Mentality In Brazil

For as long as there have been civilizations, people have separated themselves into groups. Most of the time into groups like: the have and the have not’s or us vs them. This has happened in Brazil between the upper and lower class. Brazil is a country with a very small to non-existent middle class, causing a huge gap between the two classes. This huge gap is causing the us versus them mentality or a we/they divide between the upper and lower class, based on a process of social categorization. The central hypothesis of the mentality is that group members of an in-group will seek to find the negative aspects of an out-group, thus enhancing their self-image. The in-group in Brazil is the upper class where as the lower class has been named the
The favelas started in the late 19th century by people, mostly freed slaves, who had no where else to live, this is how they continued to grow. They have always been a refuge for people who have no where else to go. In a recent census for Brazil, about 6 percent of the entire Brazilian population lives in a favela, that is equal to about 11.4 million people. They are located in the suburbs of major cities, in particular Rio. This location makes it easier to see the clear divide of the poor and rich because on one side of the street is rich and then on the other is the poor. These ever present differences are what helps perpetuate the us versus them mentality. There has been an ever present us versus them mentality in the world, this mentality has put the favela resident against the rest of Brazil by making them into second rate citizens by not giving them access to proper education, making it more difficult to get jobs and also by the government not giving them basic needs in the Favela. The favela residents are not even seen or treated as real people by the government or the upper class
All of these thing have help to prolong the divide between the two groups. This makes it harder for the attitudes to be changed into one of we instead of us versus them. They way in which the poor are looked down upon and thought of a second rate citizen are the main reason for the divide in the population. In both groups I can see how and why they may think that the mentality is just a given and cannot be changed but this is not true. It would take time and effort to change this way of thinking, but it seems no one wants to put the work in, other than the out-group. If this mentality were to be destroyed it could mean a brighter future for the citizens of Brazil and the Brazilian government. It would allow the favela resident to finally feel like a part of the nation in which they live in and have helped build. Even though creating a group for ourselves in human nature the one created in Brazil are some of the most extreme groups. Which has caused many problems for the nation, but it’s never too late to