Brazil: To the Life Boats!

I just got back from a 2-week trip to Brazil, and I have some updates for you:

• There were protests every other day.
• Only 30% of the promised infrastructure projects that the population would actually use after the world cup will be delivered.
• While in Brazil, I spoke to investors, merchants, managers, doctors, and blue collar workers about the World Cup, politics, and the economy. By far (from my own small sample), Brazilians are very unhappy.
• On average, our host cities for the World Cup have only 55% of their hotel rooms booked. 
• I noticed that the government is spending a huge amount of money on ads, trying to brainwash the population into being excited about the Cup and forget everything else. In a television ad that plays way too often, an actor portrays herself as a common citizen and states: "We, the people, are who make the World Cup a success, and we will make it good. Because this is our Cup, the best Cup of all." I hope that people don't buy that.
• Our economy is showing concerning signs. We have high inflation, manufacturing is slowing down, and wholesale & Real Estate prices continue to rise to alarming numbers. Plus, as Forbes published earlier this week:
• "Brazil’s worst drought in 50 years will have more than an impact on tomato prices (which rose over 20% recently).... The drought-inflicted food price shocks make the inflation outlook problematic. And that bodes poorly for interest rates. As capital becomes more expensive, Brazilian companies will invest less in growth. It gets worse. In June, the World Cup comes to the country. More demand means higher prices. Beyond the food component of inflation, many service prices are likely to be marked up for the tourists, and a good deal of those price hikes will likely last long after the FIFA fans vacate Brazil."
• Standard & Poor’s lowered Brazil’s investment grade rating from BBB to BBB-.
• Poor infrastructure, hefty taxes, a slaughtering bureaucracy, corruption, and the lack of accessible education of quality will continue to cripple productivity. 

I don't know what you're thinking, but this reality is pretty scary. After the World Cup and the Presidential Elections in October, Brazil is going to go through a really tough time. My only hope is that Dilma will not be reelected. Because if she is, Brazilians have no one to blame but themselves.

Before, I thought that losing the World Cup would be the best thing for Brazil, but maybe winning would be good for Brazilians after all. Soccer is not the root of our problems, but a horrible government is. Maybe the joy and pride of being the best in something will make all Brazilians believe that they deserve a better government.

For more information on Brazil read my previous post: "Brazil Must Win Outside of the Football Field"

Thanks for reading.

Best,
Pedro

Sources:
http://www.economist.com/news/americas/21602214-they-think-its-all-over-budget-pitch-imperfect
http://copadomundo.uol.com.br/noticias/redacao/2014/05/20/quase-metade-dos-hoteis-estao-vazios-a-23-dias-da-copa-diz-associacao.htm
http://www.forbes.com/sites/kenrapoza/2014/03/25/brazils-biggest-drought-in-decades-also-worsens-interest-rate-outlook/