2012-09-10

Social mood in the headlines

The Brazilian Ego Falters Along With Country’s Economy
The news deflated hopes that Brazil had pulled out of the doldrums. Beyond that, it was a blow to the nation's collective ego. Ordinary Brazilians are unusually obsessed with their economy, until recently a source of great pride. The euphoria felt in December when Brazil overtook the UK to become the world’s sixth-largest economy turned to disappointment when the Economist Intelligence Unit wrote that the countries had again swapped positions.

...Commentators fretted about Brazil's losing its status as the dominant economy in Latin America to its northern rival, Mexico, which is now being discussed as the hot economy on the block.

Writing online for the business magazine Exame, economics reporter Beatriz Olivon pondered whether Brazil or Mexico would prevail. Olivon cited a blog by American investor Mark Mobius, a longtime champion of Brazilian growth, talking up Mexico’s prospects. Quoting a report by the Japanese bank Nomura putting odds on Mexico's outperforming Brazil, Olivon wrote that if that came to pass, "it would be the victory of a country with liberal economic policies and manufacturing production over a commodities exporter.”

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