Brasil visto de longe...

Recebido de bem informado empresario inglês, preocupado com nosso país. Vale uma reflexão.

Pedro,

Always interesting to read your blogs !

I would have some comments about the current situation. I don't believe that much was achieved by making the video of the 22nd April presidential conference available to the public because it didn't really substantiate Moro's claims which were far better elucidated by his WhatsApp exchange with the president prior to that meeting and which made the president's position with regards to muzzling the PF very clear. The video however did demonstrate the low level of competence of the leaders of the Government and for that I specifically single out the ministers Ernesto Araujo, Ricardo Salles, Weingarten, Damares, and the Minister for Tourism. Even Paulo Guedes made some stupid remarks together with expletives to copy his president.

The president's speech (shouting as usual) was not that of the leader of a nation and statements like his wish to arm the citizens to counter a possible takeover were inflammatory, to say the least. I have been worried by recent rumours that the Military are considering taking over the country even though they seem to have already taken over several important posts in the Government, but a census last week showed that soldiers up the rank of sergeant are not interested in a "golpe" (true or false ?).  The problem is that Bolsonaro is managing to antagonise a great number of people , particularly with his (non)handling of the pandemic, and that only serves to encourage the Opposition which in turn could make him feel forced to come up with a reaction.

I believe that there are 3 main concerns for Brasil : the coronavirus, politics and the Amazon and these are all affecting Brasil's image abroad in a very negative way. The burning of the Amazon and the environment  is becoming a key issue with shareholders of international companies and just this week the supermarket chains in the UK have threatened to stop importing goods from Brasil because of the Amazon deforestation. At the same time Brasil has been excluded from the countries scheduled to receive the vaccine when it becomes available because of its current policy regarding reaction to the spread of the virus. Furthermore, with the prospect of reduction in globalisation after the pandemic, Brasil cannot afford to exclude itself from the world market. In this respect remarks against China are not advisable.