Good morning! Today, Brazil’s social ladder is working in the opposite direction. Corruption perception index brings no good news for the country. Far-right ideologue Olavo de Carvalho dies.
Social mobility stalls in Brazil
A new study by consultancy firm Tendências confirms a trend we at The Brazilian Report have flagged for years: Brazilians are losing purchasing power and finding themselves in lower economic classes. The share of households living on a monthly income of no more than BRL 2,800 (USD 510) has increased from 48 to 51 percent since 2012.
Why it matters. Since 2014, Brazil’s social ladder has worked downwards.
What happened. Between 2001 and 2014, Brazil experienced its biggest reduction of inequality levels. This was largely made possible by reforms that created a stable currency, integrated Brazil more into the global economy, and laid the foundations for investments.
- Then, Brazil benefited from the commodities supercycle of the 2000s, experiencing full employment and high growth rates that pushed inequality levels to their lowest on record.
- But since 2014, the country has been plunged into economic hell. The 2014-2016 crisis was the worst on record until that point, with 11 quarters of negative growth. Then came the pandemic,...