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Forthcoming elections in Brazil: Lula wins again!


Financial markets have already voted: Petrobras is raising US$67 billions in the largest secondary offer ever in Brazil. What a dramatic change from 10 years ago.

Lula has achieved a rare feat in Latin America: Balancing the right and the leftist agendas. The continent is littered with ruinous leftist governments, while the right has often paid lip service to the poor. Hence the endless cycles of military coups and revolutions in Latin America. Lula has stuck to economic policies that produced wealth: Containing inflation, diversifying exports and riding the commodity boom, keeping in check deficits, etc. As a result the middle class is cheerfully rising. Yet Lula also put in place innovative social policies that actually reached the poor. No wonder approval rates for the President have stayed in the range of 70-80%. Hats off to Lula! Deservedly.

Yet behind the celebrations and the good times, lie the shadows of corruption. Corruption in several emerging countries is often the political wedge to alternate regimes. Corruption starts discreetly, but grows under the radar, and eventually becomes manifest under media scrutiny, often before the end of a second term. Mrs. Dilma, the widely expected winner of the presidential elections, will now lead her party straight onto a third term. Instead of seeing corruption drop to a low level, the forces to push it further up will be formidable. How long will she be able to walk the fine line in policies as Lula did?

She will have a lot to prove.

Posted in Country visits, World economy.

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4 Responses

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  1. Sparky says

    Now that’s stulbe! Great to hear from you.

    • Rain says

      This piece was cgonet, well-written, and pithy.

      • Gustavo says

        Nice way to absolve an eritne nation of blame though. Brazil is in the clear then is it? As a hazel eyed white girl I have been conscientiously been doing my bit to spend my way out of the recession so I’m in the clear then. Phew.

        • Thuong says

          I have been surfing onnlie more than 2 hours today, yet I never found any interesting article like yours. It’s pretty worth enough for me. Personally, if all website owners and bloggers made good content as you did, the net will be much more useful than ever before..Looking forward to play with my makeup and enjoy the art a bit more.



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