{"id":255877,"date":"2019-09-02T07:00:25","date_gmt":"2019-09-02T10:00:25","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/anba.com.br\/?p=255877"},"modified":"2019-09-04T16:04:21","modified_gmt":"2019-09-04T19:04:21","slug":"zeina-latif-i-got-my-work-ethic-from-my-parents","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/anba.com.br\/en\/zeina-latif-i-got-my-work-ethic-from-my-parents\/","title":{"rendered":"Zeina Latif: \u2018I got my work ethic from my parents\u2019"},"content":{"rendered":"

S\u00e3o Paulo \u2013 \u201cThe choice of my career wasn\u2019t influenced by my parents, but my focus on work was. I learned it from them,\u201d said Zeina Latif (pictured<\/em>), the chief economist with Brazilian investment firm XP Investimentos.<\/a>\u00a0Speaking with ANBA, this daughter to a Palestinian father and Brazilian mother of Portuguese descent discussed her family, her ties with Palestine, her work, and the scenario in Brazil.<\/p>\n

Zeina Latif\u2019s father Ibrahim Abdel Latif moved from Palestine to Brazil in 1958, without speaking Portuguese or knowing anyone in the country. \u201cHe was a door-to-door salesman for some time. After a while, since he was somewhat educated, he taught English lessons and started working for industrial companies. He spoke English and he\u2019d gone to trade school. Back then Palestine was a British colony, so he had access to a good school, despite his humble background. Little by little, he built a career, but he arrived in Brazil in a situation where he had to struggle,\u201d said Latif.<\/p>\n

The economist is the youngest of four siblings, and said they were all treated the same at home. \u201cWhat I find very admirable about my father is he didn\u2019t treat me different on account of my being a woman. I have a brother and two sisters, and the demands were the same for all of us \u2013 whether it be school grades or being responsible, – from my father and my father. That was always a value. Seeing my parents go to work and coming home late surely was an influence. It was an inspiration to us,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n

Her father didn\u2019t finish college, but her now-deceased mother Arminda Borges Latif graduated in Biology from the University of S\u00e3o Paulo (USP) and worked as a schoolteacher. \u201cMy father, a Muslim, converted to Christianity to marry my mother, and married a more educated woman than him. Anyone who does that displays lots of flexibility. He always taught us to care for our family roots, because there used to be and still is a lot of prejudice against Muslims and Palestinians. He taught us a straight, ethical conduct at work,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n

Latif was born in Campinas, where she lived before going to college for Economics at USP, where she also completed master\u2019s and doctorate degrees in the same subject. She\u2019s lived in S\u00e3o Paulo ever since. \u201cMy choosing a career as an economist was more of a result of Brazil\u2019s economic scenario in the 1980s, a time when I was in the process of picking a profession and the news about the economy blared into our homes. Brazil was a confused country, with inflation spiraling out of control, nasty crises, and I found out that it sparked my interest,\u201d she recalled.<\/p>\n

\u201cWhere my parents did influence me was my focus in my professional life. Everything my father achieved was through his work, so he taught us work ethic. Despite his humble background, my father had an education. On my mother\u2019s side, my grandparents were also very humble, and my mother left the S\u00e3o Paulo countryside for the capital to get an education, at a time when it wasn\u2019t usual for women to go to college. So, of course, this work ethic and this valuing of education were key throughout my formative years,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a>
Latif participated in Brazil-Arab countries Economic Forum in 2018<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Latif also learned to save money from her parents. \u201cThey had two different styles. Arabs are skilled in business, and the Portuguese have that European culture of being very frugal. The European are prudent, they don\u2019t waste resources. They\u2019ve been through wars. So I got my mother\u2019s frugality and my father\u2019s knack for trade. He can find a good point of sale, he has a talent for negotiations. Sadly, I didn\u2019t inherit my father\u2019s knack for business, but I did learn from them to think about the future,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n

Her work as a chief economist, according to Latif, doesn\u2019t involve negotiating. \u201cI\u2019m a consultant. I make analyses, diagnoses of what\u2019s going on in the economy, whether the scenario is more or less dangerous, what is likelier to happen, which sector might perform better, the political and international risks\u2026 That\u2019s what I do,\u201d she explained.<\/p>\n

Palestine<\/strong><\/p>\n

Zeina Latif visited Palestine once, over ten years ago. \u201cMy family is quite numerous. It took four days just to meet the entire family. We kept in touch, but I plan to go back soon and see other Arab countries,\u201d she said. Out of the 22 Arab countries, besides Palestine, Latif has also been to Jordan.<\/p>\n

Although she didn\u2019t learn to speak Arabic from her father, she does intend to study the language eventually. \u201cThroughout his life, my father\u2019s challenge was surviving, adapting to a new culture and speaking Portuguese correctly, so he wouldn\u2019t speak Arabic with us. Only later on, in our teens, did he begin to teach us some, and my brothers married Arabs, but I didn\u2019t, so I didn\u2019t learn. I do speak a few words, but I\u2019d like to learn in order to communicate better with my family. Maybe someday, when life isn\u2019t so hectic, maybe I\u2019ll do it,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n

Investing<\/strong><\/p>\n

Latif believes Brazilians need to learn to save money, to plan for old age, because they\u2019re living longer now. Diversifying one\u2019s investments, according to the economist, is key for boosting yields and protecting oneself through volatile times. \u201cIt\u2019s very important to save up at this time of uncertainty. The international scenario is challenging, and domestically we have the challenge of making fiscal adjustments, since the Social Security reform alone isn\u2019t enough. And then there\u2019s all the questions of how to achieve sustained growth in Brazil. Right now we have lower interest rates, but this is still a risk economy,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n

International<\/strong><\/p>\n

The economist discussed Brazil\u2019s trade in light of the international landscape. \u201cWe\u2019re in a world scenario that is almost stagnant. There\u2019s room to grow with the Arabs, but we\u2019re in a pretty good position. Some political statements caused some friction, but I think pragmatism has prevailed in our relations, as you can see by the signing of the free trade agreement between Mercosur and the European Union. Producing in Brazil is very expensive, tough; we have the current environmental issues, and I don\u2019t know how this will impact things. It\u2019s a very challenging moment. It\u2019s been hard to increase our market share, our exported volume, in a world with stagnant trade,\u201d she stated.<\/p>\n

Brazil Summit<\/strong><\/p>\n

Zeina Latif will participate in Brazil Summit<\/a> held by British magazine The Economist<\/em> in October 24. \u201cI\u2019ll discuss my concerns regarding this international scenario and its impact in Brazil, and also the challenges we face here for keeping up with 3.5% world growth like we managed before, and the path and its risks,\u201d she concluded, pointing out that this occurred in both the Lula and Fernando Henrique Cardoso administrations. According to her, Brazil\u2019s growth this year is expected to reach 1% at best.<\/p>\n

Translated by Gabriel Pomerancblum & Guilherme Miranda<\/strong><\/p>\n

Press Release\/XP Investimentos<\/div>\n
Rodrigo Rodrigues \/C\u00e2mara \u00c1rabe<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

The chief economist with XP Investimentos is the daughter to a Palestinian father and a Brazilian-born mother of Portuguese descent. She told ANBA about her family, her ties with Palestine, her work, and the scenario in Brazil.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2305,"featured_media":255867,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_monsterinsights_skip_tracking":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_active":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_note":"","_monsterinsights_sitenote_category":0,"footnotes":""},"categories":[3066],"tags":[9649,6808,10713,10970,10995,10545,10972,10997,10973,9897,10971,10974,10963,10724,10725],"class_list":{"0":"post-255877","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-society","8":"tag-arab-en","9":"tag-arabe-en-2","10":"tag-brazil-summit-en","11":"tag-economist","12":"tag-economista-ar","13":"tag-economy-en","14":"tag-ibrahim-latif-en","15":"tag-pai-palestino-ar","16":"tag-pai-palestino-en","17":"tag-palestine-en","18":"tag-palestinian-father","19":"tag-xp-en","20":"tag-xp","21":"tag-xp-investimentos-en","22":"tag-zeina-latif-en"},"wps_subtitle":"The chief economist with XP Investimentos is the daughter to a Palestinian father and a Brazilian-born mother of Portuguese descent. She told ANBA about her family, her ties with Palestine, her work, and the scenario in Brazil. ","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/anba.com.br\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/255877","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/anba.com.br\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/anba.com.br\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/anba.com.br\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2305"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/anba.com.br\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=255877"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/anba.com.br\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/255877\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/anba.com.br\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/255867"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/anba.com.br\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=255877"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/anba.com.br\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=255877"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/anba.com.br\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=255877"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}