Economics
Brazil's Lost Decade: The Invisible Costs of an Epic Recession
- One in four young Brazilians is unemployed, govt data shows
- Investment in education, health and R&D has plummeted
Job seekers view a list of employment openings outside the Ministry of Labor and Employment in Rio de Janeiro.
Photographer: Dado Galdieri/BloombergThis article is for subscribers only.
The rise in street beggars and decaying infrastructure are perhaps the most obvious symptoms of Brazil’s economic and political meltdown. But it’s the less visible fallout -- like the cancellation of school lunches and the cuts to life-saving medical research -- that may leave its most devastating legacy.
Years of belt-tightening following the end of the commodities boom have squeezed government funding of education, health, research and policing. Fewer cops on the beat have led to more crime and more deforestation of the Amazon -- longstanding Brazilian problems that are back with a vengeance.