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Published on: 7/22/2007 Last Visited: 7/22/2007"The Brazilian state does not acknowledge to any extent the notion of accountability," said Roberto Romano, a professor at the Institute of Philosophy and Human Science at the State University of Campinas in Sao Paulo state.
In addition to its long dictatorships, Romano said, Brazil's culture of non-accountability has been partially engendered by the country's highly centralized government structure, in which the federal government receives about 70 percent of all taxes and presidential power has fewer checks and balances than in the United States or Western European systems.
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"There is no direct relationship between municipalities and states and the federal government.And this makes anyone who has any kind of position on a federal level unquestionable and unaccountable," he said.What's more, Brazilian politicians can't be sued or prosecuted while in office, even when potential criminal offenses are involved.
It remains to be seen whether this week's backlash will alter that equation.But while Brazilians aren't averse to making their dissatisfactions known, converting those feelings into social change is likely to be a much greater challenge.
"There is this constant taking the blame off the authorities and laying it on the population," Romano said.
"I am 62 years old, I have been involved with politics since the 1960s and I see no possibility for this anger to be translated into action," Romano said. -
english.aljazeera.net/NR/exeres/D54BFCC7-699B-489D-BB85 - [Cached Version]
Published on: 11/1/2004 Last Visited: 11/2/2004Professor Robert Romano,State University of Campinas
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"To kill a human being with a wooden club shows that we live in a savage society," said Robert Romano, a professor at the State University of Campinas. - NEWS FROM BRAZIL No 517 - [Cached Version]
Published on: 9/17/2004 Last Visited: 9/1/2005According to Roberto Romano, a professor at the State University of Campinas (Unicamp), these assassinations expose the social barbarity, especially against poor people, that exists in Brazil.Romano states that, "There exists an insupportable ethic in Brazilian society that needs to urgently change.There is a practice of genocidal war against poor people".Statistics of the city of São Paulo show that the poorest areas of the city are the most violent and unequal.In 2002, there were 58 assassinations for every 100,000 people in the city.These statistics place the city of São Paulo alongside Medellin and Cali in Colombia."To kill a human being with a wooden club shows that we live in a savage society", states Romano