By BENICIO VIERO SCHMIDT*
Comments on recent events
The highlight of the week is the start of the national vaccination operation, which takes place after some scandals and alleged crimes committed by the government led by Captain Bolsonaro. General Eduardo Pazuello is being blamed for the lack of oxygen in Manaus, that is, for the mismanagement of an announced crisis, predicted in advance by both local authorities and some national medical authorities, such as former Minister Mandetta.
Ford's departure from Brazil stems, in part, from the obsolescence of an industrial sector that is already under pressure to migrate from fossil fuels to electricity and other means, but it is also a symptom of Brazil's growing deindustrialization. This crisis – announced since 1997 by several economists – has deepened. The government of the state of São Paulo released a frightening statistic last week. In the last year every day 17 industries closed their doors in Brazil.
This is really alarming, as it indicates that, if it continues like this, Brazil will never overcome the situation of a middle-income country, with economic activity concentrated in low-quality services and with a high degree of imports of industrialized products. A serious problem; signaling the need for structural planning of the Brazilian economy, which today is based on a very closed industrial park and still stuck to outdated standards of technology.
The Emergency Aid, which ended on December 31, will remain, in practice, for 20 million people during the month of January, half of the contingent that received it in previous months. An extension arising from distribution according to dates of birth and other procedures. It is not known what will happen from February. The pressure for the return of emergency aid resurfaces, in view of the growth in unemployment, which is already above 14%, and the mass closure of companies. The panorama is not very optimistic for the Brazilian economy.
We will have succession in Brazil on February XNUMXst, the exchange of presidents of the Chamber and of the Senate. Both the House and the Senate have very similar candidates. In the case of the Chamber, with the exception of deputy Luiza Erundina who, breaking the agreement of the parliamentary left to support Baleia Rossi, launched her name for PSOL. This increases the risk of not having a second round, as fewer votes for Baleia Rossi could give victory to Arthur Lira and thus ratify the Executive's control over the future of the Federal Chamber. In the Senate, the election appears to be of the same nature as in the Chamber. Very similar candidates, with the difference that Simone Tebet's candidacy advocates a greater commitment to the democratic rites of the house. A proposition still very abstract. A deepening of the discussion is expected until the election on February XNUMXst.
Finally, it is important to highlight the resumption of national pots, so well known during the presidency of Dilma Rouseff, removed from power in 2016. They are now resurfacing against President Jair M. Bolsonaro and his genocidal policy of treating the coronavirus in the country. For now, it is a sign that the people and especially the middle classes are dissatisfied with the government's behavior.
*Benicio Viero Schmidt is a retired professor of sociology at UnB. Author, among other books, of The State and urban policy in Brazil (LP&M).