Incompetence And Bureaucracy
Tushar Gandhi's jibes at bureaucracy
Indian Courts & Bureaucracy is the Prime Culprit in Polluting Environment
Cities and cities
Jonathan Elendu and the Nigerian SSS
Today I met a new neighborhood in my city. The name of the neighborhood is Santa Teresa. When I say new, I do not mean new to me, but this neighborhood was the last to be built on a partnership between the city and state government.
The history of this neighborhood is very simple: it was built to get people out of hazardous areas of the city.
Last year was a disaster here in Capivari, where I live: in 4 hours of rain, it rained for 15 days and provided, moreover, there was the breaking of a dam. That is, the river running through the city overflowed fast (up 4 meters above normal), flooding 30% of the city. And, as always, most of the victims were the poor and needy who lived on the riverbank.
Although my town is small (46,000 inhabitants), there are slums due to a migratory process that began in the '70s. Millions of people were in the northeast of Brazil due to drought and unemployment went to the Southeast (the richest). This mass migration, largely fueled by politicians, had devastating consequences: in Rio de Janeiro there has been an exponential increase in the number of slums; in Sao Paulo slums began to appear everywhere, and there was an increase in violence; the government I could not even contain the growth of small towns, usually in high-risk areas where most migrants chose to live.
As I wrote on violence here, I find unnecessary to write again. Also because my theme is different: the tragedy in Rio de Janeiro. Many say the death toll could be higher than a thousand, something that makes this the second major tragedy due to rains in Brazil (in 1967, 1400 died in Rio Grande do Sul due to heavy rains and landslides.)
The tragedy that occurred in Rio de Janeiro was caused, of course, excessive rain, but the migratory process and the lack of coordination of public policies are the main causes. Deforestation of areas that should be preserved and the absence of government to prevent it was certainly a recipe for disaster.
Clear that the country had been touched by what happened in Rio de Janeiro, but most of the press has not pointed out the real culprits. Nature has become the villain.This is how the incompetent use to justify their actions.
But you know what's worse? It is learned that the federal government can not do almost anything to help rebuild the affected cities. Of course there is federal aid at the moment, but in time to rebuild the city, the federal government will not be able to help people.
The lack of policy coordination between the three spheres of government in Brazil is just unbelievable. It is a mixture of incompetence, unwillingness and bureaucracy that has no end.
Here in São Paulo state, local municipal governments can still count on the state government.And that was precisely why I cited above a new neighborhood that was built. While we criticize the government, we must also admit when it did a good job.
It is a pity that most Brazilian states can not do the same ...
