Picanhas and picket peaks

The term "pícaro" and its variations, such as "picareta" and "picaretagem", have historical and cultural roots, particularly linked to 16th century Spanish literature, more specifically to picaresque novels. These terms have evolved over time, but they all share a common link with the figure of the cunning, often marginal, individual who uses artifice and deception to achieve his goals.

The origin of the term "picaro" goes back to the figure of individuals who, during the Middle Ages and the Renaissance, were seen as adventurers, often ragged and hungry soldiers, from Picardy, a region in northern France. Although the connection with Picardy is a theory and not a historical certainty, the term came to be associated with people in precarious situations, who wandered through society without a defined position, but who possessed survival skills, often based on cunning and deception.

In picaresque novels, such as Lazarillo de Tormes (1554), the "picaro" comes to be characterized as a figure of lower social class, often described as a servant, kitchen assistant or low-level worker, who uses artifice, dissimulation and malice to achieve his objectives. The "picaro" is a character who, despite his precarious condition, displays a sagacity and a lack of scruples that make him capable of manipulating and deceiving others to ensure his survival, often using lies and cunning strategies.

The term "pickaxe", derived from "picaro", began to be used to refer to people who act in a dishonest, deceptive and cheating manner, thus being associated with the practice of "picking", which describes the activity of deceiving, defrauding or taking advantage of situations through artifices. Today, "scam" and "picking" are popular terms to describe fraudulent or deceptive actions in a variety of social contexts, especially in commercial, political, and personal relationships. Scams such as the famous financial pyramids, the sale of tourist attractions or even the promise of picanha, bring to light the most basic characteristic of scammers and their scams: they take advantage of the good faith or ambition of the unwary to achieve their objectives. A very joking expression is popularly known that says that “every day a scoundrel and a fool go out on the streets, when they meet there is business”. Sometimes they don't even need to go out on the streets.

Now that we know the origin of the words, let's look at four stories of great historical pranks. Only four, as the volume of cases would possibly fill a library and we certainly don't want to tire readers.

Michelangelo di Lodovico Buonarroti Simoni, whose work needs no further introduction, was, in his early years, a beginning and still unknown artist. In 1496, with the aim of boosting his career and gaining visibility, he created a sculpture of Cupid sleeping. The representation of Cupid was not something particularly original, being a common theme among artists of the time, and even more irrelevant coming from an unknown. Therefore, this work would have little value on the art market.

To increase its chances of sale, Michelangelo resorted to a trick: he treated the sculpture with acidic earth to make it appear older. With this, he managed to sell it to a dealer called Baldassare del Milanese, who, in turn, resold it to Cardinal Riario de San Giorgio. However, the cardinal soon discovered the fraud and demanded a refund. When Michelangelo asked for Baldassare's sculpture to be returned, Baldassare refused, stating that he would rather destroy it than return it.

The relevance of this story, however, lies not only in the fraud itself, but in the fact that the Cupid sculpture was responsible for attracting attention to Michelangelo's talents as a sculptor for the first time, marking a turning point in his career.

In 1920, Charles Ponzi, an Italian-American, won over a large number of investors by promising 50% profits in just 45 days. His scheme involved purchasing postal coupons from other countries, which were then exchanged for stamps in the United States at higher prices. However, the expenses and time required to convert currencies compromised any possibility of real profit. Even so, advertising from one client to another fueled demand, and for a time Ponzi was able to pay the older investors with the money of the new entrants – all the while keeping a substantial portion of the proceeds for itself.

When the coup collapsed, it became clear that, to keep promises of profitability, 160 million postal coupons would be needed. However, there were only 27,000 units available on the market. After being convicted and serving his sentence, Ponzi moved to Rio de Janeiro, where he lived his last years in extreme poverty, passing away in 1949. His name was forever linked to the famous "Ponzi scheme", which would become one of the best-known scams in the world.

One of the largest financial pyramid schemes in Brazil involved Fazendas Reunidas Boi Gordo, which attracted around 30,000 investors and resulted in losses estimated at 3.9 billion reais. The proposal was tempting: profits of 42% in a year and a half, leading many to invest their savings. The company, founded in 1988, began its operations in the market, but it was in the 90s that it began to sell collective investment contracts (CICs), creating a facade of agricultural activity focused on fattening cattle and raising calves. However, the true basis of the scheme was not livestock farming, but the continuous recruitment of new investors, who financed the payments promised to the old ones.

For a decade, Boi Gordo grew, and even tried to go public to regularize its operations, something that did not prevent the collapse of the business model. The company also invested in advertising, with ads starring actor Antônio Fagundes during the airing of the soap opera Rei do Gado, which helped attract more participants. However, in 2001, Boi Gordo began to face serious financial problems and no longer had the resources to honor the redemptions requested by investors. In 2004, the company was declared bankrupt, but the legal process surrounding the case is still ongoing, with efforts being made to try to recover assets and compensate creditors.

Regarding the responsibility of those involved, the criminal case against founder Paulo Roberto de Andrade was closed in 2009 by the Superior Court of Justice (STJ), although he was fined by the Securities and Exchange Commission (CVM) in 2003 in more than 20 million reais and banned from acting as an administrator of public companies for 20 years. The bankruptcy and attempts to recover investor losses exposed the fragility of the system, characterizing it as a typical pyramid scheme, in which the entry of new participants was essential to sustain payments to older ones.

Well, these are really impactful cases. The first, because who would suspect that Michelangelo would carry out a ‘mischief’ like the one in 1496? The second, because Charles Ponzi popularized and lent his name to one of the most famous scams still practiced today: the financial pyramid, which takes advantage of the ambition that many harbor within themselves. The third, because it brought the financial pyramid scheme to television, invading Brazilian homes and demonstrating that, from famous to anonymous, everyone can be victims of their own ambition. But, since we're talking about oxen, let's move on to the fourth and final stratagem.

The then candidate Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva (Lula) made a statement about voters eating picanha again. The declaration took place on August 6, 2002, during a campaign event in São Bernardo do Campo, in the state of São Paulo. At the time, Lula was addressing his supporters and made the following statement, which became famous: “We're going to get together with the family again on Sunday and we're going to have a barbecue and we're going to eat a slice of picanha with some fat dipped in flour and have a cold beer. Then, man, the people go crazy because that’s what the people want.”.

The promise apparently boosted votes for the candidate. Obviously, it was not just that promise rich in protein and saturated fat that made Lula the 39th president of Brazil, but a set of factors that we will not risk explaining in this article. The fact is that that promise awakened the ambition and appetite of many, who, even though they did not have the means to buy the much-desired picanha themselves, saw the possibility of benefiting. A mental trigger that hijacked the little rationality of many, giving way to the most primitive impulses.

Offering undeserved or excessive advantages, awakening ambition and desire without the need for compensation, promising what cannot be guaranteed. These are all elements that we can find in many scams and frauds, even electoral ones. Just as in Hosea 4:6, the people continue to perish for lack of knowledge. The popular classes still vote with their stomach, they are still driven by instincts and not by noble feelings. If the mentality does not change even through suffering, all we can do is abandon vanity and admit that we have always been, are and will be dependent on God's mercy, because we don't even know how to ask.

“You ask, and do not receive, because you ask amiss, that you may spend it on your pleasures. Adulterers and adulteresses, do you not know that friendship with the world is enmity against God? Therefore, whoever wants to be a friend of the world constitutes himself an enemy of God.” James 4:3."

Article published in Revista Conhecimento & Cidadania Vol. IV No. 50 – ISSN 2764-3867