KEYFACT Energy
Date: 19 April 2023
Time: 14:00 - 15:00 (UTC+1)
Speakers: Andrew Thompson and William Jackson
Over the past decade Brazil has been on a rollercoaster. One president was impeached after the discovery of huge corruption networks. It hosted the 2014 World Cup and 2016 Olympics. The economy boomed and then spluttered. The middle class got larger and then smaller. Deforestation and the management of the Amazon biome became global issues. Jair Bolsonaro — a far-right populist describing himself as the Trump of the Tropics — presided over a period of chaotic polarisation., but after failing to win re-election in October 2022 elections is living in self-imposed exile in Florida and is still refusing to accept the results.
The elections were won by veteran left winger Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva (a.k.a. Lula) who started his third presidential term in January. Once considered Brazil’s most popular ever president, he is now approaching his first 100 days in office. It is unclear how Lula 3.0 play out in 2023-2027. Lula remains committed to income redistribution and a strong public sector and his political coalition — which stretches from left to centre-right — will try and balance the demands for improved living standards with the need to attract foreign investment.
The briefing will address:
- How solid or shaky is Brazilian democracy?
- Economic developments in 2023 and 2024
- Will the new fiscal responsibility framework reduce the deficit?
- Investment opportunities and risks under Lula’s new administration
- Will a conservative Congress back economic reforms?
- Will Brazil’s new multilateralism bring it closer to China?