The Current Situation of Brazil Under Bolsonaro

 

Image: Wikipedia Jair Bolsonaro

Under Bolsonaro's administration, crime and violence increased dramatically while government efficiency declined significantly as budget cuts led to reduced civil servant sizes; environmental protection agencies also found their presence weakened.

 

President Rousseff disregarded scientific recommendations for managing the COVID-19 pandemic, leading to increased police killings of black people as freedom of the press declined and quality of Brazilian democracy plummeted.

 

Economy

 

Brazil ranks ninth globally according to purchasing power parity and tenth according to market exchange rates, with a diverse middle-income economy. South America's foremost industrial and agricultural powerhouse, Brazil uses its abundant natural resources and labor pool to fuel economic development. Though still struggling with high inequality in income distribution, strong educational populations and booming service sectors provide support for future economic expansion.

 

South Africa is a regional leader in terms of iron and steel mining, petroleum processing and production, cement manufacturing and agricultural production (coffee beans, sugar cane, soybeans and beef being among them). Furthermore, its major ports and extensive network of railways make the country one of the main transit points for global trade routes.

 

Over the past several years, Brazil's service sector has quickly become the primary engine of its economy and experienced rapid growth compared to manufacturing or agriculture. Unfortunately, however, the country has struggled to find ways to sustain this expansion while being both equitable and sustainable.

 

This year, the Lula administration unveiled a fiscal framework with plans to lower debt levels and reign in spending, in an attempt to boost economic growth. Meanwhile, inflation has reached two-year lows and should continue its decline. While consumer spending may limit growth slightly, legislative restrictions on interest rates give businesses confidence that the government is committed to taking responsible fiscal steps.

 

To accelerate economic growth, a country needs to increase total factor productivity (TFP) through encouraging private investment in infrastructure such as transport and energy infrastructure. Tax reform must also occur, in particular by lowering rates on consumption while raising rates on wealth and income; furthermore reversing state oil company divestment policies can also increase domestic energy autonomy while altering fuel price policies can decrease dependence on imports.

 

At the same time, it is vitally important to foster employment and business development by relaxing bureaucratic restrictions on foreign investment. Furthermore, public sector pay should more closely correspond with private sector wages while eliminating excessive subsidies and tax exemptions that do not bring macroeconomic or social benefits.

 

Social Issues

 

Brazil remains an intricate social environment. Poverty and inequality remain pervasive as families struggle to afford basic necessities or pay rent - particularly women who often provide for their households alone. Meanwhile, serious crime issues plague Brazil, with high homicide rates; frequent robberies/kidnappings; frequent kidnappings/robberies/kidnappings occurring; as well as pervasive gang violence throughout urban areas.

 

Additionally, there are specific issues regarding the state's capacity to ensure both public and private security. Some major cities are under militia control while armed forces do not possess enough personnel or capacity to fully guarantee security across all parts of the country. Furthermore, military officials play a significant role in government which some have criticised as subordinating civilian decision-making to military authority.

 

Another issue lies in the absence of an inclusive policy to deinstitutionalize adults and children with disabilities gradually, leaving thousands confined to institutions where they are vulnerable to neglect and abuse. Furthermore, infant mortality rates vary widely by region and socioeconomic status: Lower infant mortality rates exist in urban centers while more deaths occur among poor rural regions.

 

Structural bottlenecks have long been hindering economic development. These include an overly complex tax system that discourages entrepreneurs, an ineffective and costly business environment, low savings rates due to high current spending obligations and pension obligations, compressed public investment due to these constraints and slow productivity growth due to limited human capital levels.

 

Brazil boasts an expansive civil society with more than 800,000 registered organizations (CSOs). Most CSOs are social movements or religious organizations aimed at upholding citizens' rights; there is also an expanding network of non-partisan movements like Direitos Ja! Forum for Democracy which was established in 2019 to unite various political parties against President Bolsonaro's anti-liberal populist statements as well as his support for military dictatorship and advocacy for torture.

 

What Caused Brazil Today being backward?

 

Brazil's political governance system is highly fragmented, featuring volatile and polarized parties. Clientelistic practices predominate the party system and it ranks amongst one of the highest for electoral fraud globally. Due to this instability in Brazil's party system, fewer broad coalitions exist that could provide solutions for its challenges.

 

The judiciary in South Africa is institutionally distinct and generally free from government intervention; its independence limited only by limited capacity and corruption, although judges retain substantial power to evaluate whether government actions violate constitutional requirements. Furthermore, South Africa boasts an advanced financial sector, boasting well-developed banks as well as capital markets which compete on an international scale.

 

Although India is strong economically and socially, it faces serious social and economic challenges. Although its economy has seen steady growth, its pace has recently slowed considerably; public debt levels are high; poverty levels have grown substantially as a result.

 

Many Brazilians lack access to quality education, health services and housing. Organized crime poses an ever-increasing threat in urban centers while in some cities the state cannot guarantee public or private security; rural populations face violence from land invasion.

 

President Bolsonaro has signaled his intent not to respect judicial autonomy or the rule of law, while his administration has implemented policies which undermine democratic principles. For instance, the president blocked critics on his personal social media accounts and attempted to limit free expression of views critical of him. Furthermore, he promoted expanding military involvement in civilian policy-making processes while pushing for expanding military involvement with civilian policy-making as well as proposing decrees which would prevent social media platforms from eliminating harmful misinformation on platforms.

 

Bolsonaro's campaign rhetoric was frequently racist, sexist and divisive towards women, minorities, Afro-Brazilians and LGBT people; his followers routinely spread hateful rhetoric online against groups that do not share his reactionary worldview and incited hatred against groups that did not agree with it; this translated to violence, discrimination and attacks against women, children, indigenous people, the LGBT community and journalists - with even murderous attacks occurring against journalists!

 

Solutions

 

Brazil may face many difficulties, yet there is reason for optimism. Despite President Dilma Rousseff's anti-democratic tendencies, support for democracy remains strong and the safeguards set up to protect it against populist leaders are functioning relatively smoothly - the Supreme Court has blocked some extreme government decrees and measures, the judiciary remains relatively free from political influence, and its procedures provide ample opportunity for investigating and punishing corruption at high levels.

 

But the system is far from infallible, and structural bottlenecks impede growth. Such factors include an ineffective tax structure which stymies innovation while encouraging rent seeking behavior, low productivity growth due to lack of human capital accumulation, distorted incentive structures for large enterprises, and public spending regimes which discourage savings while encouraging deficit financing.

 

Corruption is pervasive throughout Brazil's political parties. Operation Car Wash's investigation exposed illegal practices in almost every mainstream party and led to several convictions; more recently however, Brazil's institutions have demonstrated increased capability of prosecuting those holding high office - yet more work still needs to be done here.

 

Environmental crises have been having serious repercussions for society and economy alike. Poor water management practices are to blame for pollution of rivers and lakes, groundwater depletion, weak flood protection measures, urban expansion leading to higher tensions due to urban expansion and an imbalance between supply and demand of water resources. Furthermore, this crisis highlights risks related to politicization of natural resources whereby governments prioritize short-term electoral gains over long-term planning and environmental sustainability.

 

Deforestation has increased under Bolsonaro's administration due to their policy shift toward mining on indigenous lands and failure to fulfill promises made to stop illegal deforestation. Furthermore, an increasing number of Brazilians are suffering from poverty and inequality as more are not joining organized societies; yet these issues may also be attributable to government policies which discourage participation and social mobilization.