The opening scene of the film is masterful. Marcelo (played by Wagner Moura) is a former professor and research scientist on the run who stops at a gas station in Recife, the capital of Pernambuco. There he notices something poorly covered with cardboard: a corpse. When he asks the gas station attendant, he learns the man was killed by the attendant’s coworker during an attempted robbery. Lawlessness already presents itself. Seconds later, a police car arrives—and we immediately see that the police are not there to uphold law and order, but to extort a small bribe from Marcelo.
The dictatorship grew in the name of “law and order,” yet it spread disorder to create personal benefits for those with power. In today’s Brazil, the military police kill more than 6,000 people per year. And the calls for “law and order” continue to legitimize police violence beyond the law. These deaths are not investigated. The police are not investigated. Their impunity breeds corruption as they forge deep alliances with criminal organizations
The Secret Agent - The Ideas Letter
Democracy has done immense good for Brazil. Since the 1988 Constitution ended decades of dictatorship, the country has created a universal public health system, a broad social safety net, universalized primary education, drastically reduced illiteracy, stabilized the economy, built strong international reserves, implemented effective environmental and Indigenous-rights protections, and created social policies that dramatically reduced inequality. Last year, another important step was taken: For the first time, income taxes were eliminated for the lower middle class, compensated by taxing the superrich.
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