Brazil's Recovery Gains Steam As Politics Gives Way: leftist President Stimulates Growth in Hemisphere's Second Biggest Market with Fiscal Discipline

摘要

Oh, what a difference a year makes. Last June, Brazil watchers were warning that Latin America's largest country was on the verge of sinking into the sort of long-term malaise that has plagued so many in the region. Its economy was in the midst of a recession. Its new left-wing president, Luiz Inacio da Silva - more commonly known as Lula - had come up through the country's aggressive unions, and was expected to stall, if not reverse, the previous administration's economic reforms. Interest rates and inflation were rising, while consumer spending and foreign direct investment (FDI) were dropping.