Paulo Guedes wants to discuss a plan to reverse the paralysis left by September 7th Bolsonaro coup attempt of the Federal Supreme Court (STF). He has expressed concerns about court orders and the new Family Support Package ‘Bolsa Família’, and one idea would be to make a statement to clarify such intentions on national television.
Economy Minister Paulo Guedes began to discuss with aides and allies a plan to try to reverse the immobilization of the government agenda after the acts led by President Jair Bolsonaro made the stock market fall 4% the day after. Many people are tired of high inflation, massive unemployment, getting worse economy with spiraling dollar value against the real while utility bill increases, and the government’s lack of improvements in general.
Whether a hater or lover of Bolsonaro the fact remains the economy is showing signs that it’s out of control, and that Guedes by now should have found a way to combat the overall situation. However, what is the plan? As it stands, we could reach hyperinflation by the end of the year. GDP seems to be heading in the right direction which is partly due to agricultural exports.
Gross domestic product (GDP) is a monetary measure of the market value of all the final goods and services produced in a specific time period. GDP is often used as a metric for international comparisons as well as a broad measure of economic progress.
Brazil's GDP in 2020, for example, was R$7.4 trillion (approx. US$1.4 trillion). In the last quarter disclosed (2nd quarter of 2021), the value was R$ 2 143.4 billion, or on target for around R$8.5 trillion (approx. US$1.63 trillion) per annum. This looks impressive, but it doesn’t account for the devaluation most Brazilians are encountering when they consider grocery purchases and electricity tariffs which have risen enormously over the last year.
In a virtual event with Brazilian retail companies on Monday 23rd August, Paulo Guedes said that inflation was under control in Brazil. “There is no lack of control. Inflation is rising all over the world,” the economy minister said, adding that US inflation should be around 7%. “Ours will be 7% or 8% too; we're in the game.” Nonetheless, August’s inflation stood at 0.87%. In 12 months, inflation is close to double digits: 9.68%.
Consequently, consumption of many items has taken a hit, the cost of meat has risen by 30%, tomatoes 54%, and spaghetti almost 15%. The central bank has augmented interest, so loans are more expensive to repay. With less money to spend, reductions in expenses need to be made. Certainly, Paulo Guedes has to come up with an impressive plan to save the population in their plight to survive.
1. Find two other words in the text that mean ‘paralysis’:
A. ____________, B. ____________
2. What does, ‘taken a hit’, mean?
A) It means to be shot.
B) It means to be affected badly by something.
C) It means there have been price increases.
The correct answers will be shown in the next blog.
Correct answers for multi-choice questions from blog 09/09/21
1. A, 2. C