Good morning! Today, we talk about Lula’s pandering to the auto industry. The new round of the battle between Marina Silva and Petrobras. And the positives from Brazil’s latest inflation reading.
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Pandering to the auto industry
The government on Thursday unveiled its plan to stimulate Brazil’s auto industry, which includes credit lines for manufacturers and consumers, tax breaks, and incentives for the nationalization of goods. Price cuts will reach up to 11 percent, officials said.
- In many ways, the plan epitomizes the current administration’s shortcomings: it contradicts parts of the government’s own agenda, it lacks details, and its effectiveness has been questioned by many economists, who see it as an old-fashioned move.
The rationale. In his speeches, President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva has repeatedly cited the rising price of new cars as a bellwether of Brazilians’ economic struggles. The cheapest new car in the country costs at least BRL 69,000 (USD 13,700), more than 52 times the minimum wage.
- Lula wants to boost new car purchases as part of...