What to make of Brazil’s 124bn BRL primary deficit

This week, Brazil’s federal government published its primary results for 2017: a deficit of 124.4 billion BRL. This number doesn’t take into account payments with the country’s public debt. Which means that even before paying back its creditors, Brazil has spent more – far more – than its revenue.

The government, however, was quick to capitalize on the news, claiming that the primary deficit is much better than Congress’s goal of 159-billion BRL. While it may be true, 2017’s results remain the second-worst in the country’s history. And as a matter of fact, Brazil has registered a primary deficit in each year since 2013.

Brazil’s financial crisis became flagrant during the country’s primary results back in 2014. While expenditure...