Last week, I published my most engaged-with tweet in all my years of social media. It simply read, “Guys, do you feel like you’ve gotten poorer, too?”
The tweet reached more than 2 million users and had tens of thousands of likes, replies, and shares. I took that as a hint that, yes, Brazilians are feeling poorer.
“I went to the supermarket today and felt like I’ve gotten poorer since the last time I went to the shops,” replied one user. “In 2016, I was unemployed, and even then I didn’t have as much [financial] trouble as I do today, while employed. The cost of living is very high indeed,” said another.
I was braced for some rude replies, which has become the norm on Twitter, but there were none. Instead, the tone of the responses was of frustration and hopelessness about the future. “I didn’t feel the impact because last year I got promoted and my salary almost doubled, so basically I had to earn twice as much to be able to keep paying my bills, with zero luxuries,” wrote another user.
Unemployment, inflation, and average income have been lower in Brazil’s past, so what explains this current widespread feeling of poverty?
When it rains, it pours
I spoke to two economists who have analyzed the country’s economic scenario for decades. And they agreed: it’s not just a matter of...
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