To Cheat or Not to Cheat

“ They all cheat, all of them” said Andrew with a voice full of disappointment and pain. A 38-year-old correspondent of one of the world’s top newspaper, Andrew came to Brazil four years ago with the hope of writing, discovering, enjoying and finding love. Finding a beautiful loving Brazilian woman who will treat him like a real man.
And just like other gringos I met, falling for a brazilera had a dramatic ending. She cheated. Yes, despite having the best sex as per an American consultant who has been in Brazil for 2 years, crazy jealousy crisis and the promise of a long-lived passion: she left.
But it is not only the women. Men don’t rejoice. The culture is tolerant to everyone who would like to cheat. Emiliano, a 67 year old famous real estate developer’s wisdom summarizes it: “ men and women lie to each other from the start when they promise to be faithful all of their lives, it starts with a lie and will end up with a divorce”. Many are married more than 3 times and even statistics show that Brazil’s divorce rate has reached a world record of 50%.
What makes Brazil a haven of infidelity?
Some say the appreciation and love for sex. Love motels are virtually everywhere in the country. You pay by the hour for a room equipped with any sex toys and fantasy themes that cross your mind. Sex schools are multiplying: My Brazilian friend Ana has been to one where she learnt everything from new positions to striptease.
Does the obsession with sex justify unfaithfulness? Some believe it all comes down to the culture of acceptance to quote the Brazilian ethos: 'behind closed doors anything goes'.
Another theory could be the number of single women that outnumbers the number of male men leading to some even accepting a mild polygamy.
Does this mean that Brazilians are less moral then say Europeans? That would be difficult to say considering that human nature is generally universal. It seems where one would like to cheat but would not in order to avoid social punishment, another would do it in a country where cheating is not a big deal.