While Americans fret about
India and
China, the country that is really making waves is
Brazil. Once subjected to outrageous spikes in inflation as well as devastating poverty, Brazil has turned a corner with its spectacular economic growth.
The boom is affecting regions that had long been economic backwaters. One state experiencing rapid growth is
Bahia, along with its namesake capital,
Salvador da Bahia. Once a poor laggard compared to the industrial regions surrounding
Rio de Janeiro, Sao Paulo, and Porto Alegre, Bahia has rates of growth that would leave most U.S. states envious. Agricultural commodities, new seaport facilities, and the promise of offshore oil--not to mention sugarcane ethanol--have led economic growth to reach an annual rate of 7.5 percent.
As
Matthew Cowley of the Wall Street Journal explains, growing exports and programs like Bolsa Familia, a largely successful social welfare program, have spurred Bahia’s economy to perform as well as the entire country taken as a whole.
Not everything is perfect in Bahia (as
Daniela Mercury, Brazil’s leading music star, demonstrates with her advocacy). Poverty is still rampant in isolated areas, environmental stewardship is a concern with farming’s rise in the
cerrado, and export-driven economies are subject to risk when the exporting nation’s currency is too strong.
But as I
repeat over and over again, Brazil is a political and economic force to be reckoned with. If a rising tide truly raises all boats, many of us had better start studying Portuguese and jump on board--the future is in Latin America’s largest economy.
Photo: a view Salvador da Bahia from the port, February 2010 (click to expand).
About The Author
Leon Kaye
Leon Kaye is the founder and editor of GreenGoPost.com and its advisory division,
GGP Media.
Contact him to discuss how he can work with your organization or event.
His focus is making the business case for sustainability and corporate social responsibility (CSR).
He writes for San Francisco-based
Triple Pundit,
Inhabitat and now
The Guardian, for which he writes about corporate responsibility, water, and green building. He has also written for AIA's
Architect Magazine.
Leon works out of Fresno and Silicon Valley, California, and when he has free time, he enjoys hiking, gardening, cooking, weightlifting, and planning his next trip to one of the 60 countries he has visited. He has an MBA from USC's Marshall School of Business and is also a proud graduate of the University of Maryland-Baltimore County (UMBC) and Cal State-Fresno.
While Americans fret about India and China, the country that is really making waves is Brazil. Once subjected to outrageous spikes in inflation as well as devastating poverty, Brazil has turned a corner with its spectacular economic growth.
The boom is affecting regions that had long been economic backwaters. One state experiencing rapid growth is Bahia, along with its namesake capital, Salvador da Bahia. Once a poor laggard compared to the industrial regions surrounding Rio de Janeiro, Sao Paulo, and Porto Alegre, Bahia has rates of growth that would leave most U.S. states envious. Agricultural commodities, new seaport facilities, and the promise of offshore oil--not to mention sugarcane ethanol--have led economic growth to reach an annual rate of 7.5 percent.
As Matthew Cowley of the Wall Street Journal explains, growing exports and programs like Bolsa Familia, a largely successful social welfare program, have spurred Bahia’s economy to perform as well as the entire country taken as a whole.
Not everything is perfect in Bahia (as Daniela Mercury, Brazil’s leading music star, demonstrates with her advocacy). Poverty is still rampant in isolated areas, environmental stewardship is a concern with farming’s rise in the cerrado, and export-driven economies are subject to risk when the exporting nation’s currency is too strong.
But as I repeat over and over again, Brazil is a political and economic force to be reckoned with. If a rising tide truly raises all boats, many of us had better start studying Portuguese and jump on board--the future is in Latin America’s largest economy.
Photo: a view Salvador da Bahia from the port, February 2010 (click to expand).
Pingback: Morro de São Paulo Still a Throwback to World without Automobiles | greengopost.com
Pingback: Brazil’s Growth Offers Wealth and Worry in The Northeast
Pingback: Brazil’s Growth Offers Wealth and Worry in The Northeast | greengopost.com