During the pandemic, Brazilian wages have sunk: the average income per worker stands at BRL 2,447 (USD 514) per month – that is, 8.69 percent below pre-pandemic levels. Meanwhile, Brazil has faced a stubbornly high inflation rate which has been in double-digits for six months already. And to make matters worse, the Central Bank has conducted the world’s strictest monetary tightening process over the past year.
“Consumer inflation remains high, with increases spread among several components, and continues to be more persistent than anticipated,” said the bank last week.
One of the villains of Brazilian inflation has been gas prices. The average price for a liter of gasoline at the pump is now 48 percent higher than in the week the World Health Organization declared a pandemic. For a president seeking re-election — and already trailing in the polls — that is bad, bad...
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