11 ms·

The current government is just so bad? Come on, just look at SELIC during the second FHC government... the interest rates went sky high, the Real had a monstro

The current government is just so bad? Come on, just look at SELIC during the second FHC government... the interest rates went sky high, the Real had a monstrous devaluation overnight (from R$ 1.32 to U$1 to R$2.16 to U$ 1). FHC sure helped to stabilize inflation rate, but he almost destroyed brazilian economy. His second government was nothing short of a disaster. SELIC history: https://www.bcb.gov.br/?COPOMJUROS https://www.bcb.gov.br/?COPOMJUROS

marcosdumay 11y ago
Yes, the SELIC exploded and the Real was devalued overnight as soon as people realized that the party currently in power had chances to win an election. Disaster is what we are living through now. Can you get any example of hight inflation happening at the same time as hight interest rates on Brazil since the Real Plan? Or, can you get any other example of hight inflation at the same time as a decreasing GDP? Or can you get any failed coup from FHC times? FHC surely didn't do everything right. I have plenty of complaints. But to even compare his government to any of PT's is absurd.
- alberich 11y ago
  Get your facts right. The devaluation happened in 1999, a time when thinking that Lula would win an election was actually a joke. If you go to BACEN you can look for yourself to get the historic data on inflation and SELIC interest rates. FHC was able to both have high interest rates, high inflation rate and a broken economy (or did you forget that brazil had to ask IMF for a huge money lend?)... I don't know what you mean by a coupe... but it is well known that FHC paid congress men to pass the law allowing him to be re-elected. Curiosly, now they think re-election is bad... go figure.
  - meira 11y ago
    alberich, these kids debating politics today don't like to take leverage of internet to understand what really happened in their country. And then they come here to HN to say bad things about Brazil looking for "liberals" support. Silly boys.
    - rbanffy 11y ago
      It's depressing enough to see it on Facebook. Here it's unbearable. HN should be preserved as a place people discuss using facts.
speeder 11y ago
I am from Brazil, and although I don't like FHC party either, I remember even during the crisis of his second government, I didn't hear people blaming him all the time, I think because at the time it was understood because it had to do with the Asian crisis (the 1998 crisis affected Brazil badly), and because people still remembered how bad it was before him. Now replying your specific question: "The current government is just so bad?" Yes. Many of our numbers are the worst in 20+ years, without a solid external economy justification, our troubles are not because lack of exports or other serious effects caused by other countries that were unavoidable, but purely incompetence (or malice...) Brazil consumers have the lowest confidence in 22 years, our GDP will have the biggest decrease in 24 years, inflation is the highest since FHC fixed it 20 years ago, the income of people, even if you ignore the exchange rate and count only in absolute BRL numbers, is decreasing, and although unemployment is "low" according to the government, the actual number of employed people is low too* Also the president batantly lied at her campaign (she said she would not do lots of things she immediately did as soon she was re-"elected"), and lied about the energy situation. The energy situation lie: Because the lack of rains in Brazil (that seemly is linked to the lack of rains in California), we can't rely on Hidroelectric powerplants, but the distribution lines are not all done, meaning that brownouts in some areas are likely (and we even had a country-wide blackout this year, when in the hottest day for some time, the extra power draw from air conditioners made the power lines overload), the president made several discourses with lies about this, trying to hide the situation for her upcoming campaign, she ended forcing the government as whole to give lots of conflicting information about the power situation, as result lots of important business that rely on great amounts of electricity (for example several types of metallurgy, manufacturing, cement industry) to stop investments, this started to cause unemployment and other issues long before Petrobras problems came to light. Who in their right mind would invest in a country where you can't find reliable information about the infrastructure situation? And of course, we have Petrobras issues by itself (for example for some problems caused while the president was working for Petrobras and even signed documents that caused the issues, she just stated she didn't read the documents... so she is grossly incoptent, or a malicious liar) Of course, I might be biased, since my family has a personal bone to pick with the president (the president approved some stunts in 2013 and 2014 that led to several companies that work for the government get defaulted, my family in turn sold stuff for those companies, that defaulted us, saying they would pay us when the government paid them...) * Brazil copied US bullshit unemployment number: you are only "unemployed" if you have zero income, government handouts included, and is looking for work, if you gave up, or get money from the government, or has income, even if it is tiny and from an illegal source, you are not unemployed
fiatjaf 11y ago
Petista detected.
- alberich 11y ago
  So, this is your best argument? Very reasonable.
- sdsk8 11y ago
  Somebody should downvote this guy!
gcb0 11y ago
FHC govt is interesting. It was the govt that mostly opened up to USA control. He borrowed a lot from the international funds, and made every effort to never pay more than the interest. Also sold all state owned companies, which mostly dealt with infrastructure, creating huge foreign owned monopolies. For a while, mobile and internet was worse than it is in the USA now, but the last two governments made improvements there (for example, now for US$0.30 a day --US$9/mo!-- you have a prepaid phone with unlimited calls, text and data ...well data was pulled out of that law last months. it is now 200mb instead of unlimited) But it was also one that most spent in advertisement. So the public loved it. And even attributes the Real to that president. The last goverment managed to pay out all the international funds FHC borrowed from.

marcosdumay 11y ago

Yes, the SELIC exploded and the Real was devalued overnight as soon as people realized that the party currently in power had chances to win an election. Disaster is what we are living through now. Can you get any example of hight inflation happening at the same time as hight interest rates on Brazil since the Real Plan? Or, can you get any other example of hight inflation at the same time as a decreasing GDP? Or can you get any failed coup from FHC times? FHC surely didn't do everything right. I have plenty of complaints. But to even compare his government to any of PT's is absurd.

alberich 11y ago
Get your facts right. The devaluation happened in 1999, a time when thinking that Lula would win an election was actually a joke. If you go to BACEN you can look for yourself to get the historic data on inflation and SELIC interest rates. FHC was able to both have high interest rates, high inflation rate and a broken economy (or did you forget that brazil had to ask IMF for a huge money lend?)... I don't know what you mean by a coupe... but it is well known that FHC paid congress men to pass the law allowing him to be re-elected. Curiosly, now they think re-election is bad... go figure.
- meira 11y ago
  alberich, these kids debating politics today don't like to take leverage of internet to understand what really happened in their country. And then they come here to HN to say bad things about Brazil looking for "liberals" support. Silly boys.
  - rbanffy 11y ago
    It's depressing enough to see it on Facebook. Here it's unbearable. HN should be preserved as a place people discuss using facts.

speeder 11y ago

I am from Brazil, and although I don't like FHC party either, I remember even during the crisis of his second government, I didn't hear people blaming him all the time, I think because at the time it was understood because it had to do with the Asian crisis (the 1998 crisis affected Brazil badly), and because people still remembered how bad it was before him. Now replying your specific question: "The current government is just so bad?" Yes. Many of our numbers are the worst in 20+ years, without a solid external economy justification, our troubles are not because lack of exports or other serious effects caused by other countries that were unavoidable, but purely incompetence (or malice...) Brazil consumers have the lowest confidence in 22 years, our GDP will have the biggest decrease in 24 years, inflation is the highest since FHC fixed it 20 years ago, the income of people, even if you ignore the exchange rate and count only in absolute BRL numbers, is decreasing, and although unemployment is "low" according to the government, the actual number of employed people is low too* Also the president batantly lied at her campaign (she said she would not do lots of things she immediately did as soon she was re-"elected"), and lied about the energy situation. The energy situation lie: Because the lack of rains in Brazil (that seemly is linked to the lack of rains in California), we can't rely on Hidroelectric powerplants, but the distribution lines are not all done, meaning that brownouts in some areas are likely (and we even had a country-wide blackout this year, when in the hottest day for some time, the extra power draw from air conditioners made the power lines overload), the president made several discourses with lies about this, trying to hide the situation for her upcoming campaign, she ended forcing the government as whole to give lots of conflicting information about the power situation, as result lots of important business that rely on great amounts of electricity (for example several types of metallurgy, manufacturing, cement industry) to stop investments, this started to cause unemployment and other issues long before Petrobras problems came to light. Who in their right mind would invest in a country where you can't find reliable information about the infrastructure situation? And of course, we have Petrobras issues by itself (for example for some problems caused while the president was working for Petrobras and even signed documents that caused the issues, she just stated she didn't read the documents... so she is grossly incoptent, or a malicious liar) Of course, I might be biased, since my family has a personal bone to pick with the president (the president approved some stunts in 2013 and 2014 that led to several companies that work for the government get defaulted, my family in turn sold stuff for those companies, that defaulted us, saying they would pay us when the government paid them...) * Brazil copied US bullshit unemployment number: you are only "unemployed" if you have zero income, government handouts included, and is looking for work, if you gave up, or get money from the government, or has income, even if it is tiny and from an illegal source, you are not unemployed

fiatjaf 11y ago

Petista detected.

alberich 11y ago
So, this is your best argument? Very reasonable.
sdsk8 11y ago
Somebody should downvote this guy!

gcb0 11y ago

FHC govt is interesting. It was the govt that mostly opened up to USA control. He borrowed a lot from the international funds, and made every effort to never pay more than the interest. Also sold all state owned companies, which mostly dealt with infrastructure, creating huge foreign owned monopolies. For a while, mobile and internet was worse than it is in the USA now, but the last two governments made improvements there (for example, now for US$0.30 a day --US$9/mo!-- you have a prepaid phone with unlimited calls, text and data ...well data was pulled out of that law last months. it is now 200mb instead of unlimited) But it was also one that most spent in advertisement. So the public loved it. And even attributes the Real to that president. The last goverment managed to pay out all the international funds FHC borrowed from.