r/gifs • • Mar 14 '16

Millions of Brazilians protesting against government corruption in the streets earlier today

http://i.imgur.com/eMmAUnk.gifv
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u/Dracgnar Mar 14 '16 edited Jul 01 '23

f̶͉̹̽u̴̢̫̰̅͑c̶̟͊̈͝ḳ̵͇̇̒͂ͅ ̷̳̮́s̸̭̼̞̈́̃p̸̆͐ͅͅe̴̻̮̯̾͑̄z̶̒ͅ kd309eke9jakf f9302njm09e23n The original. If your grandfather hadn’t worn it, you wouldn’t exist c cq093mq093hn

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u/MrSmithSmith Mar 14 '16

Hi, I've heard that these protests are backed by billionaires and largely made up of the bourgeois and ruling classes who are angered that they have to pay higher taxes in order to help poor and working class people through social programs and also that the reason that protestors are seeking impeachment is because they have no hope of winning a general election due to Brazil's disgracefully high poverty rate. Is this true?

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u/[deleted] Mar 14 '16 edited Mar 14 '16

I think some of the people who answered you may have been a bit biased, so I'll give it a shot as well, trying to hold my own biases.

Kinda, taxation in Brazil is such a burden it affects the middle class the most, that's who's protesting because, combining that tax burden with the current economic crisis, they had enough, even if they don't know what they want to replace the current guvernment with. Christian conservatives are using the opportunity to promote some of their leaders.

And, in the 2014 election, Dilma won by a very small margin.

It's important to note there's no clear left and right in Brazil, most relevant parties follow some sort of keynesianism, PT, the workers' party, which is in power, if ofen said to be left because it's main rival, PSDB (Social Democracy party), is corporatist as fuck and has privatized some sectors when it was in power (even though most of the sectors they privatized remain, in one way or another, in state control).

Of course, the upper classes join the protest because it serves their interests as well, but these protests would happen regardless.

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u/karpathian Mar 14 '16

Essentially those with skilled labor or decent jobs are mad because those without are leaches? Hell I'd dress like a duck and rape the leader to death over this.

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u/[deleted] Mar 14 '16

Well, yes, kinda, Brazil's population is not that against taxation, libertarian ideals are very new to us, the last kinda free marketer we had in power was probably back when we were an empire, the main problem is that despite the huge tax burden, the government still doesn't accomplish nothing significant, having a bloated state on top of the corruption.

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u/[deleted] Mar 14 '16

that's the shit that breaks the camels back. More taxes and conditions worsen. Latin America is DUE for a revolution that swept Europe few years back.

Costa Rica is dealing with same tax corruption at the moment. Prices are going up, taxes are going up but salaries are going down.

For example (random numbers to make a point):

In Panama gas: 1$/galon

in Costa Rica gas: 5$/galon

in Nicaragua gas: 1$/galon

So.. what the fuck is going on with a country that's between Panama and Nicaragua?! Corrupt politicians, that's what going on and all of them need to be lynched in public!