Brazil has a kind of inverted exceptionalism. Even with all of its natural resources, and its nearly continental size, it always seems to fall short of its potential, never managing to find its place in the club of developed nations. One quirk of the complexo de vira-lata is that Brazilians are often the first to assume that their country is hopeless. At a doctor’s appointment in São Paulo recently, my doctor told me with a shrug and a smile, “I knew the euphoria wouldn’t last.” He spoke about Brazil as though it had never progressed at all. But this isn’t true, either. Despite its recent troubles, the country has come a long way since 1950, especially on poverty. It just isn’t the superpower that Lula and others tried to sell to the outside world.
- Why Brazilians are so obsessed with the Ryan Lochte story, NewYorker.com, August 18, 2016.
About the author:
Zhang Xin is Trainer at chinadaily.com.cn. He has been with China Daily since 1988, when he graduated from Beijing Foreign Studies University. Write him at: zhangxin@chinadaily.com.cn, or raise a question for potential use in a future column.
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