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... and, naturally, the stereo was taken. Not without the ******s making a mess of the central console first.

All my CD's were taken too. And the driver's door won't open from the outside (naturally I suppose).

Man, I'm REALLY angry!! You see, I live in the 'Third World'. So, apart from the ocasional US-sponsored break from democracy and the unpayable debt (that we keep paying), we also have to put up with a lot of other things. I know a lot of people in Europe have their car radios stolen, but I don't think you have what we call "the caretakers".

What is a "care-taker"? Well, you can't park your car ANYWHERE in Brazil without a damn beggar, or bum, or "unoccupied person" running towards you whistling or shouting "I'm gonna take care of your car, sir". And they ask for money. Payment in advance. And if you don't pay, be prepared to come back to a car scratched from end to end, or worse. Damn! It's like they owned the street and you can only park there if you're prepared to pay. And when you come back they're not there anymore (or maybe they are, ready to rob you proper). You see, they don't actually take care of car. But I think you guys already knew that.

So, an European may ask, what about the Police? Well, the cops probably take 20% of what the "care-taker" makes, and leave them be. And when a "care-taker" threatens you (I've seen this happen, they're getting bolder all the time), the Police will take your statement, and that's it. They've got more important crimes to take care of, or so they and the politicians say.

Now, I HAD actually paid one of these bums. He was probably the one who took my stereo, along with those of a few other cars (I saw a 307 with a broken rear window). And there was nothing I could do.

Our cities are becoming uninhabitable. I just told a friend what had happened, and the reply was "be thankful they didn't take the stereo, or the car, in an armed robbery". He's right. Brazil is the world's armed robbery capital.



Cheers.

Wow. That blows man, I guess it IS a good thing the car is still there.

I love this bit btw:

You see, I live in the 'Third World'. So, apart from the ocasional US-sponsored break from democracy and the unpayable debt (that we keep paying), we also have to put up with a lot of other things.

Very insightful! But, I know, it's a different discussion altogether...

ouch!

how much money do u need to get everything repaired?

Man, that sucks... Big Time

I've heard of people "minding your car" over here, but I've never come across it.

What stereo was it? Beta/Gamma or something more tasty?

Thats so unlucky! those b@stards need to be taught a lesson. The area that I live in isn't as bad as Belo Horizonte but when I leave the van full of goods i find it a lot easier to leave the both front windows wide open with Samson my 49kilo German Shepherd in the front. No break ins so far and if can sacrifice a few hairs on your seats then it's the best way to keep the inside of ur car safe. Leave the windows open at your own risk becuase K9 damage to the culprit outside the confinds of the car leaves you liable for insurance pay outs and the like- I dont know if this is the case over in Brasil. Pics are available and car protection training can take up to 2 weeks and about 12lbs of doggy treats depending on the dog's size but man does it do the job

Thanks for the posts!

@Speedlaw

The thing with living here is that a Brazilian middle class family will have a similar standard of living to a family in Europe, as the basic things like rent, food, water and electricity are so much cheaper that they make up for our lower salaries. But the problem with Brazil is that even though we pay taxes at a Swedish level (37% of GDP), we don't get Swedish-standard services from the State, which in our case is too busy paying a debt that was made by governments that we didn't vote for in the first place (right-wing dictatorship from 1964 to 1985, and we didn't get to elect a president until 1990). In fact, we practically don't get any services from the State at all.

There's hardly any government (apart from revenue-related bureaucracy) so people just do as they please, rich and poor. Which renders the situation rather chaotic, as you can imagine, and while that may not be that much of a problem in an isolated rural community it gets rather serious in a city with 3m people.

But you're right, that's a different discussion altogether.

@carmadaaron

I'm going to find that out tomorrow morning when I pay a visit to the dealer. We're already at first-name terms there.

@Josh

You're lucky. I can't park anywhere without someone asking to "mind my car".

The radio was a made-for VW sony unit. It wasn't that expensive at about £170 plus the speakers (which are still there ). Here's a pic:


It looked nice with the red-and blue dash lights. I still have the remote though, I think I'll "eBay" it!

@tornado

English burglars usually don't carry guns but Brazilian ones do. So you may end up with a badly injured friend - and an empty van.

They're shooting dogs here, can you believe that!?

The i say bring on the South African underside fame throwers toast the b@stards mate

Want me to smash anyone up for ya mate?! Bunch of btards.

Hehehehehe

I read recently that we're to export armour-plated Polos and Golfs to Mexico and South Africa... Maybe we can exchange them for flame-thrower alarm systems - these have the advantage of not waking up the neighbours with 'false alarms'.

Unless, of course, they are the owners of the cat who's probably resposible for the alarm, and who'll be burnt to a crisp by the system.

lol @ the burnt cat.

It's a shame about the situation there, and especially the debt burdon. Debt is what keeps the status quo. Don't think the WTO is going to give up their power structure anytime soon.