In a speech she delivered at the United Nations on September 25, 2012, Brazilian President Dilma Rousseff criticized the economic policies of the United States and other wealthy nations.
Specifically, Dilma said that extreme austerity measures in the US and Europe, along with the devaluing of their currency by printing too much money, are having harmful effects on the economies of developing countries such as Brazil.
She strongly defended Brazil's recent tariff hikes as a "legitimate trade defense," and rejected the notion that such hikes constituted protectionism. Her comments came less than a week after a sharp exchange between US Trade Representative Ron Kirk and Brazil's Foreign Minister Antonio de Aguiar Patriota over these same tariffs.
Kirk had warned Patriota that the Brazilian tariff increases could result in retaliation from Brazil's trade partners. Patriota responded that the tariff hikes were necessary because US monetary policies had unleashed "a flood of imported goods at artificially low prices" in Brazil.
During her speech, Dilma went on to say: "We know from our own experience that the sovereign debt of states as well as the bank and financial debt will not be dealt with in the framework of a recession. On the contrary, recession only makes these problems more acute." She said that the choice between austerity and growth is a "false dilemma."
This echoes an argument made by some US economists and politicians, who point out that austerity measures in certain European countries have failed to improve their economies, and may have made the situation worse. Dilma's statement also highlights a fundamental difference between conservatives and liberals, with conservatives generally favoring a market solution to the economic crisis, and liberals supporting a more active role of government in solving the problem.
This echoes an argument made by some US economists and politicians, who point out that austerity measures in certain European countries have failed to improve their economies, and may have made the situation worse. Dilma's statement also highlights a fundamental difference between conservatives and liberals, with conservatives generally favoring a market solution to the economic crisis, and liberals supporting a more active role of government in solving the problem.
Brazil's economic growth has slowed down significantly in the past year, and Dilma's government is attempting to confront the problem.
Update: For a longer, more detailed synopsis of Dilma's remarks, including direct quotations (translated into English), check out the UN News Centre article here. There's also a video of her entire speech on the same page, but unfortunately, it only includes audio of the English translator.
Update 2: The video of Dilma's entire speech, in Portuguese without the translator, is now available:
Update: For a longer, more detailed synopsis of Dilma's remarks, including direct quotations (translated into English), check out the UN News Centre article here. There's also a video of her entire speech on the same page, but unfortunately, it only includes audio of the English translator.
Update 2: The video of Dilma's entire speech, in Portuguese without the translator, is now available:
Sources: Brazil Portal, Reuters UK
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