Brazil is a large country with a population of more than 190 million people. For this reason it is a position to command attention in world politics. It does not have an especially robust economy, in spite of efforts by the media to tell us otherwise. The NYT gives us another story today touting the success of Brazil's economy. While its economy has been performing better under the current administration than it did in the 80s or 90s, its economy has still not been growing rapidly in comparison with successful developing countries. Countries like China, India, and Russia, with whom Brazil is often compared, have enjoyed per capita GDP growth of more than 7 percent over the last 6 years. By comparison, Brazil's per capita GDP growth has averaged just 2.5 percent over this period. This rate of growth is weak for a developing country and makes Brazil one of the slower growing countries in Latin America over this period. While its growth rate exceeded that of Mexico (2.0 percent), it is well behind the growth rate of Argentina (7.5 percent), Chile and Columbia (both 3.6 percent), and Peru (4.9 percent). It would be helpful if the media would do a better job of putting Brazil's growth rate in perspective.
--Dean Baker
