Brasil, país do presente... de acordo como o Wall Street Journal

O jornal do Rupert Murdoch para banqueiros e outros capitalistas volta a destacar a boa forma da economia brasileira, mas destaca os desafios que ainda precisamos enfrentar antes de cumprirmos nosso potencial.

For Brazil, It's Finally Tomorrow - WSJ.com

Clearly, Brazil has turned a corner—and is now a nation with the heft, ambition and economic fundamentals to become a world power. But the country has enormous challenges it must overcome before it can fully live up to its potential.

De acordo com o artigo, as mudanças começaram nos anos 1990 quando foram adotadas medidas de responsabilidade fiscal que permitiram o acumulo de reservas para enfrentar as tempestades do capitalismo.

Things started changing in the 1990s. The government adopted strict monetary policies and a laser-like focus on balancing the books. That fiscal prudence has given the country remarkable cash reserves—and breathing room during crises.

Além disso, segundo o Wall Street Journal hoje existe um consenso político contra propostas econômicas irresponsáveis e populistas do passado em favor de uma mistura de regras favoráveis ao mercado e programas sociais.

Nem a promessa de ainda mais presença do Estado na economia da representada pela Dona Dilma assusta os banqueiros...

Even a pledge for a bigger state role in the economy by Dilma Rousseff, Mr. da Silva's outgoing chief of staff and his hand-chosen successor as the party's candidate, isn't scaring off the business community. "It's refreshing to have an election and see there's no fuss about either outcome," says Andrew Béla Jánszky, a Brazilian investment lawyer in the São Paulo office of Shearman & Sterling LLP. "For once, stability is almost a given."

Quanto aos "desafios" nenhuma grande novidade... O tamanho do Estado brasileiro...

Government spending totals more than 20% of the country's gross domestic product, compared with about 15% in the U.S., 13% in China and 7% in Indonesia, another fast-growing emerging market, according to data compiled by Mosaico Economia Política, a Brazilian consultancy.

Os problemas enfrentados por qualquer pessoa que queira montar um negócio por aqui como as leis trabalhistas inspiradas na política econômica fascista de Benito Mussolini que cria um imenso mercado informal..

Another problem is the restrictive business environment, especially strict labor laws that date back to the 1940s and were originally modeled on the statist policies of Mussolini. Because it costs so much to start companies and hire workers, many entrepreneurs and businesses stay in the black market and pay workers informally. That creates a massive underground economy that, according to a 2005 study by McKinsey & Co., accounts for up to 40% of Brazil's gross domestic product, takes about half of all urban jobs and drags overall economic growth by as much as 1.5% annually.

A infraestrutura precária de transportes... O WSJ destaca que novas estradas e aeroportos devem ser inaugurados para a Copa e Olimpiadas, mas é preciso mais que mudanças cosméticas.

Fabricantes, exportadores e transportadoras costumam esperar dias ou semanas devido aos rotineiros atrasos na burocracia alfandegária.

To casual observers, things will look better as Brazil gears up for hosting soccer's World Cup in 2014 and the Summer Olympics in Rio de Janeiro in 2016. New roads and airport terminals will be christened along with modernized stadiums and scenic, well-policed promenades. But manufacturers, exporters and shippers—who regularly wait days or weeks for backlogs in ports and customs facilities to clear—know Brazil needs more than just cosmetic changes.

Crime, violência e desrespeito aos direitos humanos...

Using the government's own statistics, a December report by Human Rights Watch disclosed that police in Rio and São Paulo together killed more than 1,000 people annually in recent years, many of them in execution-style "extrajudicial" killings.

Corrupção dos nossos políticos...

Brazil's politicians and legislators often run afoul of the law, as well. The country's Federal Police, its most respected law-enforcement body and the agency charged with fighting corruption, currently has nearly 30,000 active investigations related to public corruption and fraud, according to a recent report. The deposed governor of Brasília, Brazil's capital, at the moment sits in jail awaiting trial over alleged kickbacks from public construction projects.

... e, finalmente, nosso sistema educacional público, gratuito e de qualidade para poucos...

Then there's public education. Brazil has a popular welfare program that helps needy children by paying parents to keep them in school rather than send them out to help put food on the table. But schools themselves remain underfunded and the quality of education remains poor. Outdated university statutes mean that the best colleges, which are public and free, get filled by wealthy students from private high schools, while poorer students, the products of public schools, get stuck paying for second-rate degrees at costly classrooms in strip malls and fly-by-night academies.

Alguns problemas brasileiros como a corrupção, a violência com direito a violações dos direitos humanos e a melhoria da infraestrutura independem de ideologia e deveriam estar acima das disputas partidárias pelo poder. Não vejo desculpas honestas para não resolver essas questões.

Tamanho do Estado, política trabalhista e a educação pública ainda despertam paixões polarizadas entre as muitas viúvas de stalin e os demagogos da direita. IMHO, são 3 temas que precisam ser discutidos com mais seriedade e menos ideologia.

Entretanto, duvido que virem temas das próximas eleições... Políticos costumam preferir ser enérgicos e firmes apenas nos temas que não causam polêmica.