BUSINESS

Weathering the Storm

The specter of global stagflation looms, but in Brazil, things couldn't be better. How a sleeping giant became the world's hottest market.

By Mac Margolis | NEWSWEEK
Published Jul 26, 2008
From the magazine issue dated Aug 4, 2008

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  • Posted By: dftorres09031984 @ 08/22/2008 12:45:59 PM

    I find the article to be interesting but I disagree with many of the conclusions. The author made one huge mistake when it says that Lula did not implement any major reforms. Lula did pass a major pension reform program in 2003 which one can agree or disagree with. It required passing a change in the constitution with 60% of approval in both houses. Fix it! Political reform is complex and Brazil's Congress may yet pass tax reform after the mid-year elections in October!

  • Posted By: bramasole @ 08/07/2008 11:56:00 PM

    the one who made such an idiotic comment below me is a racist & an imbecile who doesn't understand what globalization means.Take a trip,maybe that would open up that dull brain of yours,unless it is way too late 4 your failing blue eyes to see the new world

  • Posted By: BlueEyesAreDisappearing @ 08/06/2008 9:31:11 PM

    The third world countries are all moving up to second world countries because so many of their expatriates came to the first world countries, and now many of the first world countries are becoming second world countries because we've absorbed more people than we can sustain.

  • Posted By: gym007 @ 07/31/2008 11:17:21 AM

    For the record- Brazil also has a lot of American Farmers- that can grow wheat,corn cotton and other good on a year round babses ans the sad thing is that once an emerging market it has not emergered-So Brazil is now in the game-with the US. and the US need to learn for its mistakes in dragging the USA into a hole- so in my book Brazil is the next "bread basket" for the USA...

    • Posted By: ARTSanDiego @ 08/06/2008 2:13:05 PM

      Unfortunately, they are also clearcutting 10,000 acres a day of the Amazon basin in Matto Grasso, to grow soybeans for cattle-feed, and bio-fuel. Not very eco-friendly. Then again, the US is the "Worst polluter" in the world other than China. Just saying, it kind of sucks aboiut that old-growth forest falling for illegal soybean farmers that carve out their land titles with machetes. They killed a nun last year. I guess that's progress?

  • Posted By: singlestrike @ 08/05/2008 12:13:25 PM

    Trooper101st, you make a valid point about the corn ethanol, but the oil comment is clearly a result of inadequate information. Brazil has various contracts with many countries regarding their general petroleum products, so for them to start using their own oil, they would anger all those countries by breaking said contracts. Angering countries with oil = retarded, if you haven't noticed. :P

  • Posted By: Trooper101st @ 08/04/2008 8:13:18 AM

    Why can't farmers in the US grow sugar cane to make ethanol? It has 4x the octane of corn ethanol, and is less expensive to make. %25 of the corn in the US went to make ethanol, a total waste of corn. I wonder if that had a ripple effect in the supermarkets? Food is way up, eggs, milk, meat, bread....corn ethanol is a FAILURE! It costs more to make than cane ethanol, so wat is going on? Just more window dressing from the oil co's and the Repukes. Drill off the Jersey coast? Wat a joke. If there WAS oil there, Big Oil would have been all over it years ago. Plus, the oil the US pumps, goes to other markets for profit. WAKE UP PEOPLE!!!

  • Posted By: abrasileirosilva @ 08/03/2008 6:58:36 PM

    Why newsweek permit that this guy ???likeitis??? monopoly the comments? It's absurd. I would have had pleasure to comment but I desist.

  • Posted By: abrasileirosilva @ 08/03/2008 6:58:04 PM

    Why newsweek permit that this guy ???likeitis??? monopoly the comments? It's absurd. I would have had pleasure to comment but I desist.

  • Posted By: 512pm @ 08/01/2008 4:59:07 PM

    LIKEITIS is not a moron. I live in Sao Paulo, Brazil, and almost all expensive imported cars are bullet-proof. The majority of milionaires also uses security guards when driving in the city. These happens for a good reason..

  • Posted By: 512pm @ 08/01/2008 4:56:05 PM

    LIKEITIS is not a moron. I live in Brazil and almost all expensive new imported cars here are bullet-proof for a good reason...

  • Posted By: Maikeru76 @ 07/31/2008 10:27:51 PM

    Not all the world is America, the World is where you are...

    Kudos to the gains of Brazil...Your people are a shining example for us in the developing nations! ;)

  • Posted By: joebike1 @ 07/31/2008 9:11:10 AM

    We need to look at these countries and stop being the world police,We need to look closer to home to get our oil and resources.Central and South America are close to use and rich of natural resources.We have allies close to home who still like us.We need to take examples from some Brazil .

  • Posted By: joebike1 @ 07/31/2008 9:04:40 AM

    usa should take heed to what south america is doing.there is plenty of oil in our hemisphere..Colombia is spelled with an O not a U..Farc is a thing of the past ,and by they way contary to what you here colobia is a safe place with awsome people.

  • Posted By: gterronesdimant @ 07/30/2008 3:06:33 PM

    LIKEITIS: its a petty that in year 2008 you are so disconnected to what's going on in the world and have such an uniformed and wrong perception of a country like Brazil. You inform yourself better and understand how you can better insert yourself in a new world order rather than descredit emerging markets. Brazil accounts for the third largest capital market in the world right now, has stright governance rules and is evolving its general governance bringing more transparency.
    Abroad the US contries have evolved at different paces, which don't make them worst or better. Its important to have a wider perspective, tolerance and acceptance.

  • Posted By: Kboogie @ 07/30/2008 12:04:40 PM

    And the women are the most beautiful in the world!!!!!!!!!

  • Posted By: Tucano @ 07/30/2008 10:50:41 AM

    Just for the record, you should know more about Brazil before saying stupid things. The loands that Brazil defaulted in 80s and 90s is already paid. There are no debts anymore and the Brazilian people and its government took over their own country. Meanwhile, the USA is getting into a severe recession and the Americans have been introduced to bankrucy.

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