To escape the threat of violence and crime many Brazilians dream of living in closed communities, such as
Alphaville on the outskirts of São Paulo. The Alphaville concept was set created 30 years ago and aimed at setting up the kind of
suburban life style enjoyed by middle class Americans who had turned their backs on the inner cities.
Alphaville has been successful that it has spawned "franchised" communities in other areas of Brazil. The people
who live there are usually middle-class Brazilians and expatriate businessmen. These places are generally spacious and
families can live in houses instead of apartments and their children can walk and play in the streets with relative security from
traffic and thieves.
Alphaville is not one community but actually a series of closed areas within a greater district, linked by road and
open to the general public. This, in fact, gives it a less repressive atmosphere than some of the more exclusive closed areas. I
once visited a place in Chácara Flora in São Paulo and was struck by the absence of people, except security guards, gardeners
and maids, and the lifeless atmosphere. I was visiting a senior executive from a multinational company who lived with his
family in a beautiful big house. In terms of their link to Brazilian society, they may as well have been in Los Angeles,
Singapore or Moscow.
While I understand the motives of those who live in such communities, I feel think they are a sad reflection on the
kind of society we now live in. Unfortunately, crime is making São Paulo a city of fear. People are staying at home more
often and, when they do go out, choose shopping centers rather than risking going to a particular restaurant or cinema.
There was an interesting item in a newspaper a few months ago about Jamelli, a Brazilian football player for
Corinthians, who had returned to São Paulo after five years in Spain. He confessed that he was no longer accustomed to the menace
of crime and was so afraid of being held up in his car that he had stopped going out in the evenings.
Another player, from Uruguay, said his wife refused point blank to leave their apartment block because she was
afraid. One of the reasons why this woman was frightened was because she was a regular viewer of sensationalist television
programs shown early every evening, which highlight crime, violence and gory traffic accidents.
The TV stations have helicopters hovering over the city like vultures seeking out blood. One station recently
followed police chasing a gunman who had escaped into a wooded area. The police shot him dead and, with the helicopter
hovering a few feet above the scene, the cameras showed live coverage of the wretched thief's body being dragged through the
undergrowth and thrown onto a stretch of road like a piece of garbage.
To cater to this fear of going out, new buildings are increasingly including a gymnasium and even a video rental
store within the complex.
No Escape Crime
Closed communities like Alphaville are no guarantee against crime. An expatriate American businessman and his
wife were murdered this week in a similar complex in Barra da Tijuca, an up-market place just outside Rio de Janeiro. In
fact, places like this often attract gangs who usually rely on help from an insider, often a security guard, to gain entry. There
are also signs that Alphaville is becoming a victim of its own success. As it has grown, the traffic has increased and
high-rise buildings are now starting to appear among the houses.
To try and deal with the extra traffic on the nearby Castello Branco highway, one of the most dangerous and chaotic
in Brazil, a private stretch of road was opened. However, drivers have to pay a toll of R$ 4.30 (U$ 1.50) to use it. This
may not seem like much to a foreigner but, by Brazilian terms, it is a lot of money and has caused uproar among the residents.
There are now signs that it is not only the rich who are considering places like Alphaville. The current issue of the
magazine Isto É Dinheiro contains an interview with the inventor of the Alphaville concept, Renato Albuquerque, who says he is
now working on a project called Villas-Alpha for lower-income families.
The aim is to set up communities in Rio Grande do Sul, São Paulo and Bahia for families earning an average of R$
2,400 a month (around US$ 800) at a cost of R$ 40,000 (around US$ 13,800).
John Fitzpatrick is a Scottish journalist who first visited Brazil in 1987 and has lived in São Paulo since 1995. He
writes on politics and finance and runs his own company, Celtic
Comunicações - www.celt.com.br,
which specializes in editorial and translation services for Brazilian and foreign clients. You can reach him at
jf@celt.com.br
© John Fitzpatrick 2003
