Foreigners Await Definition of Political Scenario to Invest in Brazil

10/23/2017 - 11h01

Last month foreign investors in New York and Washington, D.C., were shown in different meetings with Brazil's Finance Minister Henrique Meirelles, and the president of the Central Bank, Ilan Goldfajn, and even with President Michel Temer, an optimistic report on how Brazil is on its way to leave the recession behind and the new positive scenario promised by the agenda of reforms.

The message, partly attested by the forecasted growth in the country's G.D.P. (Gross Domestic Product) and the decline in unemployment, however, was received in the U.S. with dismay. The problem is the political uncertainty expected next year.

Investors and businessmen interviewed by Folha unanimously highlighted the 2018 elections as a factor that has limited bolder movements when investing in Brazil.

Their main concern is whether the next government will continue President Temer's reforms - and whether the fiscal reform, which they consider the most important, will take off.

Concerns regarding the elections was the main issue in virtually every conservation the head economist of Rio Bravo Investimentos, Evandro Buccini, had with foreign investors in New York and Washington, D.C., two weeks ago.

Buccini says that, if Brazil were facing a "calmer" fiscal situation, the issue of the election would not be that relevant. "However, that is not the case. They worry whether the winning candidate will approve the reforms."

Translated by THOMAS MUELLO

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	Adriano Machado/Reuters
	Brazil's President Michel Temer (L) and Finance Minister Henrique Meirelles attend a ceremony in Brasilia, Brazil