Mongrel complex

"Mongrel complex", or alternatively "mutt complex" (), is an expression that refers to a feeling of "collective inferiority complex" reportedly felt by many Brazilians when comparing Brazil and its culture to other parts of the world.

Background

The term was originally coined by novelist and writer Nelson Rodrigues, initially referring to the trauma suffered by Brazilians in 1950 when the national football team was defeated by Uruguay's national team in the final match of the 1950 World Cup, which was held at the Maracanã in Rio de Janeiro. The estimated 200,000 spectators at the stadium that day were stunned into an eerie silence after the match concluded. Brazil would recover, at least when it comes to football, in 1958, winning the World Cup for the first of five times.A pátria em chuteiras de Nélson Rodrigues por Fernando Bandini. Em Com Ciência – SBPC/Labjor. Visited in 16 November 2007.

For Rodrigues, the phenomenon was not exclusively related to sport. According to him:

The expression "mongrel complex" was rediscovered in 2004 by American journalist Larry Rohter. In an article for The New York Times about the Brazilian nuclear program, he wrote:

Origins

In the 1920s and 1930, many currents of thought clashed concerning the origin of the supposed inferiority. Some, such as Nina Rodrigues, Oliveira Viana, and Monteiro Lobato proclaimed that miscegenation was the root of all evils and that the white race was superior to others.

Others, such as Roquette-Pinto, claimed that the inferiority was a matter of ignorance, rather than miscegenation.

In 1903, Lobato expressed profound pessimism about the potential of the Brazilian people, defining them as follows:

Nevertheless, when Lobato published in 1918, portraying "", the Brazilian elite was starting to favor another explanation of the "backwardness" of the country. With the publication of a series of public health studies ordered by Oswaldo Cruz, then-current poor sanitary conditions at the countryside take place as the main cause of the "lack of vigor" and the "indolence" of the Brazilians. Sanitarism becomes the trend and Lobato himself engages in the effort of converting Brazil into a "big hospital", in the words of physician . This effort peaks in 1924, when Lobato publishes "a história do Jecatatuzinho" ("the story of little Jeca Tatu"), used as an advert for , a traditional nutritional supplement. In the story, after being healed "by science", Jeca Tatu, the titular character, becomes a model citizen and entrepreneur, capable even of surpassing the production of his prosperous neighbor – an Italian immigrant.

In his book (2015), the Argentine political scientist and essayist Vicente Palermo states that there is an ambiguity between the inferiority complex of the Brazilian people in general and the optimistic vision of the rulers and wealthier classes. Citing the sociologist Florestan Fernandes in his analysis, the essayist affirms that the inferiority complex is fading, as a result of social plurality and the gradual decrease in the veiled prejudice that has always existed in Brazilian society. He also cites the anthropologist and writer Darcy Ribeiro, who attributed to Brazilian society "a cultural syncretism that values mixed-race origin". Palermo also cites the journalist and filmmaker Arnaldo Jabor.

Criticism

However, many Brazilian critics and writers have opposed this concept, arguing that the idea of a "complex" often ignores the nuances of cultural and artistic appreciation. Among these critics are names such as Adélia Prado, Augusto de Campos and Hilda Hilst. Each, in their own way, presented arguments that challenge Nelson Rodrigues' view.

Mongrel complex

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