How Socialism Ruined My Country | 5 Minute Video

Is Bernie Sanders right? Are people living under socialism better off? Brazil is a good case study. Felipe Moura Brasil, a journalist and Veja magazine columnist, explains how his country has fared under socialism.

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Script:

Many American millennials seem to be drawn to socialism. They came out in big numbers for Bernie Sanders in the 2016 presidential primaries. They rail against capitalism on their college campuses. They wear Che Guevara t-shirts to signal their socialist virtue.

I know a lot about socialism. I live in Rio de Janeiro, and I work throughout Brazil as a journalist for a popular magazine.

In the early 2000s, Brazil’s economy was growing rapidly. The government had enacted economic and monetary reforms and divested holdings in some state-run companies, giving the private sector more room to breathe. Inflation—a chronic problem in Brazil—was dramatically reduced. Foreign investors poured into the country, eager to catch a portion of our expanding economy. The future seemed promising.

But today, our economy is in shambles, unemployment and debt are massive, and powerful politicians are being investigated for involvement in the largest scandals of fraud and corruption in the country's history.

What happened?

In 2002, a socialist politician named Lula da Silva ran for the presidency. He was a socialist, but painted himself as a modern, cool kind of socialist. He would be the politician who would heal national divisions and unite everyone. He even had a nickname: “Lulinha paz e amor,” which means "Little Lula peace and love" in Portuguese.

But the old message about the need for income redistribution to decrease inequality was still there. The media, academic elite and celebrities assured Brazilians that by transferring the money from the rich to the poor, the poor could finally be richer. But the only ones who really got rich were Lula and his corporate and political friends. It only got worse under his successor, Dilma Rousseff.

The socialists increased government spending, deficits, and debt. They called it a “stimulus.” They increased the minimum wage and the benefits of social programs. They called it “social justice.” They increased the salaries and retirement benefits of the civil service. They called it “investing in the future.” They handed out thousands of jobs in the government and state-owned companies as favors to their political allies. And they called it “good governance.”

It worked for a while. Socialism always works at the beginning. But government spending just kept going up, and then Lula’s socialist paradise fell apart and the economy fell with it. The outcome: from 2008 to 2015, government spending grew nearly four times as fast as tax revenue.

The economy shrank 3.8 percent in 2015, the worst result in 25 years. That same year, a World Bank survey found Brazil’s economy to be one of the world’s worst. Out of 189 countries, we were the 16th hardest place to open a business, the 60th most difficult nation in which to register property, and the 12th most complex place to pay taxes.

Economically and morally, the almost 15 years of socialist policies have greatly harmed Brazil. We also remain among the world's leaders in murder and robbery, and we rank near the bottom of industrialized nations in terms of education and health care.

[Hyurno]

meanwhile, Venezuela be like

"same bro"

[tomp]

I lived in Brazil for a long time. I loved the people and the culture but the government was garbage.

[alien_]

Here in Brazil we work 5 months a year just to pay taxes and we receive nothing back

[ElTimotoQIK]

Venezuela's economy has shrunk like 70% since socialism started making effects in 2013

[barahng]

Brazil is an example of what the US looks like if socialism takes hold. No offense to Brazilians, but the potential of your nation is so much greater. I have a Brazilian friend who keeps me abreast of the corruption going on with the Presidency and the Supreme Court, and it terrifies me in its familiarity.

Your country has such abundant natural resources, such advantageous geography, its an atrocity what socialism has done, considering what Brazil *could* be, a 2nd America.

[tarkusepitaph]

Much support to our brazilian brothers. FORZA BRASILE

[j.franklin]

Need more examples?
Venezuela
Cuba
The failed Soviet Union.

[rrafaelpaz]

As a brazilian I can say that everything this guys says is true! Capitalism is the way to go!

[AWSMcube]

I have an online friend from Brazil, he says a lot of people hate him because he's a capitalist :/ He talks to me all the time about how bad Lula and Dilma are. It took 3 months to order toys from China for him.

EDIT: It took 2 weeks for the toys to ship and 2 and a half months for the toys to go through the state postal service.

[maacpiash]

He's an authentic Brazilian. You can see it in his last name.

[MaxsuelMaccari]

I'm Brazilian and I saw everything he said happening. Unfortunately, socialism broke my country Economy and destroyed our moral.

[emanuelcabrera]

As an argentinian, I can relate, socialism totally ruined my country

[jeffs]

Social justice ruined my country. I’m Canadian.

[vrooomvrooom]

Same for me, but in my case, I am from Romania. My country is still recovering.

[popculture]

I live in Argentina, the same thing happened here with the Kirchner's governments. Socialism always ends up badly, it is not sustainable and it doesn't improve the quality of life permanently.

[ggmu]

My country
India
We had socialist ideals till 90's
We were not going well
An OK -OK GDP growth rate
But once he started to open the market
Boom
We were growing like anything and had reached second most GDP growth rate
Socialism sucks
What socialism couldn't do in 40 years
Capitalism could in less then 10 years

[hugobourguignon]

I'm Brazilian and I have an American friend who hates Trump & he wishes that America was under a Socialist regime. As a Brazilian, I know what socialism has done to my country. I try to warn him, but he goes mad all the time dude haha. When I ask him: "If you were Brazilian, who would you vote for? Lula or Bolsonaro?" He goes like: "Lula". I wonder why.

We have so many examples... Cuba, Venezuela... If Socialism was this good, there wouldn't be a crisis of immigrants, especially from Venezuela. There wouldn't be so many Cubans risking their lives to cross the sea to go to Miami.

I saw on Twitter some Americans leftists who were complaining about getting paid $7.5 per hour. What the f***?? Here in Brazil we work like dogs to get paid less than $1/hour. $7.5 dollars is equivalent to 4 months working full time in Venezuela. Per month. They get paid about $2. Per month. Do you know what it is? This is a scandal. Absolutely absurd.

Americans... Capitalism is your culture! Your identity! If I know English today, it's because of you guys! English has became the World language. Because of you guys. Your economy has changed the world. Don't let these people talk nonsense bs please.

For these people, it's not an actual problem whether the politicians are robbing the s*** out of them or not. What matters is that false concept of "Democracy".

F*** the "Politically correct". F*** the Cultural Marxism.

Bolsonaro 2018. Let's do it all together my American friends. Against the Communism. Against ONU. For the National Sovereignty. I'm Brazilian & my flag will never be red.

[LordPoppy]

A lot of my friends like the idea of socialism. However, they won't look at videos like this.

[Gambiarte]

As a brazilian, I can 100% confirm that.

[thecollector]

How to teach socialism to kids:
Imagine you have two children. You promise 20$ if they take out the trash. Only one of them does the job but only gets 10$ 'cause the other 10$ went for the one who didn't do anything.