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BUMP for the article and one for your site, Nicollo.

Having spoken with some friends "down South", my fear is hearing from them how things have steadily taken a turn for the worse. My "adopted family" in Praia Grande tell me how hard it is for people to find work. They're in a resort town but own a business that does not rely on the tourism industry, but from what they tell me it's getting harder and harder to make a real.

The other aspects of the situation that concern me are the growth of the power of labor unions. Truckers, general utilities and other essential services have become strongholds for unions, with all of the socialist/communist propaganda being spread among it's members that you could expect. One trucker's strike down there while back resulted in rioting, looting, murder and general shut down an area near Sao Paulo for about a week. Not a pretty scene.

The point is that a person with the ability to manipulate such work stopages has the ability to paralize the country and cause vast spread chaos. It's as powerful as having an army at your disposal. Lula is a significant threat to Brasil because his politics are right along the lines of the labor unions.

At any rate, I'd sure hate to see him get elected. Then again, like in your post, I'd sure love to have my friend live within driving distance!

Tanta saudade por meu Brasil... Oh well. Nice place to visit, but there ain't no place like home.

The only worse time than during a general strike to get anything or get anywhere in Sao Paulo is during a World Cup game. At least, then, the bloodshed is in joy.

I haven't been there for five years or so, so I can't say how it is today. My banker friends seem calm about Brazil, but then again, they've had Argentina to deal with lately, so anything less bad is not worth the mention. Brazil is always on the edge of crisis. When I worked there we likened it to a roller coaster: you enjoy the free falls, then sit out the troughs. Seems there was never any inbetween.

I saw the transition from hyperinflation to the real, and it was all very discouraging. The problems are endemic: lack of property rights, unfair & unworkable tax codes (I had a client who bragged that he actually paid all his taxes... now there's a unique individual) and, the cause of it all, populist politics. Brazil is truly a case of how democracy can go wrong. They've practically copied our constitution, but they're weak on the bill of rights. If you scan our thread on de Tocqueville, some ideas might come to you. (Just occurred to me now, so I haven't given it much thought). I'll flag you & CinciWife over there & perhaps we'll have a few ideas.

Lula's danger is precisely as you mention, he's of by and for the unions. One wonders, though, what will happen when their boy gets in the saddle and they've got no one to complain about? These groups only work in opposition.

The reform spirit in South America has been poisoned by populism & socialism. It makes me sick to talk politics with a South American liberal; there's no hope. They want equality of outcome alone.

Best of luck to your friends there. I'm inclined now to look up my old buddies & see how they're making out. Perhaps they'll call me from Miami.

PS I see that my other S. American home, Paraguay, has made the list of "most corrupt" again. Poor Paraguay, so rich in soil and good people, and so spoiled by fools in power. Man, what's with the Spanish, anyway?