Yep, we're fucked.

"BlazinAce - Doctor of Internal Combustion" (pbs) 02/26/2015 at 18:29 • Filed to: None

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As if gas wasn't already expensive in Brazil under normal circumnstances, the current trucker strike that's paralyzed the country's logistics now threatens to drive prices up even further. Flatout.com.br reports some places in Paraná are already paying from 5 to 7 reais per litre of regular fuel, and the same is expected to happen here in Rio Grande do Sul. The trucker's strike is a direct consequence of disastrous economic policies taken in the last few years to artificially keep the country stable during the 2008 crash, and the subsequent loss of control of said policies, marked by the return of inflation, economic shrinkage and loss of purchasing power by all social segments, save for the very rich, that is, politicians.

And some people still think Brazil is an emerging economic power... We're done for, guys, absolutely finished.

For Sweden > BlazinAce - Doctor of Internal Combustion 02/26/2015 at 18:34

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Yeah, but you have Rio 2016, which is nice, I guess.

E. Julius > BlazinAce - Doctor of Internal Combustion 02/26/2015 at 18:34

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I started with BRICS, now all I've got is IC : /

BlazinAce - Doctor of Internal Combustion > For Sweden 02/26/2015 at 18:37

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I actually can't wait for that one. It's going to be such a disaster. Even if the World Cup managed to avoid being linked to the terrible moment the country's going through, the main theme during the olympics is definitely going to be what the government was thinking when they decided to blow even more cash hosting it.

That is, of course, assuming there is a Brazil in 2016.

BlazinAce - Doctor of Internal Combustion > E. Julius 02/26/2015 at 18:38

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For now, at least... The Economist recently published a cover showing an indian elephant taking off with side rocket pods. We all remember what happened the last time they did something like that. India is doomed, and The Economist is to blame hahaha....

GhostZ > BlazinAce - Doctor of Internal Combustion 02/26/2015 at 18:49

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You gotta one-up Sochi right?

SmoresTM Has No Chill (O==[][]==O) > BlazinAce - Doctor of Internal Combustion 02/26/2015 at 18:51

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At first I did the Real to USD conversion, and that wasn't so bad. And then I remembered you had your measurements in liters... Shit. $9.11 per gallon for regular. I would be walking to work.

BlazinAce - Doctor of Internal Combustion > GhostZ 02/26/2015 at 18:58

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We're gonna put them to shame!

BlazinAce - Doctor of Internal Combustion > SmoresTM Has No Chill (O==[][]==O) 02/26/2015 at 19:06

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Pretty much, now imagine you live in a country where violence runs rampant and even major avenues and streets on capital cities are pooly lit at night and it's not uncommon for people to be robbed and killed for carrying too little Money. Taxis are about as expensive and buses are about as unsafe. You kind of need a car to avoid being exposed to violence, but cars are expensive to buy and maintain. You could get an older car, but then the recent increases of etanol would eat it from the inside out. Doesn't matter how you look at it, Brazil has you cornered.

E. Julius > BlazinAce - Doctor of Internal Combustion 02/26/2015 at 19:13

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Ha I am a regular Economist reader and I'm always surprised by their covers. For having such a staid reputation, they have their fair share of completely wacky photoshop covers. Never fails to amuse me.

Oneofsevenbillion > BlazinAce - Doctor of Internal Combustion 02/26/2015 at 19:17

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In the words of Captain Jack Sparrow: "where's the rum gone?"

desertdog5051 > BlazinAce - Doctor of Internal Combustion 02/26/2015 at 19:39

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This whole article and comment string have given me a new insight into Brazil (Brasil?) that I never knew. I did not know your country was experiencing such difficulty. Most of the press articles you read here tout the "Arising Brazilian Superpower".

I have assumed your country prefers ethanol as a fuel? Is gasoline preferred or what is the ratio of gas to ethanol purchased?

lone_liberal > BlazinAce - Doctor of Internal Combustion 02/26/2015 at 19:39

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I work for a translation company and I know we were doing a lot of English-to-Brazilian Portuguese translations for corporations a couple of years ago and now we're doing almost none.

My citroen won't start > SmoresTM Has No Chill (O==[][]==O) 02/26/2015 at 19:42

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And I remind you, I get 12 mpg.

BlazinAce - Doctor of Internal Combustion > desertdog5051 02/26/2015 at 19:57

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Gas is preferred, by far. Ethanol is simply forced on us, at the ratio of 27% per litre of fuel. As for Brazil's economic issues, we've gotten to the point where the president went public to tell people to swap meat for eggs in meals. Couple that to a series of random bad circumnstances, like draught in the southeast, as well as the Petrobras scandal, and it' not the very best time to live here.

desertdog5051 > BlazinAce - Doctor of Internal Combustion 02/26/2015 at 20:45

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Sorry to hear that.

BlazinAce - Doctor of Internal Combustion > lone_liberal 02/26/2015 at 22:04

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That's probably because the business landscape over here is somewhat grim. Until a short while ago, the government and most media outlets used Eike Batista, who was then the 7th richest man in the world, as the poster boy for brazilian entrepeunering done right, the chosen one who would pave the way for unprecedented economic growth, the Prince of Brasil according to Lula and the National Champion according to Dilma. The few people who claimed he was a crook selling empty business proposals were shunned as traitors of the motherland, naysayers against the sucess of Brazil. Well, turns out those few were right. In just a few months, Eike Batista lost everything, and I mean absolutely everything, all he has to his name right now is a personal debt of over 1.5 billion dollars. His empire, built on inside trading and market manipulation is gone, casting a shadow over Brasil for foreign investors that won't just go away anytime soon. And then there's the Petrobras scandal...