A common figure in Brazilian culture, the «malandro» is a laid back bad-boy, appreciated as a folk hero of some sort. The football-samba-petty crime type of figure.
The act of being a «malandro», «malandragem», is characterised in the Brazilian popular
imagination as a tool for individual justice. Facing the forces of oppressive institutions, the
individualist malandro survives by
manipulating people, fooling authorities, and sidestepping laws in a way which guarantees his well-being. In this way, the malandro is a typical Brazilian hero. Literary examples include Pedro Malasarte and João Grilo; with a good example of non-Brazilian character being
Jimmy McGill.
But the malicious and corner-cutting figure of the malandro does not mean one would be selfish, careless towards others. A malandro doesn't use malandragem to take advantage of another person intending to harm others, but rather only to find a way out of an unfair situation even if this means resorting to illegal methods.
