Indeed, all of these indicators have shown small declines over the past two to three months, although the overall economic picture is somewhat brighter, with one in 10 Brazilians currently unemployed and inflation at 8.73% in August, compared with month last year.
The President, who has long been described as business-friendly, also argued that privatization and deregulation under his administration have fostered a better economic environment in the country and called for that model of governance to continue — a not-so-subtle appeal for re-election.
Right-wing Bolsonaro faces leftist former president Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva at the polls in October and appeared to hit him squarely in his speech, telling the assembled world leaders: “Only between 2003 and 2015, when the left ruled. for Brazil, Petrobras’ debt due to mismanagement, political subdivision and deviations reached $170 billion,” he said, referring to the state-owned oil company.
“The person responsible for this was unanimously convicted in three cases,” he continued, an unmistakable reference to da Silva, whose conviction was overturned by Brazil’s Supreme Court in March 2021 — paving the way for the former leader to mount a political challenge to Bolsonaro this year .
Socially conservative themes from Bolsonaro’s election campaign also came up during his speech at the UN. “Other fundamental values for Brazilian society, reflected in the human rights agenda, are the defense of the family, the right to life from conception, self-defense and the rejection of gender ideology,” he said.
Brazil’s domestic politics are nothing new to many in New York, with pro-Bolsonaro supporters and detractors airing their views on the streets around the UN headquarters.
