Oh and btw.
I once got robbed in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil.
I was walking in Copacabana beach, and then a black guy pushed me to the ground, then when I got up he pointed the gun at me and told me that I did not give him my watch, I would die. Mind you, he was armed with a .38.
He stole my ?mega Seamaster watch and I had a bruise knee.
But hey! Better have a bruise knee than take a bullet at least!
Hum... I know what you're talking about. It's a shame it happens but here, if you have anything, I mean, anything that calls the criminal's attention, you'll get robbed. Out on the streets do yourselves a favor and do not walk with too much cash, expensive mobile phones, cars, watches, cameras , etc. Or if you need or still want to, be as discrete as possible. That guy on the M5... he has too much money, 'cause all cars here are way more expansive than in other countries (a Renault Logan will cost about U$18000 when decently equiped). So, he wants to have his dream car. He's a idiot then. Usually the very rich ones have an executive car, armored, which they use on the daily and an exotic thing to drive on the 'highways' at the weekends and only show up with them at night on very specific neighborhoods or cities, which are known for being rich places. If still he wants to go out at night, in S?o Paulo or Rio, take some girls for a spin or go to a club, then an armored SUV would suit better. More torque, more robust and more intimidating than a M5, that's for sure. But he still would need to know his limits. There are certain areas which you avoid at any cost, even if you drive an old VW Beetle.
So, let's see. Basically, the problem here with criminality is the enormous marginalized amount of the population. People that often have it's origins to slaves brought from Africa that when were set free, had big prejudice to fight with, which obviously brought difficulties, meaning, for example, they had no place to live, 'cause no one wanted to pay them as regular employees 'cause of their color and the image people associated with it. As population grew, they became more numerous, other marginalized people like the ones that came from the northeast Brazil came and there we are. A small, very rich part of the population, a middle class (struggling to live honestly, having to pay one of the highest taxations in the world) and a enormous amount of poor, ignored people without proper education, health care, basic sanitation, places to live, etc... There is one photo that summarizes what I said:
The buildings on the right are from S?o Conrado, home of some of the highest paid people in the city. On the left, that 'thing' is called a 'favela', where poor people live, and some of the best places for a drug dealer to run his 'business'.
Well, that's it.