) For more than a decade, Brazil has plummeted in the Heritage Foundation’s Index of Economic Freedom. Last year, after a small improvement in 2020, the country lost points again. This time, the index published by Gazeta do Povo
) in partnership with Instituto Monte Castelo brings good news: Brazil climbed ten positions in the ranking, jumping from 143ª for 133 th position. However, the interpretation of the advance requires care: even with the advance, the country remains in the ditch of the “mostly non-free”, below Saudi Arabia (118 th position), from Nicaragua (122 th position) and Ukraine (98 th position) in a list of 118 nations. This is a reflection of measures adopted in recent years that, although positive , are insufficient to leverage the country’s development. The index itself also considers that the country’s improvement may be linked to the worsening of other nations’ scores in the midst of the pandemic. In its current position, Brazil is still closer to the bottom of the ranking – made up of Cuba, Venezuela and North Korea – than to the top, where Singapore, Switzerland and Ireland are. “Looking at the result as the glass ‘half full’, we see the results of the economic freedom law and reforms that began in the Michel Temer government and lasted until the first year of the Bolsonaro government. This obviously gives a positive bias to Brazil”, evaluates economist Gabriel Torres, president of the Institute of Business Studies (IEE). “But when we look at the general trend, it seems that we are navigating in the same place, which gives the impression that the changes
were insufficient. We have, on the one hand, the problems caused by the pandemic – which generated excesses, abuses and erroneous measures in all spheres of power – and, on the other hand, the same animosities fomented by the federal government that overlap the reformist agenda”, he explains. “There is an effort that started in the Temer government and that approved important reforms such as labor and social security, changes in BNDES interest policy, spending ceiling. On the other hand, the reformist impetus lost strength and setbacks took place, the most dangerous being the ceiling”, evaluates Roberto Ellery, professor at the Department of Economics at the University of Brasília.“The situation became more serious with the government’s strategy of approaching Centrão, which compromised transformations
important – the best example was the privatization of Eletrobrás – and it brought setbacks such as the budget secret. The abandonment of the reform agenda to tackle corruption is another example of a retreat from the reformist agenda”, he pointed out. The example of other countries
The Index of Economic Freedom itself warns that the United States has lost points within the “mostly free” category. “Its fiscal health score this year of 0 points is unprecedented,” the document states. The assessment is supported by the Master in Economics and Markets from Universidade Presbiteriana Mackenzie, Allan Augusto Gallo Antônio. “The United States has stumbled badly when it comes to the fiscal health of the country. The pandemic contributed to the chaotic environment, but it must be remembered that Democrats have a tendency to put this issue in the background. If the country wants to maintain its pre-pandemic level, it will be necessary to work on measures that reduce government spending, give more freedom to the labor market and, above all, reduce the heavy tax burden on the rise”, evaluates the expert. It is worth remembering that the index of 15190607 refers to the period between the second semester of 1995 and the first of 2021. The fall of Australia and the New Zealand and the entry of Luxembourg, Taiwan and Estonia in the list of countries considered “free”. Regarding Estonia, economist Gabriel Torres explains: “the country has advanced a lot in its digital citizenship projects, which consists of allowing its public to have a company based in the country even if they live elsewhere. This attracts a lot of labor and generates a much lower tax burden. As a country with few natural resources, Estonia realized that the ability to innovate has great long-term value in economies and services.” The Heritage Foundation is a conservative think-tank based in the United States, responsible for publishing the Daily Signal, a partner of Gazeta do Povo. Its Index of Economic Freedom, published since 2020, is one of the most respected in the world. 15190607 15190607
