The Holy Spirit of today is the Brazil of tomorrow.

By André Forrastieri

The Holy Spirit did its homework. Governor Paulo Hartung cleaned up the state's finances. He balanced the public accounts. He is an example to be followed by other states. Last year, this was the discourse of journalists, economists, and experts. They have fallen silent in recent days. Silence has also fallen on 87 people, murdered since last Friday.

Violence in Espírito Santo is directly linked to the austerity plans imposed by the state government in recent years. Just as the growth of violence in Brazil – and of unemployment and despair – is directly linked to the austerity plans imposed by the federal government since 2014. When national and local austerity measures combine, the number of victims multiplies.

What do the 10.300 military police officers in Espírito Santo want? It's the police force with the lowest starting salary in the country, R$ 2460,00. The Brazilian average is R$ 3980,00. They haven't had a raise in seven years, and for the past three years the state government hasn't even compensated for inflation losses. The officers are also demanding the renewal of the vehicle fleet, improvements to the police hospital, and the purchase of bulletproof vests, which are reportedly in short supply.

It's easy to argue that there shouldn't be a Military Police force, only a Civil Police force. But let's leave that aside for now, and acknowledge that what the Military Police officers in Espírito Santo are asking for isn't much. It's very little: a salary closer to the national average and minimum conditions to do their job, which is quite dangerous.

Instead of negotiating with the military police, the governor requested army troops from the government. They arrived and were shot at by the criminals. Vitória remains paralyzed, businesses and schools are closed, buses are not running. Tourists are fleeing the beaches of Espírito Santo. Bodies are piling up at the medical examiner's office, which cannot cope with so many deaths. The Civil Police are evaluating whether to join the strike. And the wives of the military police officers continue to protest at the gates of the barracks.

What is the concrete proposal from the Espírito Santo state government for the Military Police? None. The issue is that if the governor gives in to the Military Police, he will have to give in to the Civil Police. And then to the rest of the civil service.

Governor Paulo Hartung, of the PMDB party, began this austerity policy back in 2015, even though his public sector payroll costs were well below the limit set by the Fiscal Responsibility Law. Naturally, there was no shortage of money for other government activities – tax breaks for large companies, election-oriented projects, etc. He was praised and even considered a strong candidate for the presidency.

There's another issue. If the government starts giving in to the demands of state employees, soon it will have to give in to the demands of the population served by the state. The general public, who need chalk in the classroom and snacks during breaks, hospital beds and hospital beds, peace to go to and from work, and other simple things like that. And that's exactly what the administrators of the country, states, and cities refuse to give us. Not that any of this would be "given," because we already pay dearly for all of it.

Lately we've heard a lot of the argument that "Brazil is broken" - the country, the states, the cities - which would require harsh measures. A "cursed legacy" that demands cutting to the bone, to the core. In salaries, pensions, rights.

In reality, the situation is different. Brazil is not bankrupt. What Brazil can no longer afford is to have 99% of Brazilians paying excessive taxes, while the wealthiest 1% pay almost nothing. Our millionaires pay little income tax as individuals, little inheritance tax, and very little tax as corporations. Furthermore, large companies receive all sorts of benefits from the National Treasury: loans passed down from father to son through BNDES and Banco do Brasil, forgiven debts, "tax breaks," etc.

Yesterday, Espírito Santo already had 75 murders, after three days of police strike. Yesterday, Itaú, the largest bank in Brazil, published its balance sheet. In 2016, during the worst recession the country has ever experienced, Itaú made a profit of R$ 22 billion. If that profit were taxed at 50%, it would still be a very handsome profit. What can you do with R$ 11 billion? Schools, roads, sewage systems.

This is just one of many possible examples. If Brazil doesn't give a billion-dollar gift to telecommunications companies, as the government wants, we'll also have plenty of money to pay police officers, teachers, and nurses. It's the General Telecommunications Law, which is about to be approved, that transfers such a large amount to Oi and other telecom companies that no one knows exactly how much it is. The government says it's R$17 billion, the Federal Court of Accounts says it's R$105 billion...

And so it goes.

We can also factor in the amount of corruption that is diverted, which we know is considerable. And the amount of tax evasion, which we know is significant. According to the National Treasury Attorney's Office, tax evasion in Brazil can reach R$ 500 billion per year. To give you a comparison: the Bolsa Família program costs R$ 27 billion per year.

The next victim will be Rio de Janeiro. The state is about to sign an agreement with the federal government that includes a package of austerity measures targeting state public employees, including police officers. One of the government's demands is the privatization of Cedae, the state water and sewage company, which will be carried out by Pezão, Sérgio Cabral's vice-governor...

"Austerity" policies have failed worldwide and are failing miserably here as well. Brazil will not experience any growth in 2017. What the government offers us are increasingly worse public services, reaching the point of insanity where we have 87 deaths in four days in Espírito Santo.

In practice, poor and middle-class Brazilians support the privileges of the super-rich, the gravy train for tax evaders, and the corruption. Therefore, there's not enough money to cover the basic needs of the population. If we stop supporting the rich, Brazil will balance its accounts quickly.
And if, in addition, the rich start paying their share, Brazil will quickly become... rich.

Let's face reality: there's more than enough money for Brazil to be a better country for everyone. This is the only issue that matters, the issue we need to impose every day, and also in every new election. It's enough to collect more taxes from those who can pay more, which has never happened. To crack down hard on tax evasion and tax evaders, which has never happened. And to crack down hard on corruption and those who corrupt, which started to happen – but only started and now, it seems, has stopped.
In practice, what our leaders are doing, and what economists, columnists, and experts are supporting, is the opposite of what needs to be done. The Espírito Santo of today is the Brazil of tomorrow. And the next victim is you.