Revised plan. Sao Paulo for a day.

Apologies.
This post was done in pieces and is not what I would have liked but given the slow connection I am not going to redo.
We had an unexpected additional day in Sao Paulo due to Candida’s business. We decided to leave our big bags at the left luggage in the bus station and take the subway and bus to her sister Margaret. Candida is allowed free travel on the buses but had to sit in a separate area from me and she was to signal when to get off. She did and I went to the back of the bus and only just got off before the doors closed.. I then found that she had not got off the bus. Holy cow!!. There was I in the middle of somewhere in Sao Paulo (I certainly did not know where I was!,  alone at 10pm!! I did what I thought was best and that was nothing. I just waited and Candida returned after a few minutes and we went on. I decided to at the least have an address with me from then on in case I got lost again. She was planning early to be ready to get off at the stop after the one I got off at and I jumped the gun!

View from the bank building

Candida and her sister Margaret

We went back into the center of town the next day and got the business taken care of and then spent time looking around including a trip to the top of one of the bank buildings for a panoramic view of this huge city.

A city park built over the top of a freeway. Kinda like "The Big Dig" in Boston but quicker and not as many $$

There are over 20 million people in Sao Paulo and they range from dirt poor to incredibly wealthy. I think we saw them all.

The Mercado Municipal was very interesting and we ate lunch there at a very small place. Our server as excellent and rally intent on us enjoying our food. I had a beer (so what’s new!) and it came in its own cooler.

















It was a 600ml bottle and the Styrofoam container is durable and common in Brazil. A neat idea.

Moving propane cylinders. I recall a post from India about a year ago with similar systems

 
We saw colorful fruit stands with vendors more than happy for you to sample their wares. 
 
 


















We headed back home through the wholesale part of the market and marginally ahead of the rush hour traffic both on the roads but also on the subway.

Sao Paulo subway. 10 min before rush hour

How do you determine the stage of development in a country?

I have been pondering this issue since we arrived and are trying to equate the level of development with other countries that I know or have visited.

Brazil has a substantial road system, albeit with a lot of toll roads, and an excellent bus and airline system well suited to such a vast country with a population of 200 million or so.

The traditional thinking is “the developed world” and “the developing, or third world”. Not sure who coined the phrases “developing world” or “third world” but the names have stuck.

It is patently unfair to judge a country like Brazil as a developing country in the traditional sense because of the level of development. I am not sure but I believe that Brazil has safe drinking water from the faucet in all major cities, and universal health care that is run by each state, and a federal pension system. Brazil held their first fully electronic election in 2006. Imagine that even the people in the most remote regions of Amazonas were able to cast their votes, and have them counted electronically. No hanging chads and embarrassment on a global scale like we suffered in the 2000 election.

I have not been to Argentina or Chile but I suspect that you might find similar levels of development. Another possibility is South Africa.

Brazil like many countries has a significant number of poor people and are working to improve that situation, but to classify Brazil along with Nigeria, Zambia or almost anywhere in Africa that are considered “developing countries” would in my mind be absurd. Maybe the split between developed and developing countries is whether they give foreign aid or receive it. I do not know in Brazil’s case but they would certainly appear to be closer to being a donor and certainly do not receive any aid, or need it.

There is a significant middle class who live in very nice homes, even if that is deceptive from the street, and there are lots of private schools for those who choose and reasonable public schools with similar problems to those in the US (poorly paid teachers, inconsistent quality of teaching and a general lack of facilities) All school kids have to supply their own notebooks and pens and pencils, and these are expensive in the stores. There is also corruption and people who misuse their political positions for personal gain, but the level does not seem to be any worse than the US and many other places. It is possible that it is just more blatant.

I solicit your comments or ideas