Well 25% is very high and certainly that is really unfair. Yes many people lost their asset because of this mortgage loan. For some people it become impossible to finish paying off the loan. As a result bank takes away the asset (mortgaged for security) . But most of the people usually can pay the amount slowly and it takes a very long time. Although the interest rate is very high, people agrees to take the loan because they usually have a very long period of time to pay the amount.

25% mortgage rate is blood money. It is impossible for people living at a modest or substandard income to buy and pay off the mortgage in Brazil. The whole scheme is designed for the bank to make money from the people as long as possible until they default so that the bank can repossess the home and mortgage it off again to another poor hapless soul. A classic example of corruption and greed destroying society and making hard working people suffer. This is why we need organizations like the Movimento dos Trabalhadores Rurais Sem Terra, or the Movement of Rural Landless Workers in Brazil working to help the common people gain voice and fight for their rights.

Check out some of the works MST is involved in: http://hubpages.com/hub/Modernity-in-Latin-America