Politics

“The political system breeds a very fragmented representation,” says Marcos Mendez – 05/28/2022

Published

2 years ago

May 28, 2022

“The political system breeds a very fragmented representation,” says Marcos Mendez - 05/28/2022

The fragmentation of the Brazilian political system and high inequalities between social groups are major factors in the country’s chronic difficulties in developing good public policies, said economist Marcos Mendez, professor at Insper. He emphasizes the importance of evaluating public policy in order to learn from your mistakes. This is the essence of the book “Not to forget: the public policy that impoverishes Brazil”, which will be released on Monday. Here are the main excerpts from the interview:

What is the main factor in the poor quality of public policy?

We have a political-electoral system that generates a very fragmented representation. Not only do we have more than 20 parties in Congress, but within the parties we are dispersing interests. Often parliamentarians are more responsive to the interests of specific groups than to the interests of party political programs. So, in the end, the Congress defends not the interests of the collective, but the interests of the group that the parliamentarian defends. And then they do not worry that these interests will lead to much higher costs than the benefits created.

Isn’t the play of interests part of democratic systems?

Interests exist in all societies, but political and electoral institutions are needed to filter these interests and shed light on them.

Are there any other peculiarities in the play of interests in the Brazilian political system?

Inequality. When we have a very unequal society, what the poor want is very different from what the rich want and what the middle class wants. Poor people want social assistance, help, employment. The rich want subsidies for their companies. The middle class wants a well-paid government job, a free public university. When a society is more homogeneous, everyone wants more or less the same thing.

Are there short term solutions to the problem?

We have several small government policies that, if implemented with reasonable efficiency, will improve the situation. For example, the government has just almost tripled the Bolsa Família with the creation of Auxilio Brasil. Only we tripled with bad design. At the same time, we have not invested in the heart of the transfer program, which is Cadastro Único.

Is the Bolsa Família a case of a well regarded public policy that has been discontinued?

We make poorly thought out policies worse. There are times when we learn from mistakes, but there are also times when good policies go bad. It is very easy to have an electoral flag of 400 reais for each family, but in practice we are losing the policy focus on the most needy people.

The information is taken from the newspaper. State of Sao Paulo.

Goodwin Townsend

General internet buff. Hardcore music maven. Typical foodaholic. Friendly student.

Politics

The dollar continues to reflect the political scenario

Published

1 year ago

December 20, 2022

Goodwin Townsend

The dollar continues to reflect the political scenario

Yesterday, financial agents evaluated the opposite decision of the Federal Supreme Court (STF) regarding the so-called secret budget. In addition, a decision was made by STF Minister Gilmar Méndez to issue an injunction that would exclude the Bolsa Família from the spending cap rule, with investors trying to understand how this measure would affect the processing of the transitional PEC in the Chamber of Deputies. Oh this PEC!!!!

Since he is an exchange investor, any reading that the budget will be exceeded or become more flexible will negatively affect the exchange market, whether through the PEC or in any other way. We will continue with volatility today.

Looking beyond, the US Central Bank (Fed), although slowing down the pace of monetary tightening at its December meeting, issued a tougher-than-expected statement warning that its fight against inflation was not yet over, raising fears that rising US interest rates will push the world’s largest economy into recession.

The currency market continues to react to political news. The voting on the PEC is saved for today. It is expected that it will indeed be reviewed to open the way tomorrow for discussions on the 2023 budget.

Yesterday, the spot price closed the selling day at R$5.3103.

For today on the calendar we will have an index of consumer confidence in the eurozone. Good luck and good luck in business!!

Goodwin Townsend

General internet buff. Hardcore music maven. Typical foodaholic. Friendly student.

Politics

Andrés Sánchez consults with the Ministry of Sports, but refuses a political post.

Published

1 year ago

December 20, 2022

Goodwin Townsend

The former president of the Corinthians dreams of working for the CBF as a national team coordinator. He was consulted shortly after Lula’s election.

Former Corinthians president Andrés Sánchez was advised to take a position in the Ministry of Sports under the administration of Lula (PT). However, he ruled out a return to politics. dreams of taking over the coordination of CBF selectionHow do you know PURPOSE.

No formal invitation was made to the former Corinthian representative, only a consultation on a portfolio opportunity with the new federal government, which will be sworn in on January 1, 2023.

Andrés was the Federal MP for São Paulo from 2015 to 2019. At that time he was elected by the Workers’ Party. However, the football manager begs to stay in the sport, ruling out the possibility of getting involved in politics again.

Andrés Sanchez’s desire is to fill the position of CBF tackle coordinator, which should become vacant after the 2022 World Cup. Juninho Paulista fulfills this function in Brazil’s top football institution.

The former president of Corinthians was in Qatar to follow the World Cup along with other figures in Brazilian football. During his time in the country, he strengthened his ties with the top leadership of the CBF.

Editors’ Choice

Goodwin Townsend

General internet buff. Hardcore music maven. Typical foodaholic. Friendly student.

Politics

The EU has reached a political agreement on limiting gas prices – 19.12.2022

Published

1 year ago

December 19, 2022

Goodwin Townsend

Germany sentenced Russian to life imprisonment for political murder by order of Moscow - 12/15/2021

BRUSSELS, DECEMBER 19 (ANSA). European Union countries reached a political agreement on Monday (19) to impose a natural gas price ceiling of 180 euros per megawatt hour (MWh). The main sources of income for Russia and the minimization of the use of energy as a weapon by the regime of Vladimir Putin.

The agreement was approved by a supermajority at a ministerial meeting of member states in Brussels, Belgium, after months of discussions about the best way to contain the rise in natural gas prices in the bloc caused by Russia’s invasion of Ukraine. .

The value set by the countries is well below the proposal made by the European Commission, the EU’s executive body, in November: 275 EUR/MWh. However, the countries leading the cap campaign were in favor of an even lower limit, around 100 EUR/MWh.

Germany, always wary of price controls, voted in favor of 180 euros, while Austria and the Netherlands, also skeptical of the cap, abstained. Hungary, the most pro-Russian country in the EU, voted against.

The instrument will enter into force on 15 February, but only if natural gas prices on the Amsterdam Stock Exchange exceed 180 euros/MWh for three consecutive days. In addition, the difference compared to a number of global benchmarks should be more than 35 euros.

Italy, the EU’s biggest supporter of the ceiling, has claimed responsibility for the measure. “This is a victory for Italy, which believed and worked for us to reach this agreement,” Environment and Energy Minister Gilberto Picetto tweeted.

“This is a victory for Italian and European citizens who demand energy security,” he added.

Currently, the gas price in Amsterdam is around 110 EUR/MWh, which is already a reflection of the agreement in Brussels – in August the figure even broke the barrier of 340 EUR/MWh.

However, Russia has already threatened to stop exports to countries that adhere to the ceiling. (ANSA).

See more news, photos and videos at www.ansabrasil.com.br.

Goodwin Townsend

General internet buff. Hardcore music maven. Typical foodaholic. Friendly student.