They are central figures in Brazilian society. They are not synonymous, despite the similarities. The trickster has a positive connotation in our cultural landscape. Adopt a particular lifestyle. He fears God and work. He defies social conventions in order to gain an advantage in everything he does. To achieve a free, light and good existence, develop cunning skills. Of cunning. He perfects the art of deception and always finds those who allow themselves to be deceived: the legion of idiots.
However, he circumvents the Penal Code so as not to fall prey to article 171 (fraud and swindle). He’s not a criminal. On the contrary. The trickster and the environment of deception are sources of inspiration for songbooks, literature and sociological research.
The famous anthropologist, writer and journalist Roberto DaMatta (1936), in his masterful work Carnivals, tricksters and heroes: for a sociology of the Brazilian dilemma – Rio de Janeiro: Rocco Digital, 2012, defines the trickster as “a being far from formal rules, fatally excluded from the job market. In fact, defined by us as completely opposed to work and individualized by the way he walks, talks and dresses.”
In turn, the romanticization of the trickster is sung in the musical poetry of samba-choro written by Assis Valente (1911-1958) Camisa Listrada, 1937, immortalized in the voice of the “little notable”, Carmen Miranda (1909-1955). Jorge Aragão composed the song Malandro (1983) performed by the late Elza Soares (1930-1922). It is worth highlighting the famous musical theater piece by Chico Buarque de Holanda, A Ópera do Malandro, created in 1979 and adapted for the cinema in 1985.
In literature and in the creation of television and cinema characters, the trickster is a recurring theme that shapes an original type, an archetypal model, from the figure created in Memórias de um Sergeant de Milícias, explored by different literary schools, such as the modernist legacy of Macunaíma – The hero without a character (Mário de Andrade, 1893-1945)) and who is in good company with the very intelligent and irreverent Vadinho in Dona Flor and her two husbands (Jorge Amado, 1912-2001).
It is worth mentioning the singular figure of Vivaldino Castelo, protagonist of the delicious story of Lima Barreto (1881-1922) which fascinated the Baron of Jacuecanga and the bureaucrats of the time under the title The Man Who Knew Javanese. And beyond our borders, it is worth highlighting the octogenarian and emblematic figure of Zé Carioca, created at the Walt Disney Studios (Joe) as a versatile and fluid representative of the carioca style of the time, a joyful, creative, good-humoured, cool and distant era where American diplomacy practiced and spread “soft power”. And in Herivelto Martins’ epiphany, now unnatural, to live on the hill was to live near paradise.
The truth is that times have changed dramatically. In the age of competition and performance, there is no place for the traditional trickster. The temptation of greed remains and, with it, the naive ideal of a good and simple life darkens. Crime is present in every corner of social space. Deception gives way to banditry. Cunning and intelligence open the way to delinquency; fraud is the method; embezzlement, more than a criminal type, is the permanent objective to obtain an illicit advantage; and organize a criminal action, a strategic investment.
The trickster enters the scene. The forger, the cheat, the crook in a more “elegant” guise: the outsider in his own right. In the case of Brazil, this type of criminal uses sophisticated standards to structure deals outside the law. Create a plan and create a strategy to attack public or private property. The strategy takes advantage of the persistent patrimonialism of the Brazilian state where promiscuity between public and private interests thrives. This is the appropriate “place”.
With a reasonable effort of observation, it is possible to identify the danger as well as activate protection mechanisms for potential victims. So let’s see.
Each scammer develops a keen sense of opportunism, knows where the “treasure” is and, precise, versatile, also knows the most effective ways to approach it. It starts with a pro-market speech. Lie. Flee competition and rivalry like the devil from the cross. On the other hand, he loves all kinds of subsidies, monopolies, and anything that falls under the corrupt mantle of “connection and crony capitalism.”
Warned, the full-fledged criminal/fraudster protects himself thanks to a solid legal architecture put in place by “competent” consultants and lawyers paid with stratospheric fees. She naturally prefers those who demonstrate proven influence with the authorities. Takes particular care to install “laundries”; plant vast “orange groves”; look for tax havens to evade responsibilities and dream of the perfect crime.
Everything seems current. Listening. Digitized. Convincing. He cultivates a veneer of modernity in style. It’s neo. Neo-rich. Neo-enophile. Neo-Gourmet. Neo-nerdy with chic metrics in the speech, solemnizes commonplaces; in terms of dressing, expensive designer clothes, with a certain “corporate casualness”; in fun (therein lies the danger), in luxury, in eccentricities and in sniffing dust.
From the scandals amplified with the diphthong “ão”, to the bald man of the INSS”, to the “crook” of Master and the greedy Magro of Refit, they all show themselves for real. Finally, they put tens of billions of reais behind the backs of INSS retirees and in the pockets of taxpayers. The promises of the compliance system, the inspection and control mechanisms went unnoticed in the face of the obvious signs of illicit enrichment.
Nobody saw him. Saramago’s impressive book, The Blindness Essay, offers an explanation, albeit a fictional one: a general epidemic that has affected the outlook of a community. In our case, everything indicates that epidemics have occurred, and may continue to occur, but in a selective manner, which guarantees criminals the trophy of impunity.
PS. Health and Peace to our readers. God willing, I will return at the end of January.
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