Good morning! Today, we talk about how Jair Bolsonaro is improving his electoral odds by tackling inflation by whatever means necessary. The president’s diplomatic offensive against the voting system. And a push to let a massacre go unpunished.
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Brazilians more optimistic about inflation
As we said last week in this newsletter, Jair Bolsonaro is making some strides in presidential polls. And a new survey by FSB further suggests the president’s efforts to trump electoral and fiscal responsibility rules to increase social spending may be a good strategy to impede a landslide first-round win by former President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva.
What is happening. The president and his allies have managed to get states to lower fuel taxes, which had an immediate effect on prices at the pump. As a result, “people are less pessimistic about inflation and less critical of the government,” says Marcelo Tokarski, a managing partner at FSB.
Moreover. Today, the House floor is expected to vote on a constitutional amendment bill that would place Brazil under a...