Figure 1.--The photo was taken in Jointville, Santa Catarina state (1916). Notice the difference in clothing between the children in the enclosed yard, belonging to a middle or upper middle class family, and the children in the street, belonging to a low income families. They were, however, all barefoot, coomon for most Brazilian children at the time. he states like SAnta Catarina in southeastern Brazil are he most affluent in the country, in part because of large-scale non-Iberian European immgration, beginning wih the Germans (1850s). is was before mny Catholics began emigrating to the Unied States in numbers.

Brazil has failed to take advantage the large working-age population created by the rapid population increases after World War II. It failed to fully develop the skills of the human capital created and build an advanced economy. Failure to build a first-class education system has been a major failure. Another mistake was the joint ventures with China that provided a temporary export growth, but primarily resulted in Chinese partners stealing technology. The Government is funding a study abroad program, but this is no replacement high level domestic education. The favorable age structure of the early 21st century will begin to shift (around 2025). Then the labor force charts will begin to decline and elderly non-working age cohorts will begin to increase. This will end the opportunity Brazil had to build a primarily middle-class social structure. Socialist Governments have funded public pensions which have substantially reduced have nearly wiped out abject poverty, especially among the elderly. Bolsa Familia and other social programs have lifted tens of millions out of poverty. The Government classifies over half of Brazil's population as middle class. But this has been accomplished by setting themetrics low and subsdtantial wekfare spending, not by substantially raising the skill and productivity level of Brazilian workers, meaning that Brazil will have trouble funding the pension system as the working -age chariots begin to decline. This is a problem faced by Europe and North America, but is a special problem in Brazil because such a large part of the population is dependent on state pensions rather than acquired wealth through economic growth. Europeans and North Americans generally understand that a strong core capitalist economy is needed to adequately fund a welfare system, Brazilian SocIalists are less aware of this. Poverty and income inequality levels continues at very high levels. Poverty is concentrated in the Northeast, North, and Center-West, women, and black, mixed race, and indigenous sectors of the population. These disparities lead to social exclusion and are a factor in Brazil's high crime rate, especially violent crime in cities which should be the productive centers of the economy. Brazil's socialist government have not abated the high crime rate and the favelas (slums).

Related Style Pages in the Boys' Historical Web Site
[Smocks] [Long pants suits] [Knicker suits] [Short pants suits] [Socks] [Eton suits] [Jacket and trousers]
[Blazer] [School sandals] [School smocks] [Sailor suits] [Pinafores] [Long stockings]

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Created: 12:14 AM 12/3/2024
Last updated: 12:14 AM 12/3/2024