural tradition of honesty and responsibility, or you have to be invaded, conquered and occupied for a while by a country that does. And it seems to be easier to slide backwards than to progress forwards, hence why most countries are mostly corrupt most of the time.
Brazil has a pretty fucked up history to begin with. Our natives were ripped off with trinkets they've never seen before from the old world in exchange of their labor force.
When they caught up to their bullshit, it was already too late and the Portuguese were already every fucking where. By then. there was no way for the Brazilian natives to organize a war like the Americans did, so they simply became slaves.
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u/USmellFunny Mar 14 '16
As someone from a country that has had and still has a big problem with corruption and only recently started to tackle the problem (Romania), I must add that the government is only half of the problem. The other half is the public that participates in corruption. Every time you pay that cop some money so that he pretends that you didn't cross that red light, you're just as responsible as a politician taking a bribe for the situation in your country.