The Impact of Financial Crisis on Brazil Economy

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Crisis Definition and Executive Summary Inflation was so chronic that in the late 1960s, the government instigated monetary correction, whereby fixed payments were indexed to past inflation. Thus, interest rates, pension payments, mortgage payments, and so forth, kept pace with rising prices, but inflation fed on itself. Even as economic growth surged in the mid-1980s, triple-digit inflation persisted. In February 1986, as the projected inflation rate for the year approached 500%, the government imposed a package of sweeping economic reforms, The drain on reserves, in which $30 billion winged their way out of the country. The government then imposed an austerity program and began negotiations with the IMF for a rescheduling of the staggering foreign debt. The plan followed by an autumn international support operation led by the IMF. The Cruzado Plan, which created a new currency (the cruzado), eliminated monetary correction, and froze wages and prices. While inflation plunged to near-zero initially, by mid-1987, it had surged beyond 100%, fueled by increased customer spending due to the price freeze. The careful timing helped avoid impediments to President Cardoso's electoral victory in October over Lula, his left-wing challenger. Three weeks later, the government announced a $22.5 billion package of spending cuts and tax hikes. Brazil now - as the Eighth largest economy in the world - is regularly mentioned in the world's financial press, but since capital started pouring out of the country in August 1998, hardly a day passes without articles referring to its crisis and the international repercussions. What was seen as a promising emerging market, in the hands of a safe economic team, has become one more global problem. Government Movements Towards The Economic Crisis In the mid-1980s, imports accounted for more than 70% of Brazil's oil and

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