S\u00e3o Paulo \u2013 Optimistic, though moderate. Such is the vision for the future of the world and Brazilian economies, according to Antonio Delfim Netto, Luiz Gonzaga Belluzzo and Luiz Carlos Mendon\u00e7a de Barros, three of the most respected economists in Brazil, who participated this Wednesday in S\u00e3o Paulo (17th) in the seminar \u201cPerspectives in economic relations between Brazil and the Arab countries \u2013 60 years of the Arab Brazilian Chamber of Commerce,\u201d promoted by the Arab Brazilian Chamber of Commerce <\/b>and newspaper Valor Econ\u00f4mico<\/i>.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe good news is the world isn\u2019t going to end. Despite the insistence of some,\u201d said Delfim, the former minister of Finance, during the panel \u201cThe world financial crisis and the state of the economy.\u201d To him, despite the uncertainty surrounding the European debt crisis, authorities in the continent will tend to reach an agreement to prevent the Eurozone from disintegrating. \u201cIt is no use to say the Greeks had too much to eat, because they have no way of \u2018uneating\u2019,\u201d he said. <\/p>\n
The statement is based on the assumption that the political will of governments must prevail over the cold analysis of figures. Tax increases in countries such as Spain, Greece and Portugal caused the economic situation to worsen and triggered a wave of protests. Germany, the largest economy in the continent, is resisting loosening its tax policy. \u201cThe mechanisms imposed are cruel and will not produce results,\u201d said Netto.<\/p>\n
\u201cGermany must act as a \u2018hegemonic power\u2019 in the sense of being responsible for those it \u2018hegemonizes\u2019 over,\u201d said Belluzzo. \u201cThe Greek were eating, but they were meeting their needs through imports [of products] from Germany, which was the main beneficiary [of the indebtment process of European countries which led to the crisis],\u201d he added.<\/p>\n
Mendon\u00e7a de Barros, the former minister of Telecommunications, said some time will pass before European leaders reach a consensus, but said: \u201cThe collapse of the euro would trigger a second crisis wave.\u201d <\/p>\n
He said that, in a scenario completely reverse to that of the crisis of the 1990s, Brazil could be able to export its experience in debt control. At that time the country was a major debtor and no one imagined that developed nations could attain the level of indebtedness that they have attained. As examples, the economists mentioned the renegotiation of debts of Brazilian states with the Federal Government, and the approval of the Fiscal Responsibility Act. <\/p>\n
At the European Union, however, there is a complicating factor: the bloc has monetary unity but no fiscal unity, and that hampers consensus on the actions to be taken in this respect. <\/p>\n
That is where political action enters the scene. \u201cCapitalism is not going to end,\u201d said Netto. \u201cBut no market economy exists without a strong state which is capable of regulating economic activity, particularly financial activity,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n
To the economists, the 1929 crisis and the New Deal of the United States president Franklin Delano Roosevelt, which boosted the world out of recession, had already proved that, but human memory is short-lived. \u201cThat confirms the bankers\u2019 temptation to return to the crime scene,\u201d Delfim said ironically.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt seems as though people have had a mental regression in terms of ideology and politics, I who knows!,\u201d agreed Belluzzo, citing the German prime minister Angela Merkel resistance in allowing the European Central Bank to implement deeper actions to fight the crisis. <\/p>\n
With regard to the US, the view is more moderate. \u201cI look at the US economy and I see a healing process,\u201d said Mendon\u00e7a de Barros. Netto added, however, that the presidential elections in the country, in November, add uncertainty to the scenario. \u201cThe world may suffer a serious blow in case [Mitt] Romney wins, because he manifests very complicated prejudices which may cause the crisis to increase,\u201d he said. <\/p>\n
For Brazil, Mendon\u00e7a de Barros said he has an \u201coptimistic, but realistic\u201d growth estimate of 3% to 3.5% for the next few years. \u201cI believe that 2013 will be marked by a a rebound in investment, especially in countries like ours, which are isolated from the centre of the crisis,\u201d he said. <\/p>\n
Arabs <\/b> <\/p>\n
The economists also reviewed the potential for business with Arab countries. Mendon\u00e7a de Barros said his company, Quest, has Abu Dhabi funds among its clients, and that after a period in which business contacts were frozen due to the crisis, they are interested in opportunities in Brazil again.<\/p>\n
According to Netto, there is \u201cample room\u201d for increasing business. He said vice president Michel Temer, who is of Lebanese origin, is especially keen on fostering trade with the Arabs.<\/p>\n
Belluzzo said Brazilian diplomacy plays an important role in that respect because of its conciliatory stance, which paves the way for relations to grow. \u201cRelations tend to increase for mutual benefit,\u201d he said. <\/p>\n
The Arab Brazilian Chamber president, Salim Taufic Schahin, said the seminar was \u201ca success.\u201d The event was attended by 326 people, including businessmen, consultants, students and diplomats. Schahin said there are still questions to be answered regarding the potential of relations between Brazil and the Arab world, which may serve as a hook for another meeting of the type in the future. <\/p>\n
*Translated by Gabriel Pomerancblum<\/b><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
Delfim Netto, Luiz Gonzaga Belluzzo and Luiz Carlos Mendon\u00e7a de Barros believe in better days for the international scenario. They were in a seminar held by the Chamber and newspaper Valor Econ\u00f4mico.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1454,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_monsterinsights_skip_tracking":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_active":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_note":"","_monsterinsights_sitenote_category":0,"footnotes":""},"categories":[91],"tags":[],"class_list":{"0":"post-42904","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","6":"category-economy"},"wps_subtitle":"Delfim Netto, Luiz Gonzaga Belluzzo and Luiz Carlos Mendon\u00e7a de Barros believe in better days for the international scenario. They were in a seminar held by the Chamber and newspaper Valor Econ\u00f4mico.","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/anba.com.br\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/42904","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\/1454"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/anba.com.br\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=42904"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/anba.com.br\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/42904\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/anba.com.br\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=42904"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/anba.com.br\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=42904"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/anba.com.br\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=42904"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}