Category: Brazil

Brazil’s President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva stated that “to force a child to work is to steal the future of that child” (COHA). Child labor is a major problem known in Brazil and even though there are efforts trying to reduce child labor, the reasons why certain children are being forced to work is a very difficult problem to solve. Children working in Brazil in the pineapple industry may come across dangerous chemicals, operating hazardous tools, working extensive hours, and carrying heavy loads. Normal production of pineapple includes fertilizing and pesticide spraying also has a harmful effect on child labors. Children additionally do normal intense labor agricultural activities, such as planting and harvesting. After the pineapple is harvested, the pineapple is shipped to processing plants or is put out to be sold as fresh fruit. Fresh Del Monte is a major company that owns 11,800 acres in Brazil for pineapple, melon, and banana cultivation. According to the Brazilian Institute of Geography and Statistics (IBGE), about 2.5 million children and adolescents aged 5 to 17 work in Brazil. The majority of children are in the 12 to 17 age range, but some are as young as five or six. Brazil has seen an increase in child labor between the ages of five to nine with almost 80,000 children in this group working. About 90 percent of child workers are girls, but boys may share up to 50 percent. Over 60% of domestic child workers are of African descent, and about 50 percent are from families with a household income of less than half of Brazilian’s minimum monthly wage which is about 240.1 in their money and about $58.36 in U.S. dollars (Global Policy Forum).

The children are more likely to work when their parent’s income is low and there are living in poverty to help out their family. It is a norm that when the adult members in the household cannot make enough money, the children are expected to do work. Sometimes the parents work with their kids because in some occupations they are paid on the output rather than the time. Besides poverty, society’s traditions play a role on child labor. In the northern areas of Brazil, it is common that the people who are parents now started working before they were eight years old to because it was their belief that it was okay to work at that age. The concept of working at a young age was a common behavior, so the parents now do not see the problem with making their children work. Another reason why parents send their children to work is because of the conditions in the public schools. In rural areas, primary schools are located far from each other and the secondary schools are only located in the bigger areas. The schools in rural areas usually lack the required funding needed to be equipped for students and it allow the children to not have the best education environment. Education is required for children aged seven to fourteen, but it is not very strict. Connecting to the poverty argument, these parents cannot afford the proper school equipment to help them succeed in their education. Ninety percent of children working in rural areas attend school for less than four years and instead they work.

Compared to the United States, Brazil’s children are making little to none. There was not much evidence that was said about children making money, but there was something that stated that they make money off their output rather than time. No matter what, in the United States, workers will always make a certain page for their time, even if nothing was being produced. The child labor provisions that the U.S. and Brazil have are a somewhat similar because they do not allow, or they restrict work for minors under 16. The difference for this labor condition between the two countries is that in the U.S. the restriction include lists of hazardous occupations for minors and they need to be at least 16 to work with hazardous work while Brazil’s age is 18 to work with hazardous work.

Brazil has been classified as a Tier 2 which means that they do not fully meet the minimum standards, but they are attempting to. Government officials are increasing their efforts by increasing the overall number of investigations and convictions. They are also improving the data collection and initiating restitution proceedings for victims. They are still considered to be a Tier 2 because the investigation and prosecution efforts remain not up to date to the Universal Declaration of Human Rights standard, reports of official complicity and corruption were largely unaddressed, foreign victims were penalized for crimes committed as a direct result of being subjected to trafficking, and assistance to victims remained weak and inconsistent. Brazil is violating the international norms of Article 5 because Article 5 states that “No one shall be subjected to torture or to cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment or punishment” (IFSW). Working in hazardous conditions is endangering children to cruel and harsh punishment. Especially at such a young age, allowing or forcing children to work in a potentially dangerous environment is going to cause future health and medical problems, that can never be fixed. Additionally, Brazil is violating Article 24, which states “everyone has the right to rest and leisure, including reasonable limitation of working hours and periodic holidays with pay” (IFSW). Some of these children are working 15 hours a day and that is not healthy for anyone let alone a child. There is no time to rest or have leisure if children are too focused on working to provide for their families in harsh conditions.

Brazil is lacking in the standard of the human right to life and the human right to social responsibility. A social worker could easily come and help Brazil decrease their numbers of child labors by focusing on the human right to life. A social worker could advocate for these child laborers, which could provide them a better life. There should be more focus on education in Brazil for children, because in rural areas people are more focused on child labor, instead of education, which many people do not believe is wrong, especially because it puts children in dangerous situations. Social workers need to promote human dignity to produce a quality life for families. Many studies have proven that the earliest people in the labor market in any type of job, affects their health outcomes in adulthood, especially decreasing the health status and indirectly affecting their education. If children are being forced to work at a young age, it is going to hurt their health later in their lives. Social workers, with dealing with the human right to a good quality of life, could also advocate and find more resources to make education a higher priority. Children attending good schools regularly, allows the children to not fall in the cycle of child labor and it helps them provide a life for themselves and for their future. The other human right that a social worker could work on in Brazil is the social responsibility. A social worker helping families with social responsibilities helps families and communities recognize their resources and responsibilities to help them get the advancement of their human rights. This is an important right because a lot of the children are working due to living in poverty. If a social worker would come in, they could help the families find resources to better equip the families in need. There is a program in Brazil currently that is financial assistance for families in need, which is helping Brazil head in the right direction, but it does not focus enough on the education reform which plays a big part in child labor. Overall, social workers would be able to excel in Brazil by working with all the people, but mostly people living in poverty to try to get them out, so their children would not fall into the child labor cycle.

I have learned so much about child labor in general and specifically in Brazil and on pineapple. I never knew that Brazil was such a dangerous country that produced such hazardous conditions for children since when I think of Brazil, I assume they are one of the higher economical countries that they would not have so many problems with child laborers. This was the same way I felt after watching the video in class. I always knew that there was child labor in countries, but I did not know the extent of it, especially the effect it had in Brazil. One of the companies I enjoy, the Living Company, recently stopped selling their clothing until they find a suitable fabric that follows their social justice efforts. The topic is becoming a lot more common and talked about and it makes me realize a lot more that I need to look into the products I am buying and see how the little things I buy affect people in different countries. I did not realize how much product I buy come may come from child laborer, so I need to be more proactive about buying certain items from quality places. Brazil seems like a progressive country in Latin America, so I did not realize how common child labor is in Brazil. Brazil has the most dangerous child labor working conditions, especially in the production of pineapple, due to its political, economic, and social stance. Brazil is trying to cut down those numbers by forcing more strict laws. Social workers are very needed in Brazil today due to the breaking of the international norms of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights.

Brazil has become a hub of diversification and the utter most urbanized center of Latin America. The population staggered from 250,000 to 1 million in steady, consistent growth, making its capital the 6th largest metropolis of the world. However, the country hasn’t always been at such state of rapid expansion. Over the years, its countless expositions to land cultivation, agricultural production and trade have shaped the colonial towns that its citizens hustle about today. Despite Brazil’s thrust into the integrated world, the country was pressured under a persistent switch of regimes politically, economically and socially. It suffered an unstable democracy and inadequate provision to the increasing population. This essay provides an insight into how urbanization has moved many Brazilians to peripheral parts of society and declassed them under the elite.

Only in 1888 – about 132 years ago – was African slavery demolished, impacting urbanization by being the base of diversity and different cultures amongst Brazil. 70% of its urban system had flourished in growth since World War II. Today, the country’s statistics show 47.9% natural increase in population and 49.3% derived from migrators; hence, migration has evidently played a major role. Immigrants from Europe, the Middle East and Africa sought a life in the increasingly urbanized sectors of Brazil, leading it to be a multicultural society and claiming itself secular. This occurred with the development of its immigration policies, such as accommodating refugees of bordering Latin American countries and encountering Japanese victims of the US military occupation. Namely towards the Afro-Brazilian tribes, along with social awareness came pressure of racism. In the late 70s, touristic urbanization became an advantageous concept as many became attracted to the sun and beaches along Brazil’s coast, stimulating economic growth. Not only did the welcoming of different ethnicities shift the geographical aspects of Brazil, but brought upon the concept of social urbanization. This meant that urbanization was not limited by physical elements and the growth of cities, but also featured an ideological shift in sociocultural aspects. It exposed urban culture amongst citizens and imposed it to the countryside, further leading to the commonality of rural-urban migration. Workers and those with authority in the capital city began to emphasize employee utilization, taking advantage of skilled workers to reach full potential in profit. Moreover, migration was influenced based on wage and income. This became the root cause of an economic crisis which stranded labor workers and caused them to fall in destitute whilst the richer progressed, shaping into a land of emigration as well. Today, approximately 18 million of the Brazilian population reside in slums.

As a country known for its mastering agricultural enterprises, coffee exporting was one of the major role-players of urbanization in Brazil. Merchants, farmers and peasants in the cultivation of this beloved bean were simultaneously thrown into the contemporary reconstruction of the country. Coffee became its number one export, and brought it much wealth in its trade with other countries. However, this began to prove ineffective with the emergence of protectionist taxes in order to secure domestic products. The tax initiation significantly declined Brazil’s trade rating and made imports more difficult. Ultimately, the processes of trade became increasingly time consuming and proved inconvenience for Brazil, as it currently lacks advances in technology that would empower productivity in trade and consistently provide its citizens with commodities. Additionally, poor farming has contributed to the trading deficiency. A lack of strategic irrigation techniques was utilized, causing desertification. In turn, farmers residing in rural areas were only able to export part of their harvests and bound to live in strife. Moreover, this ties with the dominance of industrial capitalism in Brazil. As private industries were in operation aiming for profit, the benefits of small-scale farming were much less superior to that of entrepreneurial agriculture. This put peasants and labor workers in critical positions and in desperate search for suitable wage jobs, as they were urged solely to produce and participate in minimal cultivation. Consequently, the domestic population failed to become a solid part of the integrated world Brazil was merging into.

With the approach of the 21st century, urbanization continued to accelerate in Brazil with a 4.1% annual growth rate. The country saw high fertility rates which echoed high rise in population and the most rapid displacement of rural to urban in Brazilian society. As new industries, technologies and municipalities were suddenly incorporated to the systems of the country, its constitution has been unable to keep up with the expeditious shifts of the metropolis. Labor shortages are now an underlying issue amongst Brazil, as much of its citizens were employed in agricultural practices and have experienced a massive decline in its plantation and extractive industries. Despite the country having followed the prevalent patterns of mechanization and industrial innovation across the globe, the major setback in its prosperity is having low percentage of workers with a high percentage of manufacturing. A distorted interpretation influenced the expectations of society with the presence of the Harris-Todaro model, envisioning greater life in the city only to reach the inevitability of overpopulation and being forced to live on the outskirts of urban cities. Furthermore, many communities are neglected and left impoverished due to unsustainable growth and urban sprawl. Brazil lacks sufficient systems, technology and infrastructure to accommodate to the expansion of communities within its urbanized cities on top of providing settlement for migrants. Favela – which are classified as Brazilian slums and shantytowns – have become areas of increased crime rates and poor sanitation.

Conclusively, Brazil has experienced outpouring urbanization forming the multicultural land it is today and being one of man contributors of its dynamic nature. The fluent expansion of migratory concepts has shifted domestic living to a metropolis city, but posed an inconvenience as it is unable to sustain its vast agricultural enterprise. Already, a rural rebound is occurring as Brazilian squatters resort to farms as the best chance of survival. Urbanization of the country has become a paradox, for immigrants populate urban areas but many Brazilian citizens themselves search for stability in the countryside. However, action is attempted. It aims to reduce relegated groups’ vulnerability to economic relapse. To achieve such balance, Brazil ought to look at enhancing its irrigation, improving infrastructure and ultimately getting rid of its protectionist taxes in order to play an active role in international trade. As major worldwide events are hosted in Brazil such as the Olympics and World Cup, it’s favorable for the government to be looking into advancing its technology. Further, if it is unable to maintain its resilience and find solutions to the uncontrolled urbanization of its cities, the country may well lag behind.

Every nation has its own cultural background and orientations of thought, existence and action, and these differences strongly influence the business world. The purpose of this essay is to present the main cultural characteristics of Brazil that affect the conduct of business.

Culture can be defined as the distinctive patterns of ideas, beliefs and norms which characterize the way of life and relations of a society or a group within a society. These set of beliefs are assumed to be natural and unchangeable. Culture can also consist of the sum of the total learned behaviors transmitted from generation to generation. Understanding cultural differences is essential in the modern society. How individuals from numerous social foundations convey, in comparable and diverse ways, inside and remotely, is the object of investigation of culturally diverse correspondence. Understanding social contrasts will help ensure that communication across borders is effective and business transactions are successful.

Brazil is characterized by a diverse culture and has always been rich in natural resources. It is the largest country in South America, both by way of area and population. The Brazilian culture is a fusion or Portuguese, African and other indigenous cultures, resulting in a distinct and rich culture. Here, the family is the foundation of the social structure and the basis for stability for majority of the population.

There are several significant aspects of Brazilian culture that are important in the business world and that are very important to consider in interpersonal business interactions. They are as follows:

1. The Brazilians need to know who they are working with before they can do can effectively work.
2. They prefer to build relationship. It is suggested to let the Brazilians bring up the negotiation topic. Negotiation is a lengthy one most of the time.
3. Face-to-face meetings are preferred to written communication, though when it comes to business agreements, they value detailed legal contracts.
4. They append more significance to the individual they manage than to the organization.
5. As the Brazilians are progressively open to working with individuals and organizations they know, inquiries concerning the organization are normal.
6. Normally the highest-ranking person is the one who makes the decisions. This makes evident what hierarchical business is like in Brazil.
7. Men welcome by shaking hands, with a watchful gaze contact. This should be possible as a between sexual orientation welcoming, as well.
8. Kissing is a standard welcome for ladies. Brazilian companions regularly do embrace and backslapping, as well.
9. Embarrassing a Brazilian ought to be kept away from, for this is a gathering society. When an individual is condemned, he/she loses face with the others in the gathering. The person who makes the analysis likewise loses face.
10. Informal communication: Anyone who feels like adding their opinion will just say it.
11. Brazilians are normally more tolerant on interrupting someone who is speaking.
12. People, as opposed to organizations, are who Brazilians consult with. Consequently, it isn’t prudent to change the arranging group. This would mean beginning from zero. It is vital to feature that ordinarily the general population you consult with don’t have basic leadership specialist.
13. During presentations at a gathering, business cards are traded with everybody.

As Brazilians heavily depend on relationship, it would be ideal to spend time with them, getting to know them, both professionally and personally. Personal relationships are a big part of the culture. By cultivating personal relations and building them, one can achieve great success in Brazil. It is common to see members of the same family working for the same company. This is due to the strong importance placed on family relations. Brazilians prefer to do business with those they know and trust, what reinforces this characteristic.

In conclusion, developing better relationships and doing business more successfully are possible benefits of understanding the diversity of Brazilian society, as well as its unique values and attitudes. By developing close ties and building trust, you can increase your chances of doing business effectively in Brazil.

The treatment of women is different in all countries. It is important to pay attention to and recognize the differences in the way that women are treated compared to the way that men are treated. In the United States, there is a lot of controversy around the thought that women should be treated equally and the idea that women can work just as hard as men. It is these thoughts and these identities that women are given that make them feel any less of a person or make them feel like they are not able to accomplish something just because they are female. This is not only a problem in the United States, but so many other countries as well, women every day are struggling to be treated fairly and feel their importance in the world. This is why feminist movements and organizations for women are so important. It is important that people are always fighting for women’s rights and supporting women to show them their worth and show them that they can do whatever it is that they set their minds to. It can be interesting to look into women’s rights and feminist movements in other countries, as well as study these countries and see how women are being treated and how women are thought of in these countries. One of the main focal points when studying these countries is looking at whether or not they are developed or underdeveloped countries. Looking at this shows researchers that where you live does in fact affect the way that your country handles issues like feminism. “Feminism for me was and remains a movement for equal rights and opportunities for men and women, in addition to being a struggle against patriarchy rooted in different cultures in different ways.” (M. R. A Kranstuber, 2020). Researchers cannot compare a developed country to an underdeveloped country when looking at the ways in which they are working to establish a feminist movement.

Brazil has one of the largest, most diverse, and successful women’s movements in Latin America. The support and constant engagement of women fighting for their rights helped to get Brazil to the position it is today when it comes to women’s rights. Brazil’s government listened to the women that wanted to see a change and they developed laws to put into place allowing women rights. The National Secretariat of Policies for Women is an organization allowed by the government to establish public policies to better the lives of all women in Brazil (M. R. A Kranstuber, 2020). Another amazing opportunity offered to women by the Brazilian government is 120-day maternity leave, this leave also allows for women to still make money even while they are at home with their baby. Brazil is open to improvement and knows that there is still more to be done to better the lives of women.

There are many important laws that have been passed throughout the history of Brazilian women. It begins with the constitution of 1824 which gave the emperor much control over things like the legislature and provincial governments and this lasted until 1889 when the Republic of Brazil was formed. “citizen was just a man. The woman could not vote or be elected. I could work in private companies, but I couldn’t be a civil servant” (M. R. A Kranstuber, 2020). Women were still not allowed to vote at this time and slavery was prohibited.

The constitution of 1934 establishes the equality of all people. “It enshrined, for the first time, the principle of equality between the sexes” (M. R. A Kranstuber, 2020). Both men and women were viewed as equal and the importance of equality was noticed. No one person will have privileges over another just because of their birth, sex, race, social class, wealth, or religious beliefs. Due to this law, there is no longer as strong of a gender divide of unpaid care labor. Men and women are doing the same jobs and more men and Brazilians are seeing a change in the way things used to be. Men and women are viewed as equal, but they also realize that equality should exist within their homes as well. “ I see that in my parents’ generation and back, there are still more women doing the housework and taking care of the children, even when the father and the mother work, Now in my circle of friends, and in the younger generations, I already see a more just division in these tasks. I particularly cannot stand to see a man not taking his plate off the table after he eats, or not washing his dishes, or any household chores, as if it is written somewhere that they are free of it all” (M. R. A Kranstuber, 2020) The constitution of 1934 “prohibits wage differences for the same job due to sex” (M. R. A Kranstuber, 2020). This law also states that Brazilians over the age of 18, of both sexes, who enlist in accordance with the law are considered voters. Medical and health assistance to both the worker and the pregnant women are offered, ensuring that the mother gets to rest before and after childbirth without having to worry about prejudice to salary and employment. “Brazil is a wonderful county, ‘blessed by God and beautiful by nature. Like a song the(sic), we have said (sic). I consider myself lucky to be Brazilian and to have grown up in a conscious family and in a developed region, with that, with more informed people. And I also feel free to be whoever I want. Even though some types of people still judge a woman for being free, confident, and powerful. But speaking of Brazil as a whole, I think that there is still a high level of violence against women and macho behaviors that need to be eliminated from society.” (M. R. A Kranstuber, 2020). Women are proud to be from Brazil and be from a place that cares for its women.

Female genital mutilation is the partial or total removal of a woman’s external genitalia or other injuries to the genital organs. FGM can cause women to experience many different dangerous and painful situations. “Female genital mutilation is a crime. I have no words to describe how sad I get, knowing that there are places that still practice this”. (M. R. A Kranstuber, 2020). Although Brazil is not a country that practices FGM, the people of Brazil have strong opinions on it.

In 1985 Brazil begins to see the first women’s police station. DEAM (Police Station for Specialized Services for Women) is founded in Sao Paulo and shortly after, other units begin to be implemented in other states in Brazil. These specialized services help to protect and investigate crimes of domestic violence and sexual assault against women. This was very important for women, as it was one of the first places for women to go when they were in need of help. Milena was born in Sao Paulo and finds this to be a major milestone and she is proud of her city. In 2002 “lack of virginity” is no longer viewed as a crime. Lack of virginity refers to women who are not virgins when they get married. Brazilian Civil Code no longer allowed men to get an annulment of his marriage if they found that his wife was not a virgin before they married. (M. R. A Kranstuber, 2020). In 2006 the Maria da Penha Law was created and is one of the most important achievements for Brazilian women. This law aims to reduce domestic violence by increasing the punishment for domestic abuse offenders. It is also required by this law that Brazilian authorities allow 24-hour shelters for victims of domestic violence within their households. Maria de Penha created this law after she was almost killed by her abusive husband and was left paraplegic. Before this law, domestic violence was considered to be a crime of low potential offensive, that has been changed and women believe that they have been ‘saved by the law’. Maria is now known as the woman who changed Brazil’s domestic violence law.

The approval of the Femicide Law is another important law passed in Brazil. Femicide is the killing of a woman or girl, particularly by a male on account of her gender. In 2015, femicide was finally classified as a homicide crime. “It is worth remembering that, three years after the law was created, the number of cases of women killed in Brazil only grows and black girls are still the biggest victims” (M. R. A Kranstuber, 2020). Although this law was passed, Brazil still saw an increase in women being killed and black women became the target. In 2011, one of the most exhilarating things happened for women in Brazil. The first female president of Brazil was elected, Dilma Rousseff. In August of 2016, Rousseff was impeached for breaking budget laws and also did not receive enough votes from the senate. “In this case, it was not about man or woman, but politics. Being able to have a female president is a victory for women who until a few years ago could not even vote. But in this specific case, she did not represent me as a voter. And it has to do with ideas and not with sex” (M. R. A Kranstuber, 2020). Although women were excited to see one of their own in office, not everyone agreed with what she represented. It wasn’t until 2018 that female sexual harassment became a crime. Every day women experience sexual harassment on the bus, in cars, at the grocery store, at work, etc. and Brazil has in the last few years classified it as a crime.

In 2011, Dilma Rousseff favored the legalization of abortion in Brazil. Brazil feels very strongly about abortion being a crime and Rousseff’s favor for it lost her many voters. As of 2019, abortion is now only legal in cases of rape, incest, to save a mother’s life, and fatal conditions that infants are both with that leave them missing parts of their brain or skull (Malta et al., 2019). Some people in Brazil still commit this crime, they just do it in inappropriate places and do it secretly.

Many women consider themselves to be feminists, but not every woman has the same reason for why they are a feminist and what influenced them to feel so strongly about feminism. One from the United States may say that they are a feminist for a cultural reason and someone from Brazil may say the same thing, but the experiences are different because of the difference in the treatment of women. “…because it is still necessary. More for the cultural issue. When women are still judged for the clothes they wear and raped because of it if there are still women earning less than a man doing the same job. Or if a man has certain attitudes and is considered ok, but when a woman (sic) has the same attitudes and is judged” (M. R. A Kranstuber, 2020). Brazil already has such a strong feminist movement, but because of that, women still feel that they need to constantly be supportive and they know that not everyone is always going to agree with laws that have been put in place in Brazil regarding women’s rights.

Brazil has a very strong feminist movement and will continue to do some if they keep up the support and appreciation for their women. The constant and continuous fight to provide its woman with the best resources and fair opportunity is what proves the stable feminist movement. The importance of this strong movement is that it shows other countries that they too can be supportive and listen to their women and work with them to create laws that provide women with the lives they want to live. This beautiful country has put so much effort into the rights of its women and will continue to do so when there are things that need to be changed. For years Brazil has been passing laws that create a safe and supportive country for its people. Women now have the right to vote, they have established services for women who are victims of abuse, women receive 12-day maternity leave, and do not have to worry about not making money while being away. These opportunities for women are why Brazil has such an amazing feminist movement.

Brazil is an immigrant country with immigrants from all over the world, so it focuses on many religious beliefs in the East and West. Brazil used to be a colony of Europe and Portugal. Portugal believed in Catholicism. Later, Brazilians began to believe in Catholicism. Therefore, Catholicism is Brazil’s most important religious belief, and some people believe in Christian evangelicals. Both religions are branches of Christianity. Christianity is the collective name for the various sects who worship Jesus Christ as the Savior, also known as Christianity. In the first century AD, it originated in the Palestinian province of Rome. Christianity mainly includes: Catholic, Protestant, Orthodox three major sects and other minor sects.

The romantic relationship of Christianity exist in the connection of love between Jesus and Christians. We all know that the Bible is the letter of love to us from God While it includes harsh judgments and warnings from God, it also contains expressions of love between man and God. The same kind of love exists among Christians, because Christians also have rituals, such as weddings. A cross will be placed in the middle of the wedding venue, which is the most unique part of a Christian wedding. It is one of the aspects that differentiate Christian marriages from other religions. The cross is also a symbol of faith for Christian. Jesus died on the cross to show everyone his noblest and most selfless love. Wedding is a Christian ritual, a marriage rite, an everlasting bond. During the wedding ceremony, the bride and groom take an oath to the bible, join together before god and ask god to bless the couple. After the vows and the announcement of the marriage, light the candle of marriage, recite the scriptures and accept the blessings of the witnesses of both parties. Stop at the altar at last, and may god full of love be with us all, now and forever. People said marriage contract can only be broken by death and blood. Christian romanticism is also about compatibility. People share their faith with their partner by going to church, praying, and reading the bible together. This can improve a couple’s relationship. Through the rituals of life you get to know, to open up, to connect each other. Besides that, healthy relationships exhibit strongly shared hopes and values. They will be encouraging and supportive of your significant on their faith journey as well. There was a huge wedding in Rio DE Janeiro, Brazil, in 2014. It is specially organized by the government for low-income groups. The government specially invited Christian priests to preside over the ceremony to bless the new couple from different faiths. The main reason government held this celebration is because many couples who have been living together for several years, or even have children cannot get married because their families are poor. This time, the government not only gave them money to fulfill their dream, but also gave their marriage a legal protection. After the ceremony, the couple can get a marriage certificate issued by the government. This wedding reveals Christianity’s inclusiveness.

America is one of the wealthiest countries in the world. And Brazil is not a world power but could it be? America and Brazil have a lot of similarities and differences. America is one of the most powerful countries, but Brazil is not. But the US has some limitations as well. However, the US doesn’t have as many limitations as Brazil though.

Since the US is far away from anyone else it doesn’t have any threat of invasion and since they didn’t have to worry about that they had time to grow. The US has had great soil for farmers and in colonial days people in Spain controlled Florida and people in Florida grew tobacco which all the people in Spain love. The US has many rivers in its big landscape people have used the rivers to their advantage and since the landscape is so big, they would use those rivers to get from place to place around the US. For some time, the US was untouchable and no and every other country knew because if they were to come, they would have to transport all the supplies and its neighbor – Mexico – was dry and no river system like the US. And the US also didn’t have Canada to worry about, because Canada is quite dry and its climate limit it with farming so it wasn’t easy for them to survive in those type of days. Geography is the main thing that helped the US became a world superpower it helped them farm get around and it helped them socialize with other countries while also being safe from any other threat.

Brazil is one of the most populous places in the world but most people only live on the coastline of the country and the rest is an unhabitable landscape that no one is able to build and farm on. The three major cities, Sao Paolo, Rio de Janeiro and Belo Horizonte, are all close together making a triangle like shape but the area there are in is rather mountainous so that means that the three cities can’t trade and transport goods other cities that are close to each other can so this can limit their trade. When traveling to different cities it takes about 6 hours to get from Rio de Janeiro to Sao Paulo. Since there is no low plain area it’s all covered in rough landscape and there is also the process of going through the mountains and then having to go back to other destination which will then take 12 hours to move in that little space. A lot of Brazil is covered by the Amazon rain forest only 1.8% live in that rain forest so almost no one is in the forest except for some lumber company extracting supplies from the trees. Deforestation is another thing hurting Brazil there are trees when cut down they release carbon dioxide which it has been storing as a greenhouse gas so it then releases it which then hurts the pollutes its climate.

The US has some similarities with Brazil and some differences, but the similarities can be found when you look into the geography and economy of them both. America and Brazil both have leading companies within their country who have huge success and had many stores sent throughout their country and have been here for a long time and said that is the most leading company in the world. Brazil and the US both have rocky landscapes in some areas, but Brazil whole landscape is rocky and in America, the Rocky Mountains are what is in the rocky region on the map. Both Brazil and the US are very populous Brazil has been known to have a lot of people in such a tiny space because most of the area is covered in an area that isn’t inhabitable. Brazil and America don’t have a lot of similarities and America already is a world power both Brazil and America are big countries but Brazil is not a world power because of all its geography issues are limiting it from expanding. One day Brazil could become a world power because of Brazil and America being allies in certain problems in World War II. Brazil was supplying troops to the allies and they also helped the allies with fighting from over the seas.

America is a world power and one of the most powerful, but Brazil cannot become a world power because Brazil and America are quite different in a lot of ways, including economic standpoints such as Brazil growing fast and the US not growing as fast as Brazil. Brazil has a lot of rainfall but America does not have so much so Brazil’s precipitation is much higher than the US making Brazil’s soil solid and clumpy. The US has a variety of lands in the west has the Rocky Mountains and the rest has low lands but Brazil has mostly rugged and mountain area and it’s hard for people to get around in the area of Brazil. America is about a third of the size of Russia and Brazil is just slightly smaller than the US, but Brazil is still one of the biggest countries in the world being ranked 5th of one of the biggest. Brazil has deforestation in its country that destroys and endangers the habitat plants and animals and also has air and water pollution from major oil spills, but the US has high levels of carbon dioxide from the US burning fossil fuels and freshwater needs careful inspection.

America and Brazil have a lot of differences and similarities but that begs the question if Brazil could become a world power or not which is hard to decide especially when so many people have different opinions about it. Brazil has been around for such a long time like any other country but it has been limited from becoming a world power like the US, but the US has had geographical advantages to becoming a world power. Brazil will most likely become a world power but will not be as powerful as other countries like Russia and the US. Brazil’s economy is growing fast way faster than America’s economy so it is growing at a really fast rate so it will soon become a world power from its growth. It won’t have as much power as other countries because of all of their geography problems such as their hard to follow roads and its soil doesn’t grow as many crops as the US. Brazil will probably become a world power soon and will prove itself to other countries.

What is human well-being?

Human well-being refers to people’s quality of life and their happiness. It is the recognition that everyone regardless of race, age, gender, where you live, etc. aspires to live well. Unfortunately, the global distribution of human well-being is unequal. Human well-being is measured using the HDI index (human development index). This was created by the United Nations Development Program (UNDP). Many factors impact an individual’s ability to live well, including war, conflict, social implications, housing, and financial state.

Human well-being also has differences between countries, including:

Political instability, biophysical environment, rainfall, access to public services, corrupt governments, and more.

The 13 key dimensions of human well-being are:

• Health
• Income
• Life expectancy
• Literacy rates
• Education
• Infant mortality rate (IMR)
• Women’s participation in public life
• Political voice and governance
• Security (economic and physical)
• Personal activities including work (work-life balance)
• Social connections and relationships
• Environment
• Material living standards

How and why does well-being differ from one person to another?

Wellbeing differs from one person to another as everyone is different and unique and everyone has different morals and qualities of living.

This can all depend on your geography (where you live), material well-being, job security, climate & environment, etc. There are 2 types of countries in the world. There are developed countries and developing countries. A developed country is a country that is advanced and/or developed country with modernization, a good economy, and stabilized infrastructure. A few examples of developed countries are Australia, Switzerland, New Zealand etc. A developing country is a poor agricultural country seeking to become more modernized. Some of these countries include Indonesia, Kenya, Pakistan, etc. It can be harder to live in a developing country because of the issues that you face and this then impacts on your wellbeing as well.

What is the OCED Better Life Index?

The OCED Better Life Index is a set of 11 social indicators- housing, home, income, jobs, community, education, environment, governance, health, life satisfaction, safety, and work-life balance that is believed to measure the well-being of a country’s population.

What are the key dimensions according to the Better Life Index that contribute to well-being?

These are 11 factors that are believed to measure human well-being: housing, income, jobs, community, education, environment, governance, health, life satisfaction, safety & work-life balance.

Why is health an important factor in contributing to human well-being?

Good health is central to happiness and healthy well-being. Health is measured by life expectancy. As healthy populations live longer they are more likely to become more productive and save more. Many factors influence health status and well-being status. These can include social and economic environments, physical environments, and the individual’s characteristics and behaviors.

Access to healthcare in Australia in comparison to Brazil:

In Australia, we have a healthcare system called Medicare. Medicare is a publicly funded health care insurance cover in Australia. Medicare and the public hospital system provide free or low-cost access for all Australians to most of these healthcare services. In the unlikely event of being admitted or taken in an ambulance to a hospital Medicare will cover for majority of the expenses. Medicare was established in 1965 to help maintain a healthy well-being society within Australia.

How to get your own Medicare card from 15 years old-

1. Go online and complete the application form
2. Birth certificate
3. Current driver’s license
4. Current passport

There are also other ways to cover your health insurance and an example of one of these companies is Bupa. Bupa is a private health insurance coverage where you pay extra for a certain amount of hospital coverage, doctor visits, etc.

Australia spent $180.7 billion on health from 2016 to 2017—more than $7,400 per person. Although we are the biggest dry piece of land (desert) we have access to clean, filtered, and safe drinking water. This is because the government spends money to have systems in place like dams etc. Here are ways to remove sewage and keep sanitation in Australia:

• Effluent Treatment Plants (ETP)
• Sewage Treatment Plants (STP)
• Common and Combined Effluent Treatment Plants (CETP)
• Activated Sludge Plant (ASP)

In 2017-18, the Australian Bureau of Statistics National Health Survey showed that two-thirds (67.0%) of Australian children were overweight or obese, an increase from 63.4% in 2014-15. There are no statistics that I could find for underweight children. This shows the wealth within our country. Australia has one of the lowest infant mortality rates (IMR) in the world. In 2018 the IMR for Australia was 3.1 infant deaths per 1,000 live births. An estimated 27,545 people were living with HIV in Australia in 2017 (the latest statistic).

Healthcare in Brazil is a constitutional right and is provided by private and government institutions. A study taken shows that the Brazilian government spends daily $0.92 per capita to cover health costs. Brazil has a total of 105 hospitals and 66%of them are private meaning only private patients can be seen to in those hospitals. The public system is provided through the national healthcare system known as the unified health system. In rural/poorer parts of Brazil the healthcare changes and becomes less efficient and at a slower rate as well. In urban areas there is 100% access to healthy, fresh, and clean drinking water however, in rural areas, there is only 53%. Sanitation, education, and income per capita are the most important explanatory factors in determining poor child health in Brazil. 85% of Brazil’s population has access to sanitation. However, Brazil lacks sewerage infrastructures and this leads to diseases spreading around the country. In 2018 the statistic for people living with HIV was 900,000 people. Now that is a huge statistic. 84% of those people know about the disease and 13% do not. The infant mortality rate (IMR) in Brazil is 14 babies per 1,000 in comparison to Australia’s 3.1. 52.6% of men and 44.7% of women in Brazil are overweight. Although childhood obesity is associated with poor health outcomes, 70%–80% of obese adolescents become obese adults.

Australia is ranked #7 in the world according to HDI however Brazil is ranked #79. Indigenous Australians are more likely than non-Indigenous Australians to have respiratory diseases, mental health problems, cardiovascular disease, diabetes, and chronic kidney disease.

The Indigenous Australians’ Health Programme- The objective of the IAHP is to provide Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people with access to effective high-quality comprehensive, culturally appropriate, primary healthcare services in urban, regional, rural, and remote locations across Australia. In 2017, there were 2,988 deaths of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people this could be resulting in poor health care or exposure to diseases. 

Brazil has achieved an immense economic growth over the last decades and managed to enhance its influence regionally, in Latin America, and globally. Nevertheless, the country is plagued by social problems, corruption, crime and human rights abuses. This essay will discuss Brazil’s internal weaknesses and its role in global affairs as a regional power. Firstly, it will examine President Jair Bolsonaro’s stance on the environment and what threats does his outlook pose to the future of Brazil and the world dealing with the climate crisis. Secondly, the paper will analyze the country’s domestic problems, social inequality and human rights abuses. Thirdly, it will assess Brazil’s influence in the region and other developing countries and its relationship with the United States (US). Lastly, it will assess the future threats that the current global political climate may pose to the country.

Jair Bolsonaro, Brazil’s far-right president since 2019, is often compared to Donald Trump for his brutal honesty and ‘anti-establishment’ posturing. In contrast to his portrayed image, Bolsonaro enjoyed the backing from three well-established caucuses in Congress: the Christian right, the pro-gun legislators and the beef caucus. Bolsonaro is sceptic towards climate change and has slashed environmental protections to aid post-pandemic economic recovery. The rights of indigenous peoples and other traditional communities were systematically violated throughout the years. The Bolsonaro’s ideology sees global warming as a foreign leftist conspiracy intended to undermine Brazil’s power, which is a divisive discourse and may lead to country’s isolation. Most Brazilians are proud of the Amazon rainforest’s vastness and the rich diversity of both plants and native fauna. Yet, in a country which lacks basic sanitation, concerns about conservation take a backseat to other more pressing issues, such as violence, corruption and public health. Unfortunately, Brazilians have voted for decades for the politicians that implement policies which allow the destruction of the Amazon.

The country’s economic inequality, measured by Gini coefficient index, is among the highest in the world. According to the Trata Brasil Institute, nearly 35 million people still do not have access to clean water and 100 million have no sewage collection. The country has serious problems with crime, especially drug related gang violence. The corruption and police brutality are widespread, disproportionately affecting the black population. There is high school non-attendance due to the lack of school places, high examination failure rate and malnutrition, which affects intellectual development. The housing deficit is a major problem in cities and a lot of houses do not have proper utilities. The freedom of expression is restricted, and Brazil has the fourth highest number of killings of land rights defenders and environmental leaders in the world, according to the NGO Global Witness. The domestic violence rate and femicide is high, as well as the discrimination and physical attacks against the LGBTI community. Brazil needs to pay more attention to domestic problems, since human rights abuses can negatively affect its international image.

Brazil’s economic rise had led it to pursue greater influence in international forums and foster cooperation among countries in the developing world. It has forged strong ties with countries in Africa and Asia, particularly China, which is now its largest trading partner. Together with Russia, India, China and South Africa, Brazil is part of the BRICS group of leading emerging economies with significant influence on regional and global affairs. In 2004, Brazil has led the United Nations mission in Haiti, played a central role in the 2009 Honduran Crisis and was involved in the creation of both the Union of South American Nations and new forum of Latin American and Caribbean countries. Brazil’s agriculture research agency has an office in Ghana from which it aims to assist other African countries to find a solution to the continent’s food insecurity. Due to its strong economic position, the country is trying to cement a new global leadership role, to act as an agent of peace and stability.

While the US and Brazil share common goals for regional stability, both countries had some disputes on trade and political issues, such as whether to create the Free Trade Area of the Americas (FTAA). Brazil had also opposed the war in Iraq and the US embargo on Cuba. However, the two countries have cooperated on a range of bilateral and regional issues, particularly energy security. Other efforts both countries engage in are counternarcotic and counterterrorism, human rights, the fight against HIVAIDS and the environment. The benefits of a strong Brazil are that it can be a great partner on energy and regional security initiatives.

The external factors, such as disruption of supply chains due to the pandemic and the Russian invasion of Ukraine, will likely weigh on the currency and global demand. Although Brazil’s total imports from Russia and Ukraine are less than 3%, it won’t remain insulated from the conflict’s impact on the global economy. Like everywhere in the world, food and energy-related inflation is rising threatening the welfare of the poor. The real GDP growth reveals that the industry subtracted from growth, which means that production and investments have been subdued. Disruptions of trading routes around the Black Sea and the Sea of Azov will likely increase logistical challenges, resulting in delayed delivery and will add the inflationary pressure for goods. Any global slowdown will hit demand for Brazil’s exports, affecting the country’s economic growth.

In conclusion, Jair Bolsonaro’s far-right stance, and disregard for environmental protections for the world’s largest rainforest, have damaged the country’s image and may pose a threat to the entire planet. The climate crisis talks cannot progress effectively unless the country controlling most of the Amazon is on board and willing to negotiate. In addition, the country is still dealing with a multitude of social problems that need attention. Brazil is the largest economy in Latin America and its various global initiatives have turned it into a powerful actor on the international stage. Brazil has successfully collaborated with the US on fighting drug related crime and violence that enhanced its image as a stabilizing force in Latin America. Nevertheless, the pandemic and Russia and Ukraine conflict may cause the global slowdown, and just like most countries, Brazil is not immune to economic disturbances.

A 19th-century invention, photography today is often looked at as a way for people to take perfect pictures (blemish free) and serve as a memory of your life. However, photography has had a bigger impact than taking selfies (self-portraits) on a smartphone. What is often overlooked within photography is that it opened so many doors for the medical field, specifically with plastic surgery. The invention of photography allows surgeons the ability to see the success of the performance of their plastic surgery on patients by taking photos before and after the procedures.

Moreover, many countries see extreme numbers of plastic surgery among citizens every year, but this is especially true in Brazil. Brazil is the second leading country in terms of plastic surgery, right behind the United States. According to the data collected by the International Society of Aesthetic Plastic Surgery (ISAPS) in 2018, Brazil had 2,267,405 procedures (ISAPS 2018, 16). On the other hand, Brazil is the leader in terms of total surgical procedures, which include breast augmentation, liposuction, and breast lifts. This dataset differentiates between surgical and non-surgical plastic procedures. Non-surgical procedures include hair removal, non-surgical fat reduction, and hyaluronic acid (ISAPS 2018, 16). The number of total surgical procedures in Brazil from the same dataset is 1,498,327 procedures (ISAPS 2018, 16).

Despite the expansive research on medical photography and the intersectionality of plastic surgery and gender roles, there is a lack of literature that brings all three of these together. More specifically, it may be beneficial to look at medical photography through the lens of gender expectations in terms of plastic surgery. Prior to delving into the advantages and disadvantages of medical photography, it is important to explain the history and development of medical photography and the current plastic surgery situation in Brazil.

Long before the invention of photographic images and drawings have been developed to represent life. Fabian Michangeli outlines this historical evolution of photography in his article Imagining the unimaginable: Medical imaging in the realm of photography. As mentioned in the introduction, photography is a 19th-century invention and it was quickly developed to be used in medical campaigns across the world, but especially in Latin America (Michelangeli 2018, 44). Medical photography opened up the possibility for telemedicine, which is holding a doctor visit via technological means, such as video calling or chatting through WhatsApp and surgical procedures may be conducted by robots (Michelangeli 2018, 44). This is beneficial to those who are in remote areas and may not have access to doctors: those who are in remote villages may have access to doctors: “In some cases, telemedicine is the only means of health care provision in remote areas in developing countries. There have been successful projects in Africa (SAHEL, SATMED) and Latin America, especially Venezuela (Michelangeli 2018, 44).” It is fascinating to understand to some extent the expansion of medical photography in the field, but it is also important to understand the techniques for medical photography.

Growing up in a family of photographers, I have always been drawn to taking pictures and find this expansion of photography to the medical field interesting as most people want pictures to be perfect and hide all your faults. Prior to this course, it never crossed my mind the importance of medical photography in a highly globalized world. With medical photography it is the complete opposite, surgeons want to see the flaws to show the improvement/accuracy of the results pre- and post-operation (Hagan 2008, 188). However, there are standards that must be followed with medical photography, which Kevin Hagan outlines in his article called Clinical Photography for the Plastic Surgery Practica – The Basics, which is helps the non-photographer wrap their head around what is necessary and expected when taking medical photographs.

The first important principle of medical photography to follow in terms of plastic surgery is consistent lighting: “The use of different types of lighting for pre-and post-operative photographs is unacceptable and is often a deceptive technique that is deliberately used to enhance the surgical result” (Hagan 2008, 189). Another part of the protocol is that the position must be exactly the same (Hagan 2008, 189) and that clothing should be minimal and not distracting (Hagan 2008, 189). Hagan also emphasizes that the background color must be exact for the photographs (2008, 189). Last but not least, Hagan explains that all images should have “the same magnification or size” and the photo should be taken from the same distance (Hagan 2008, 189). All these images are shown below with descriptions for a visual of what Hagan explains and are taken directly from the source.

Moreover, to test what the reader learned in terms of the procedures for clinical photography, Hagan provides an image for the reader to dictate how this medical photographer did not follow protocol as seen in figure 1 below.

Based on this reading, the mistakes made in photography A are that the clothes are distracting, the lighting is off, and the position and the distance are not the same when compared with photography B. Overall, it is important to have a basic understanding of the protocol for medical photography for research purposes even if you have no prior knowledge of professional photography.

In Alexander Edmonds’ book: Pretty Modern: Beauty, Sex, and Plastic Surgery, he does not discuss the importance of clinical photography with plastic surgery in Brazil. Having this very basic understanding is important to forming the connection between expectations of beauty through plastic surgery and medical photography. He does present the medical practice of Brazil and the demand for plastic surgery through an ethnographic study that is more qualitative in nature. What is most striking and important is his testimonies from those who either want plastic surgery or have received it from all social classes. One of the testimonies that struck me the most is from a female presented at the opening of Edmonds’ book: Ester. She is a female of the lower class working as a maid in the favelas (slums), who wants to save up her money to get breast implants (Edmonds 2010, 3). Just like Ester, many women who want plastic surgery in Brazil due so to raise their social status and get better-paying jobs (Edmonds, 2010). But, some also do it to feel good about their body as the media has created an ideal image of women in Brazil and that plástica is necessary to lead a good life (Edmonds 2010).

The images throughout Brazilian magazines present plastic surgery in a positive light through overly edited photographs, whereas medical photography emphasizes the importance of showing the accuracy of the operations so that the surgeons and patients may see the improvement or mistakes made during the operations. Edmonds does include some of these before and after operation photos, but they are not fully accurate due to the differences and it seems that the surgeons may be purposefully making them look different to show the patient that improvements were made. This is based on my own perceptions (see the example to the left). For example, in the first set of images, the position of the woman is not the same and in the second set of images, she is standing with a proper posture where she is not in the first image. Although it is not clear if these are medical photographs directly from surgeons if the surgeons and doctors do not present accurate results, why should the media be expected to do the same? It is a constant cycle of how can the medical field (in terms of plastic surgery) help the economy, and how can the doctors/media present it in a way that will make people attracted to using their life funds on plastic surgery. Edmonds 2010, 140.

Moreover, what is also rewarding about his book is the very detailed descriptions of the experiences at the hospitals, as he turns it into a narrative to humanize the lives and feelings of these people. Plastic surgery is so increasingly popular in Brazil that the public hospitals often witness extreme overcrowding as Edmonds shows in this photograph to the right (Edmonds 2010, 182). (Edmonds 2010, 182).

Moving away from the current plastic surgery situation in Brazil toward the advantages and disadvantages of medical photography, Edmonds describes the Foucault concept of the medical gaze within Brazilian plastic surgery procedures:

“While there is more privacy in private clinics, in public hospitals patients are asked to disrobe in front of a lecture room while surgeons discuss bodily flaws and the merits of particular techniques. Dr. Paulo worried about an undignified vulgarization of his craft. He complained of a seventy-five-year-old patient, “short and fat” who asked if a facetime would make her look like a photo of a beautiful eighteen-year-old girl in a wedding dress. Exasperated, he said: “If I operate on a woman who is old and ugly, she is going to continue old and ugly, with her skin stretched (Edmonds 2010, 199).”

As Edmonds describes, male surgeons in public hospitals will often line up the potential patients and determine who can be operated on by having them remove their clothes and analyzing if they fit the expectations of the plastic surgeon and if the operation would be successful (Edmonds 2010, 199). It is not clear whether these doctors have a protocol to follow, but this instance of lining up the patients and the surgeons analyzing them removes the humanistic aspects of the individual and solely focuses on the body/whether the body is good enough to receive plastic surgery. This is exactly what Michael Foucault discusses in Birth of the Clinic: “He describes the medical gaze as superior, revealing knowledge that is somehow encoded into the visible body, claiming the ultimate knowledge and power over the body gazed upon (Zittlau 2013, 546).” Therefore, the invention of photography has allowed for the development of the medical gaze through a camera lens, and now the whole world is able to partake in the medical gaze. In turn, this leads to the unethical practices of medical photography.

• a. Consent – causes psychological distress (Creighton, 71)

Benefits of Medical Photography?

• a. Surgical team briefing (Omran, 1)
• b. Communication (Omran, 1)
• c. Better Monitoring (Omran, 1)
• d. Assess outcomes (Omran, 1)

As developed thoroughly above, there are clear unethical issues associated with medical photography within plastic surgery and also advantages such as better communication and monitoring (Omran YEAR, 1). However, there is something crucial not accounted for in the literature: Only two of the articles I found while researching discuss the connection of gender or assigned sex with medical photography. Erin O’Connor’s article titled Pictures of Health: Medical Photography and the Emergence of Anorexia Nervosa emphasizes how medical photography recreates expected gender roles, especially of women:

“By identifying both sickness and health with a particular look, the photography of anorexia enabled a series of assumptions about what a woman should be – or at least what she should be like – to mediate the diagnosis and treatment of self-starvation (O’Connor 1995, 543).”

This relates back to the earlier discussion of the presentation of plastic surgery in magazines as a way to reinforce the roles of women and the ethical issue of the medical gaze and also as a way of placing women back into the place of the caretaker and as the pleasure object for the man as this medical gaze decenters the individual and focuses on the body, rather than the personality of the person receiving the gaze.

On the other hand, the authors of Medical Photography: Ethics, Consent, and the Intersex Patient bring in the role of those born with variations in genitals or other sexual characteristics. Those in medicine often want to take medical photographs of something that is not normal and that they fixed. It is the equivalent of a trophy for playing sports, this is a moment of pride for those doctors. However, taking into account of consent and the dehumanizing of the individual discussed earlier, these doctors do not take into account how publishing instead of protecting these images affect the patient and hurts the doctor-patient relationship (Creighton et al. 2001, 69). This testimony presented in this article explains the feelings of one intersex patient:

“They made be naked in a room and take pictures of me and they took pieces of my skin and left two marks one on each arm and nobody said to me why they were doing it. Those marks are still there, and I look at them and I think “Why did they do that?” You know, why did they make me stand in a room and have pictures taken with no clothes on and humiliate me like without saying anything to me? Why. What was wrong with me? A 53-year-old CAIS patient (Creighton et al. 2001, 69).”

This article also emphasizes the expected gender [image: ]roles as men are meant to be strong, not sensitive, nor have female genitalia, which causes doctors to fall back into the rabbit hole of creating expected gender roles. For example, another CAIS (Complete androgen insensitivity syndrome) patient “always thought the photo should have carried the caption of what doctors were obviously thinking when they took it i.e. ‘Have you ever seen a genetic male looking so female?’ I think the particular expression on my face speaks volumes and I was obviously traumatized by it (Creighton 2001, 69).” This is the photo of the man giving the testimony, which was also taken without consent as explained in the caption of the photograph. Overall, with only finding two articles that present expectations of gender, it is clear that the connection of gender within the context of medical photography is under-researched and it may be beneficial to better acknowledge the connection of medical photography and gender roles in the future. Creighton et al. 2001, 70.

Moreover, Alexander Edmonds in his ethnographic study of plastic surgery in Brazil does not present the intersectionality of medical photography, gender studies, and plastic surgery. This would be an interesting future research development specifically on Brazil as well because most of the literature on medical photography is very broad and not specific to one place, which tells you that this is under-researched and would add something new to the expansive literature on plastic surgery and gender roles in Brazil or elsewhere.

In conclusion, medical photography could be developed further in a gender lens to present the ethical and unethical practices of plastic surgery in Brazil. The literature presents medical photography as a modern-day term and that the overall impact on medical photography should be expanded more to specific cases, especially in Brazil and Latin America, to thoroughly explain and develop the true impact of medical photography on the expansion of plastic surgery through field research, testimonies, and expansion upon the research already published.

References

1. Al Omran, Yasser, Dariush Nikkhah, Herman Vercruysse, and Neil Bulstrode. ‘Medical Photography During the Plastic Surgery Team Briefing.’ Plastic and Reconstructive Surgery – Global Open 4, no. 8 (2016): E1009.
2. Creighton, Sarah, J. Alderson, S. Brown, and C. L. Minto. ‘Medical Photography: Ethics, Consent and the Intersex Patient.’ BJU international 89, no. 1 (2002): 67-71.
3. Edmonds, Alexander. Pretty Modern: Beauty, Sex, and Plastic Surgery in Brazil. Durham, NC: Duke Univ. Press, 2011.
4. Foucault, Michel. The Birth of the Clinic: An Archaeology of Medical Perception. New York: Vintage Books., 1994.
5. Friega, Murillo, Diego Ricardo Colferai, and Marcela Sampaio. “Photographic Principals of Medical Photography .” In Oncoplastic and Reconstructive Breast Surgery, Second ed., 139–42. Springer International Publishing, 2019.
6. Hagan, Kevin F. ‘Clinical Photography for the Plastic Surgery Practice—The Basics.’ Plastic Surgical Nursing 28, no. 4 (2008): 188-92.
7. International Society of Aesthetic Plastic Surgery (ISAPS). ‘ISAPS International Survey on Aesthetic/Cosmetic: Procedures Performed in 2018 (2018).
8. Killion, Cheryl M. ‘Understanding Cultural Aspects of Health through Photography.’ Nursing Outlook 49, no. 1 (2001): 50-54.
9. Michelangeli, Fabian. ‘Imaging the Unimaginable: Medical Imaging in the Realm of Photography.’ Clinics in dermatology 37, no. 1 (2019): 38-46.
10. O’Connor, Erin. ‘Pictures of Health: Medical Photography and the Emergence of Anorexia Nervosa.’ Journal of the History of Sexuality 5, no. 4 (1995): 535-572.
11. Olawoye, Olayinka. ‘Clinical Photography and Video Recordings in Plastic Surgery: Beyond Patient Autonomy and Informed Consent.’ Nigerian Journal of Plastic Surgery 14, no. 1 (2018): 15-16.
12. Riml, Stefan, Agnieszka T. Piontke, Lorenz Larcher, and Peter Kompatscher. ‘Widespread Disregard of Photographic Documentation Standards in Plastic Surgery: A Brief Survey.’ Plastic and Reconstructive Surgery 126, no. 5 (2010): 274e-76e.
13. Silva, James. ‘Photography and Science: The Utopia of Objective Image and Its Uses in the Sciences and Medicine.’ Boletim Do Museu Paraense Emílio Goeldi Ciências Humanas 9, no. 2 (2014): 343-60.
14. Silveira, Carlos Eduardo Goulart, Silva, Thiago Buosi, Fregnani, Josn Humberto Guerreiro Tavares, Da Costa Vieira, Renn Aloisio, Haikel, Raphael Luiz, Syrjanen, Kari, Carvalho, Andrn Lopes, and Mauad, Edmundo Carvalho. ‘Digital Photography in Skin Cancer Screening by Mobile Units in Remote Areas of Brazil.’ BMC Dermatology 14, no. 1 (2014): 19.
15. Zittlau, Andrea. ‘Pathologizing Bodies: Medical Portrait Photography in Nineteenth-Century America.’ Amerikastudien/American Studies (2013): 543-558.

Introduction

Fogel, (2019) depicts that Tracing the roots of political corruption in Brazil from Vargas to Bolsonaro exposes corruption as a political tactic that has long been woven into the structure of Brazilian politics. As the largest nation in South America with a population of over 200 million, Brazil`s importance on the global stage is clear; however, corruption charges and convictions have riddled the country`s reputation (Jenkins, 2019). Corruption is defined as the abuse of entrusted power for private gain; Corruption destroys trust, diminishes democracy, hinders economic development, and worsens inequality, poverty, social division, and the environmental crisis (Transparency International, 2022).

According to Labrador, (2018), Corruption probes in Brazil began in 2014 and have touched the highest levels of the Brazilian government and corporate elite, incriminating President Michel Temer, other former presidents, and several cabinet officials and senators. Corruption has been said to complicate the efforts to revitalize the country`s economy during its largest downturn in more than a century. (Labrador, 2018) depicts that if corruption is being examined from a state perspective the result will be in its roots and will be fundamentally political. State corruption usually refers to the abuse of public office. The word Corruption is generally considered a critical issue, and as a result, politicians bestow with public power are not willing to accept the brand name of being corrupt, as this will call their legitimacy into question.

To understand the effects of corruption and how it is handled, an article by (United Nations Office on drugs and crime, 2019) will be used to indicate the many theories that have guided and influenced anti-corruption efforts within the last 20 years. One specific theory that the article highlights is the principal-agent theory, said to probably be one of the more influential theories in understanding corruption. According to this theory, corruption arises within the public sector due to the transfer of responsibility and imperfect monitoring. This generates a principal-agent relationship between the government. and its bureaucracy or between the taxpayers and therefore the political elite. An agent to blame for certain tasks (such as assembling or policy design) may make the most of his position with the knowledge that he can’t be perfectly monitored by the principal. Hence the agent may abuse his position for private gain. Typically, agents arrange to engage in corruption by comparing the expected income of being corrupt against the income of being honest. On the other hand, the game theory explains the prevalence of public sector corruption. This theory uses economic literature and seeks to offer justifications for corrupt decisions by public officials. The analysis from this theory highlights the fears that exist within an individual who refuses to engage in corrupt practices and the repercussions for abstaining, while other individuals do it without hesitation.

For decades the economic literature referred to the principal-agent model to explain corruption, however, more recently the collective action theory emerged as an alternative explanation for why systemic corruption continues in spite of laws making it illegal, and why corruption battles several other anti-corruption efforts in some countries. The collective action theory goes beyond traditional principal-agent relationships and emphasizes the importance of factors such as trust and how individuals perceive the behavior of others. This theory according to (United Nations Office on drugs and crime, 2019) depicts systemic corruption as a collective problem because people rationalize their own behavior based on their perceptions of what others will do in the same situation. The writer explains that, when corruption becomes a social norm, everyone starts seeing it simply as the way to get things done.

The use of the institutional theory to finally understand corruption indicates that corruption is influenced by the character, design, and transparency of the political system and its institutions. (United Nations Office on drugs and crime, 2019) depicts how the institutional theory uses country and government institutional characteristics, such as pre-existing rule of law, well-defined anti-corruption norms, and independent anti-corruption institutions with enforcement powers, to explain corruption in the public sector. To further explain the author established that, In the USA, candidates that run for elections are allowed to receive financial support from private sources such as ordinary citizens, private corporations, and either cultural or religious groups. once elected, a politician who has received financial support from a private company will drive some regulation that intends at reducing the financial burden in the area where this company operates. Despite the various collective explanation for corruption, it remains an unsolved and prevalent issue in many states. (Transparency International, 2019) depicts that Corruption remains one of the biggest impediments to economic development in Brazil in agreeing with this statement, this literature will highlight how bribery, nepotism, and clientelism have robbed Brazil of its potential to develop.

Bribery

Firstly, bribery refers to the offering, giving, soliciting, or receiving of any item of value as a means of influencing the actions of an individual holding a public or legal duty. This form of action results in issues that should be managed objectively being handled in a way best befitting the private interests of the decision-maker. Bribery constitutes a crime and both the offeror and the recipient can be criminally charged (The Legal Information Institute (LII)).

In the case of Brazil, bribery has put the country on the global map in what is classified as one of the biggest corruption cases of all time. The Federal Public Ministry, (2019) indicates that On March 17, 2014, the Brazilian Federal Police (PF) launched an operation known as Car Wash (CW). The Case of Operation car wash (The Lava Jato), the largest anti-corruption and money laundering initiative in Brazilian history. This operation has uncovered highly irregular collusion and corruption in Petrobras, the state’s largest company, which exceeded billions of dollars. In this scheme, which lasted at least ten years, large contractors organized into cartels paid bribes to senior state executives and other public agents. The amount of the bribe varied from 1% to 5% of the total amount of overpriced billion-dollar contracts (Federal Public Ministry, 2019). The effects of bribery usually result in several developmental issues for states and particularly the most vulnerable citizens.

According to The Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development, delays in the delivery of public services to citizens, misallocation of resources, pointless additional costs, inadequate roads and bad roads, substandard bridges, and buildings are just a few of the damaging consequences of bribery and corruption. (Rossi, 2018) highlights that the quality of Brazilian infrastructure is precarious. The author further indicates that, according to the World Economic Forum (2015), Brazil ranks 123 out of 140 countries in terms of quality of overall infrastructure, well below the average of countries with a similar level of socio-economic development; Brazil ranks 121 out 140 countries in terms of quality of the roads, 98 in railway infrastructure, 120 in port infrastructure, and 95 in air transportation infrastructure. The effects of bribery have obviously had a serious impact on the infrastructural development of Brazil and need to be immediately addressed.

Nepotism

Secondly, nepotism is a form of favoritism shown to acquaintances and family members. Nepotism is the act of abusing one`s power or official position to offer a job or a favor to a family member while disregarding their merit and qualification (GAN Integrity Inc, 2022). It is depicted that in the public sector, nepotism is considered a specifically toxic phenomenon as it goes against the public interest: citizens generally expect that public employees should deserve their jobs and should be hired according to merit-based criteria. Some of the effects of nepotism on the economy of a state include personnel demotivation; permanent fear and negative anticipatory thinking (fear of demoting from the position being occupied); manpower policy inefficient solutions e.g. assignment to a position those employees who do not deserve it at all by their moral and professional criteria; restriction or lack of competition in regard to promising projects or senior positions among the co-workers; and irresponsible behavior on the part of favorites and reports in view of their certitude «I won`t be punished because I`m a pet or relative (Safina, 2015).

According to Brazil`s President Jair Bolsonaro, the nomination of his son Eduardo to be ambassador to the United States was not an act of nepotism (Reuters Staff, 2019). This however was far from what many Brazilians thought, for them, it was a clear case of nepotism. To conclude the case, an initial finding from a legal study was carried out by the president`s office which revealed that top-ranking appointments, like those of ambassadors, do not constitute nepotism. The Supreme Court barred nepotism in 2008, depicting that this rule does not apply to political appointments (Reuters Staff, 2019). Traditionally, Appointments to ambassadorial positions are usually a mix of either career diplomats or political appointees. For example, various donors to the Trump presidential campaign have been appointed as ambassadors; on the other hand, Krishna R. Urs, the US ambassador to Peru, is a veteran of foreign service with over three decades of experience (Sanchez, 2019). The author depicts that the president selecting his son, no matter how qualified he is, to a critically important ambassadorial position is a problematic sign of nepotism.

Nepotism as a corruption factor is not sufficiently researched and as such there are a limited number of cases highlighting the issue. Nevertheless, it still exists as a major corruption issue undermining the development of Brazil`s economy in those citizens with the level of expertise to aid development is often left unemployed and underemployed.

Clientelism

Finally, clientelism as a corruption factor is defined by (Goldsmith, 2002) as a complicated sequence of personal relationships between political supporters or bosses and their individual clients or followers. These bonds are established on mutual material advantage: the patron delivers excludable resources (money, jobs) to dependents and accomplices in return for their support and cooperation (votes, attendance at rallies).

(Nichter) depicts that Politicians often buy votes with impunity. Brazil prohibited vote buying for several years, but prosecutions were unusual. However, popular pressure mounted against the practice in the late 1990s, and over one million Brazilians signed a petition against vote-buying, resulting in the country`s first law by a popular initiative passed by the national legislature. The law not only surmounted key obstacles to the popular initiative process but also dramatically increased prosecutions for clientelism during elections. Campaign handouts became the top reason that politicians were ousted in Brazil, with over a thousand removals from office. (Nichter) depicts that whereas Brazilian politicians previously bought votes with impunity, Law 9840 increased the risk of prosecution associated with this common practice. By classifying vote-buying as an electoral infraction, its designers circumvented many complexities that stymie criminal prosecution. Since its enactment, over a thousand politicians have been removed from office for clientelism during campaigns. Many Brazilians console corruption because of the benefits they receive from these politicians. It is therefore evident that the practice of corruption in governance includes both citizens and government officials.

To conclude it is evident that the factors of corruption including bribery, nepotism, and clientelism have robbed Brazil of its potential to develop. Bribery has resulted in Several developmental issues currently affecting Brazil including infrastructural development and lack of social and educational amenities; nepotism has resulted in mal-practices and low efficiency in state organizations further resulting in the breakdown of Brazil`s ability to form economic relationships with other states; and final the act of clientelism as created mistrust amongst citizen and government, thus resulting in constant protest due to inequality in the distribution of government resources.