HE British Joe Thomas (1977) arrived in 2001 Sao Paulo and worked as a teacher at an elite school in the Brazilian city for ten years. He lived next to the largest slum, Paraisópolis, but in a gated community with surveillance (he notes that this does not prevent robberies and kidnappings). He did not attempt to respond until he returned to London with his family. through crime novel “why is there violence and crime They’re very deep-rooted.” The result was this: São Paulo quartetfour independent titles with closure, ‘Brazilian Psychopath’ (Salamandra) is your letter of introduction in Spain.
From this x-ray A country ravaged by corruption and racismFrom the misery of the slums to the privileged rich neighborhoods, these days he talks within the following framework: BCNegra festival and although the psychopath of this title is the former president, he himself admits Jair BolsonaroIt appeals to most of the hundreds of characters, real and imaginary, with whom it actually intertwines like a sea: honest and corrupt police officers, criminals, politicians, journalists, unscrupulous businessmen, former CIA agents, crooks… plot and subplot.
Thomas assures this newspaper that he wasn’t trying to put his finger on the pain point of the violence plaguing São Paulo, but was instead trying to write “one.” A love letter to a city that opens its doors to you and its joy, The warmth of its people…” The expression on the face that the “Brazilian Psycho” tries to “understand” is hard to believe. “How do power structures allow inequality to persist?”. The novel revolves around different times. The first begins on January 1, 2003 (the day Lula da Silva was elected president), when the headmaster of the elite English School was found murdered in his home; a death inspired by the death of the former director of the center where the author taught. “He was very respected and did a lot for the school, but it turned out he had a double life.”
The other time period is in 2018, when three young people, “I was impressed by Bolsonaro’s misogynistic, racist and homophobic rhetoric”, then they run for president, kill a homosexual in a park and carve the V of victory and a swastika on his chest, otherwise it looks like the real thing. “The extreme views of politicians like him Trump or Boris Johnson, They make people feel justified in committing hate crimes. On the one hand, Brazil is an inclusive, tolerant and thriving society; It hosts the second largest gay march in the world after Sydney, yet it is incredibly conservative and homophobia is normalised,” says Thomas after documenting it. Brazil has the highest rates of violence against women and society in the world LGTBIQ.
100% feared MP, He writes that the woman, who has been criticized for her violence and abuse of authority, sided with Bolsonaro. “Because I believed it “The only good criminal was the dead criminal” He says this before telling an anecdote: All the rich students at his school, like Mick Jagger’s son, had bodyguards, and one of them killed a bank robber. “Everyone’s comment was ‘One less.’ People applauded him.”
The novelist also recalls: the intimidating and omnipresent Military PoliceAnd wave of violence May 2006 devastated São Paulo; It resulted in more than 500 deaths, including by security forces, criminal gangs, and innocent people, all of whom are featured in the book. “Criminal gangs stopped the city by attacking the Military Police because they wanted flat TVs in the prisons to watch the Football World Cup. I saw burning buses, heard gunshots. In my neighborhood everyone was at home. When I left the city was an abandoned place.” There were rumors that the police opened fire on their own barracks to collect the hazard bonus they would receive if they were victims of violence.” Before them, the Civil Police, which includes the fictitious inspector Mário Leme, is “less open to corruption.”
Lula against corruption
Corruption in the novel mirrors real scandals, such as the Mensalão (monthly payments) or the Lava Jato operation (Car Wash… and money) that tarnished the presidencies of Lula and Dilma Rousseff and the Workers’ Party. “The dilemma between doing good and having a hidden face: Lula’s government implemented very positive social programs that improved the lives of poor Brazilians. Family and Zero Hunger Bagand this economic boom resulted in the World Cup and Olympic Games, but they were also embroiled in scandals where many parliamentarians took bribes to approve laws. This caused many middle-class and left-wing people to stop trusting the Workers’ Party and vote for Bolsonaro…” Now, with Lula’s return, he sees “a glimmer of hope for the country.”