Abstract

“Mongrel complex" ("Complexo de vira-Lata" in Portuguese) is an expression used to refer to a collective inferiority complex felt by some Brazilian people in comparison to Europe or the United States. The reference to a "mongrel" (as opposed to "pure-bred") carries negative connotations attributed to most Brazilians being racially mixed as well as a perception of lacking cultural refinement.

Background

It was originally coined by novelist and writer Nelson Rodrigues, in which originally he referred to the trauma suffered by Brazilians in 1950, when the National Soccer team was defeated by the Uruguayan national team in the final match of the Soccer World Cup in Maracanã. Brazil would just recover in 1958, when it won the World Cup for the first time.

For Rodrigues, the phenomenon was not exclusive related to soccer. According to him:

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