Growing Pains(?)

Coming off the nightclub fire in the Brazilian city of Santa Maria on January 27th, Brazilians are facing a kind of collective reckoning reminiscent of what Americans went through after tragedies such as Newtown, Deep Water Horizon, or the 2010 Upper Big Branch mine disaster in West Virginia. The fire, a result of an indoor pyrotechnic display at a nightclub packed way over capacity, resulted in the deaths of now 237, with at least another hundred injured--likely permanently--from toxic smoke inhalation and burns.

This episode helps illustrate the gap between expectation and reality in a society that has come into its own in recent decades. Brazil, the "B" in the BRICS countries--a club of booming economies and rapidly developing societies--has experienced strong economic development, improved education and health indicators, and political transformation. The country's middle class has been growing impressively, and its political leaders have taken an increasingly important role in international diplomacy. The country looks forward to marking its arrival on the world stage with a flourish by hosting both the World Cup of soccer and the Summer Olympics in 2014 and 2016, respectively. In fact, Brazilians were preparing to celebrate 500 hundred days until World Cup kickoff, and their famous Carnival celebrations were to begin next week.

Instead, 22 municipalities have canceled Carnival, and the World Cup countdown celebration was put off.

A country becoming accustomed to "First World-ism" (excuse the expression) then, is rightly shocked and horrified by the needless and preventable deaths of so many. As the dust has settled, it appears that the club should not have been open at all. According to an article in this week's The Economist, the club's public health license and fire safety plan had expired. Whether the club was allowed to continue operating because of a bureaucratic mix up, or perhaps corruption, is unknown. What is clear though, is that despite the fact that Brazilians, especially poor favela-dwellers, experience small scale disasters frequently (landslides, crime sprees, bus crashes, etc.) the scale of this one seems to have changed the conversation around public safety.

This is a "never again" moment for Brazilians.

Brazilian states have a patchwork system of public safety regulations, and local municipalities are responsible for enforcement. Federal standards--introduced in 2007, but not passed--are now more likely to pass the congress. Whether this translates into improved capacity and follow through on oversight is another question.

The Economist notes that Brazilians can be proud of the response by firefighters, armed forces, and hospitals the night of the blaze (notwithstanding reports that security guards initially blocked the club exit thinking that people were trying to dodge paying their tabs). This will be of little consolation to those affected. Hopefully the heartbreak and outrage will be enough to break the inertia surrounding public safety and enforcement, and action will extend not just to college towns like Santa Maria, but to the deepest reaches of urban favelas and rural communities alike.