Rio Crisis Affecting the State's Share in GDP

11/17/2017 - 12h38

In view of the collapse of international oil prices, Rio is leading the list of States which lost participation in 2015 GDP, according to the Brazilian Institute of Geography and Statistics (IBGE).

Ranked number two in domestic economy, Rio saw its share go from 11.6% in 2014, to 11% in 2015 -São Paulo is the leader, with 32.4%. The explanation, according to IBGE, is the State's revenue dependence on the oil industry, seeing oil prices fell by 25.2% in the international market.

The Brazilian government claims that issues related to the oil industry, also affected by Lava Jato investigation, are to blame for the drop in State's revenues - leading to delayed wages, and affecting the quality of public services.

As a result, the Southeast was the only area of the country which lost participation in the GDP of 2015, after a contraction of 3.5% in the country's economy. The area's share went from 54.9% to 54%, the sharpest drop since IBGE started collecting such data, in 2002.

The first year in which all States recorded GDP losses was 2015. The State with the best results in 2015 was Mato Grosso do Sul, with a 0.3% decrease in its GDP, partly due to agriculture.

	Antônio Gaudério/Folhapress
	Rio de Janeiro

Translated by ANA BEATRIZ DEMARIA

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