Clovis Rossi, who I consider the best Brazilian columnist for economic issues, has just posted at Folha de S.Paulo (newspaper) site data showing how Brazil cannot even compare to the UK, that has been announced as falling behind Brazil in IGP. Ironically, Mr. Rossi states his aim as 'a small contribution to the excitement over the Brazilian economy having reached the sixth position in the world rank'; the data - in accord with the title of his text "Nem chegamos perto" (We haven't even scratched)- actually go contrary to any idea of excitement.
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Then comes a table previously published in El País (date not stated) ranking 21 countries by minimum salary in euros. Brazil is... out - not even appears on the table. The source of the data is Eurostat, which, if I am not wrong, is the statistics department for the EU.
Rossi goes on clarifying that the Brazilian minimum salary (per month) corresponds to 225 euros. Lituania is last on the table: 231.70 euros.
The UK - 1,138.50 euros -is 6th, immediately above the USA and below Luxembourgh, Ireland, The Netherlands, Belgium and France. Simple calculation: the British amount is as five times as big as the Brazilian, a result "even worse than the difference in terms of income per capita between the two countries, which is "only" three times", comments Rossi.
Rossi then highlights that the giant of South America is behind countries said to be in critical conditions (Greece, Spain, Portugal), mockingly stressing that those countries "do not pay salaries so minimum as the Brazilian.
Before declaring 'it's enough for this year', Rossi poses a question to the finance minister, Guido Mantega, "who swears that, in 10 or 20 years, the Brazilians will enjoy the European standard of life." The question, openly mordant:
How many centuries do you think it will take for the [Brazilian] minimum salary to be not so humiliating when compared - I do not even dare say with the British one - with the Portuguese?
It must only to be added that the difference in population and area alone makes the comparison ridiculously shameful for Brazil. Take also gold and... Certainly, furious voices will promptly remind me that Brazil was colony in such and such ways and because of that...
What has happened since Brazil found itself master of its destiny? Aha!
I am entirely with Rossi and will compliment him directly for his lucidity and courage in, once again, showing how most of Brazilian goverment propaganda is simply foolish - in the eyes of those who can see.
Here are the details of our source (Rossi's article):
Title: Nem chegamos perto
published on 30/12/2011 - 11h10
by Clovis Rossi http://www1.folha.uol.com.br/colunas/clovisrossi/1027998-nem-chegamos-perto.shtml
The comments directly shown on the webpage (link above), bottom of the article, are negative. Surprising? Not so, once considering that Brazilians are not optimistic, they are... overenthusiastic about anything related to identity, a 'we are the best anyway' sort of sentiment. This is best reflected in the comment where the reader regrets not having come acrros any complimentary opinion, but only those demolishing the whole nation.
Another comment complains that the newspaper did not publish the words sent by the complainant, according to whom the paper would thus be "obviously in panic' about such omitted (censured?) opinion. I do not doubt that - not exactly the panic, but censorship. Still another claims that the actual Brazilian minimum salary would be 280 euros (and not 225) since there is the 13rd salary, an end-of-the-year extra pay. We did not check the accuracy of that.
Enquiries? email me: mariangelapedro @ yahoo.com
Clovis Rossi offers his email address on the webpage 'linked' above, so I can pass it on here: crossi @ uol.com.br. He is also on Twitter (and so am I).
