The industry does not grow and concern among economists and entrepreneurs about the future of the green-gold economy is growing. Because if it is true that Brazil has experienced a real economic boom in recent years, there are instead many uncertainties regarding industrial development in the medium term.
In these years, to drive economic growth in fact, it was mainly the consumption of the new Brazilian middle class. It is the so-called class C which sees the entry of new masses of citizens every year: in 2011 alone there were 2,7 million. And for the first time the middle class has reached 54% of the total population, about 103 million people. These are tens of millions of families with an average monthly income of 1.450 reais, about 603 euros, a figure that is often insufficient to lead a dignified life, but enough to boost consumption. However, they could suffer a setback given that Brazilian families are increasingly indebted.
The fear of many analysts is that when the boost provided by consumption runs out, the economy can brake sharply. For long-term development, an industry that can generate income and jobs is in fact necessary. Yet the data of recent months indicate that the contribution of industry to the gross domestic product is slowly but constantly decreasing.
There are various causes. Lappreciation of the real is one of the most important factors, to which must be added the high taxation and the constantly increasing cost of labour. Thanks to a strong currency, the purchasing power of Brazilians has risen, just as imports have increased. At the same rate, as mentioned, consumption also grew thanks to the improvement in wages, which however underwent a proportionally greater increase than productivity. In addition to labour, costs are also affected by the high price of electricity: Brazil is the third most expensive country in the world.
Also the cshortage of infrastructure (insufficient highways, practically non-existent rail transport, overloaded ports and airports) makes industrial expansion even more difficult. Finally, taxes deserve a separate chapter. Entrepreneurs are on a war footing and are asking the government for tax relief and incentive measures, also because public money is often mismanaged and is not invested where it should be, thus fueling the vicious circle: poor infrastructures force industry to proceed with handbrake on.
La President Dilma Rousseff In recent days, in a meeting with 28 Brazilian businessmen, it undertook to take all the necessary measures to defend national industry: "We have to lower taxes and we will lower them," said Rousseff, who then guaranteed greater state investments and it is said to be ready to take all countermeasures to stop the international "wave of liquidity". The president denies it, but new protectionist measures could be on the way.
