Today, we are covering the struggles of Brazil’s industry sector. The pension reform advances. And how companies want to police employees’ use of messaging apps like WhatsApp. (This newsletter is for platinum subscribers only. Become one now!)
BREAKING
Operation Car Wash has launched a new stage this morning, with police targeting civil servants working at the Federal Revenue Service. Fourteen auditors (all of whom have arrest warrants issued against themselves) are accused of taking bribes from business owners investigated by the same Operation Car Wash, in exchange for lowering (or scrapping altogether) fines they were imposed.
Brazilian industry’s slow path to recovery
The Brazilian industry sector has registered growth after three consecutive negative months. But the slim improvement (a bump of just 0.8 percent) was largely concentrated on iron ore and oil extraction, showing that the sector as a whole remains sluggish.
Why it matters. The Brazilian industry—just like the overall domestic economy, for that matter—is highly dependent on family consumption. But high unemployment rates and the shrinking salaries of the jobs that do appear have crippled the sector., In 2019, 60 percent of industrial segments posted negative results—and overall industry activity is down 1.7 percent.
Insult to injury. Two...