Today the Brazilian GDP represents almost half of the entire GDP of the South American states and, together with the other member countries of the BRICS group, contributes to making up almost a quarter of the value of the world economy. These data demonstrate the progress achieved by Brazil from a production point of view and justify its great political ambitions. However, the rapid economic expansion and relative strength demonstrated during the recent international financial crisis have slowed down sharply in the last three years. The shift from an average growth rate of around 4%, between 2005 and 2010, to a value close to 0% in 2014 and a recession of the order of 3% for 2015, has disturbed observers and dismissed international investors. This is revealed by the general worsening of various business indexes: both in the competitiveness index (75th position in 2015, 18 positions lower than the previous year) and in the innovation index (84th position compared to 61st in 2014)) global, Brazil has lost several points since 2011 and gave Chile the lead in Latin America. The drop in performance it is attributable to distrust in the government and to factors such as difficult access to finance, high inflation and an economy that is still quite closed to foreign competition. Furthermore, production costs are too high compared to the rest of the South American continent and compared to many other developing economies. The reason is not so much linked to the cost of labor, as to corporate taxes (the highest in Latin America), to very serious infrastructural deficiencies that make transport expensive and slow, and to a Byzantine and inefficient bureaucracy. Economy Minister Joaquim Levy is trying to improve Brazil’s macroeconomic fundamentals by containing public spending. However, the reduction in growth in China has resulted in a reduction in demand, and therefore in the price,
Despite the difficult economic situation (aggravated by the crisis in the demand for goods from Europe and China), Brazil can count on numerous strengths: a large market, low levels of unemployment (5.9%) and sectors of high value added activities well underway. This suggests a still long period of expansion. The economic successes achieved by Brazil in the last decade are due to prudent economic policy choices that have continued, following the same orientation, for three consecutive administrations, those of Cardoso, Lula and Rousseff. Since the beginning of his mandate,
Brazil, famous for the importance of its mining sector, has also become a major global supplier of commodities and food. The agricultural sector accounts for 5.6% of GDP, employs 17% of the workforce and contributes 55.4% to total exports of all goods. The country ranks first in the world in the production and export of ethanol, soy, sugar, coffee, tobacco, corn, rice and cocoa. Unlike many South American countries, which concentrate an important portion of their trade on a few products, Brazil has a very diversified export structure .
Since the presidency of Getúlio Dornelles Vargas in 1930, the country has developed industry, in which 22% of the population is employed today and which contributes over 25% to the GDP.national. In an increasingly competitive global economic environment, Brazil has managed to become an important player in certain sectors, in particular in the production of paper and pulp, the steel industry, the mining industry, aeronautics, hydrocarbons and petrochemicals. From the point of view of trading partners, Asia has recently risen to the role of the most important region for Brazilian trade. Almost a quarter of total exports go to it, and large shares of imports come from it. If, on the other hand, individual countries are considered, the main trading partners are China, the United States and Argentina.
In addition to being a major investor abroad, mainly for the operations of some of its leading companies, Brazil is the Latin American country that receives the most foreign direct investments (ide). This development is part of a broader framework, which in recent years has seen a consolidation of the trend towards greater participation of multinational companies of South American origin in other countries of the region. Among the top 25 multinationals created in Latin America, five are of Brazilian origin, including Grupo J bs (food) and Gerdau (chemical sector). On the other hand, Petrobrás (oil), partially controlled by the state, lost positions. Grupo J bs, which stands out among the multilatinas Brazilian companies, is present in 11 countries and in 2009 recorded a turnover of 20,547.8 million dollars.
The welfare Brazilian
According to Nexticle, Brazil is a country historically characterized by great economic and social inequalities. Among the main problems are the high levels of poverty and social inequity, determined primarily by the considerable inequalities in the distribution of income and land ownership. These inequalities are further aggravated by a deep gap between the poorer regions of the north and the rich and industrialized regions of the south. Despite this record, important developments have taken place in the last decade: while in 2001 the poorest 10% of the country held 0.6% of national income and the richest 10% held 46.8%, in 2009 percentages went up to 0.8% and 41% respectively. In addition, over 28 million people have emerged from the poverty line and now make up class C, the middle class, which includes all people who earn between 1120 reais and 4810 reais (roughly between 360 and 1500 euros) per month and which reached 54% of the population in 2013. The results are due to sustained economic growth and he was committed both by the Cardoso government, with the establishment of the Single Health System (S us), and by Lula. During his two legislatures, President Lula has implemented important policies to combat poverty and, in particular, the ‘Programa Bolsa Família’, the largest income transfer system in the world created in 2003, which costs the state just $ 0. 5% of the gdp. The program, which is currently integrated into the Brasil Sem Miseria umbrella program (Brazil without poverty), provides subsidies to 13.8 million families on the condition that they guarantee regular schooling for their children and compliance with basic medical procedures, such as vaccinations.
During her mandate, Dilma Rousseff introduced another entirely new welfare program, called ‘Bolsa Verde’, which pursues the objective of promoting environmental protection through the provision of loans to the poor living in areas protected in the country and are dedicated to the protection and defense of the lands. The conditional aid programs launched in recent years have allowed the South American giant to move into the world ranking of the Human Development Index drawn up by the U ndp, increasing in its value by 36.4% between 1980 and 2013. Currently Brazil is among the countries with a ‘high’ level of development.
The reform of the Brazilian health system, launched following the launch of the 1988 Constitution (which recognized health as a universal social right for the first time), established a concurrent system between federations, states and municipalities. Although the state directly provides health coverage for about 75% of the population, the health system is very private oriented (which also enjoys tax incentives), and is not very inclined to invest in the public. This involves the flight of doctors to private clinics and hospitals, where they can count on greater earnings. Popular dissatisfaction with the health services offered by the state, manifested during the protests in June 2013, prompted Rousseff to announce a plan to attract 6 million specialists from abroad.
