In the recent “Brazil in the Mirror” (Globo Livros), Felipe Nunes presents an in-depth study on the values of Brazilians, based on research conducted by Quaest at the request of TV Globo. The book sheds light on what Brazilians think about faith, family, family arrangements, trust and security, providing a detailed portrait that helps understand not only what they think, but also why they think the way they do.
- Convicted MP: Moraes overturns House decision that preserved Zambelli’s mandate and orders appointment of replacement
The book contains more interesting data than can be reported here. Some reinforce information known in other research, others allow us to see what was already known from another perspective – some information, however, is entirely new.
- Exclusive interview: Haddad confirms that he must leave Fazenda and says he “intends to collaborate with Lula’s campaign”
The main thesis is that family and faith unite Brazil. Although 14% of Brazilians have no religion, almost all (96%) believe that “God is in control,” suggesting latent religiosity even among the non-religious. Another unanimity is the centrality of the family. The same percentage, 96%, agree that “family is the most important thing in life.”
The book shows a Brazil which rejects racism, reasonably recognizes women’s rights (even if it does not recognize machismo), but which still has great difficulty accepting homosexuality. Apparently, the majority of Brazilians accept that it is practiced behind closed doors (95% agree that a person’s sex life is of no interest to anyone else), but have difficulty managing its public expression (66% think that gay men do not need to be effeminate, and 43% are uncomfortable seeing gays and lesbians kissing). Only 52% accept same-sex marriage (at the same time, 75% agree that marriage is the union of those who love each other, regardless of gender).
The book offers two types of new approaches to understanding Brazil. The first concerns generations. Nunes prefers to name the generations according to the Brazilian national experience, but the calendar roughly corresponds to international convention: Bossa Nova generation (Boomer generation), Order and Progress generation (generation X), redemocratization generation (millennials or generation Y), and .com generation (generation Z). Among the most interesting features of the generational difference, we see younger generations trading Catholicism for evangelical faiths and also for other religions. We also found that younger women are less right-wing (younger women are oddly more centrist) and more often have a non-heterosexual orientation (11% of the .com generation is bisexual).
The main theoretical contribution of the book is to present a division of Brazilian society into nine segments: left-wing activists, progressives, state dependents, social liberals, individual entrepreneurs, Christian conservatives, agribusiness, businessmen and the extreme right. A similar division appeared briefly in Nunes’ previous book (with Thomas Traumann, “Biography of the Abyss”), but here it gains a new segment and is presented in more detail.
The naming of the groups and their complexity suggest a beautiful typology of the groups that make up Brazilian society. The division shows politically inclined social groupings – left-wing, progressive, state-dependent activists with left-wing inclinations; entrepreneurs, conservatives, agribusiness, businessmen and the far right, with right-wing tendencies; and the social liberals, with a centrist tendency. These political trends seem to correspond to professions and social situations such as those that separate small entrepreneurs, businessmen, farm workers and farmers (agro) and the poor who receive Bolsa Família (state dependent). Although the book contains some clues as to how these segments were constructed and how some of their features are presented, Nunes still needs a more detailed description to assess the strength of the model – perhaps it deserves an academic article?
A formal observation: the book could have been revised with more care. Many tables do not present the questions and the reader is forced to infer them from the text. Some discussions lead the author to cite data from other sources (such as the IBGE or “World Values Survey”), and the source mentioned in a given section is not always clear, generating doubt.
“Brazil in the Mirror” is an important contribution to the understanding of Brazilian society. It organizes an impressive volume of information and offers new keys to interpretation that can help the country redefine its trajectory after a careful examination of itself.
About The Author
