Brazil’s President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva promised the return of prosperity to the country if elected to the highest office.
He illustrated it with two words: “barbecue and beer.”
Two months after taking office, the economy he inherited is shortening its honeymoon period and sees him rushing to mitigate the damage.
Data released Thursday showed Brazil’s GDP contracted 0.2% in last year’s last quarter, ending five consecutive quarters of growth.
The decline is expected to continue this year.
If analysts’ forecasts come true, Lula’s ambitious plans to combat hunger and the deep political divide in Latin America’s largest nation are in jeopardy.
He won the election, evoking nostalgia for the boom times of his previous two terms when poverty fell, and Brazil rose to the center of the world stage.
According to a Bloomberg report, since taking office on January 1, Lula appears to have difficulty reconciling himself with the harsh economic reality.
He has clashed with investors and the head of the central bank, causing bewilderment among markets and budget hawks concerned about high debt levels and little room to increase spending.
With information from Bloomberg