In Brazil, unemployment is at a record low, inflation is under control and growth projections are being revised up. However, the Lula administration is having a hard time moving forward with expected reforms, and financial markets are reacting negatively. This episode dissects the forces behind these trends. Why is Lula facing resistance in Congress? What are the economic debates under way inside the administration, and who is winning? How is Lula himself handling the challenges of a third term? Our guest is political analyst Celso Rocha de Barros, a sociologist, an analyst for Brazil’s Central Bank, a columnist for Folha de S.Paulo, a podcaster at Revista Piauí and the author of PT, Uma História, a book about the history of Lula’s Worker’s Party.
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Guest:
Celso Rocha de Barros is a political columnist for Folha de S.Paulo
Host:
Brian Winter is the editor-in-chief of Americas Quarterly
If you’d like to know more:
AQ Podcast | Brazil: The Big Picture
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Fernando Haddad: Still the Odd Man Out by Thomas Traumann
Erika Hilton’s Battle Against Brazil’s Conservative Congress by Angela Boldrini
Brazil’s Enduring Racial Gap by Michael França and Alysson Portella
Despite Record-Low Murder Rates, Brazilians Feel Less Safe by Robert Muggah
