As concern spreads around the world about the global recession, Brazil continues to be held up as one of the few countries to offer the prospect of economic growth over the next few years.
To be sure, as the first quarter of 2008 came to an end, it was clear that Brazil had been hit harder by the financial crisis than many had expected. But even as forecasts for growth this year have sunk towards 1 per cent, the country’s government continues to insist the crisis will be short and shallow compared with the rest of the world.
