Economic management Dilma's management of the
Brazilian economy began as a continuation of the policy adopted by the
Lula government. Dilma was expected to be influenced by her predecessor, but she soon revealed her own idealism and leadership style, although Lula remained an influencer until the end of her government. Her government began with the departure of
Henrique Meirelles from the presidency of the Central Bank, after eight years at the head of the institution, and the return of
Alexandre Tombini, who, in his inauguration speech, defended a solid and efficient financial system as a condition for sustainable growth. Dilma opted for Guido Mantega as finance minister. A study of the government's first year in office, conducted by the Centre for Research and Support for Workers in partnership with the Humanitas Institute of
Unisinos, found that the principles that guided its initial actions derived from a developmentalist or interventionist model, in which the state plays an important role in regulating and fostering economic growth, as well as defining strategies for growth. Despite the initial crisis she faced with her ministers, the government was not deeply damaged. Some major economic difficulties arose from the change in the international context, reducing the favourable environment for national growth that Lula had found in his first government, and bringing unexpected challenges to the original plans, lowering expectations.
Macroeconomics Measures were implemented at the beginning of Dilma's government that included policies of strong public intervention in the economy, combining monetary policy with a reduction in interest rates and fiscal policy with control in investment, increased spending, subsidies and intervention in prices. This policy became known as the new economic matrix and was identified as one of the causes of the
2014 crisis. Between 2010 and 2014, Brazil was the country that dropped the most positions in the world competitiveness ranking, falling from 38th place to 54th among the 60 economies analysed by the
International Institute for Management Development (IMD) and the
Fundação Dom Cabral. The study evaluated the conditions offered by countries so that the companies that operate in them can be successful nationally and internationally, promoting growth and improvements in the living conditions of their population. The criteria assessed in the analysis are: economic performance, infrastructure and the efficiency of their governments and companies. During Dilma's first term in office, Brazil achieved the best competitiveness index in an annual list published by the
World Economic Forum, which analyses 118 variables grouped into 12 different categories. In the meantime, in 2012, Brazil's trade balance recorded a surplus of US$19.43 billion. Compared to 2011, when the positive balance totaled US$29.79 billion, there was a drop of 34.75%, the worst performance in 10 years. In the following years, the results were even weaker. In 2013, the Brazilian trade balance had a surplus of US$2.56 billion, the worst result for a year since 2000, when there was a deficit of US$731 million. In 2014, there was a deficit of US$3.93 billion, the first since 2000. Also in 2013, according to the Central Bank, the current account of Brazil, one of the main indicators of the state of the Brazilian economy (a figure which includes the results of the trade balance and other unrelated operations involving the inflow or outflow of capital – services and income), closed 2013 with an unprecedented deficit of US$81.37 billion. As a result, the deficit surpassed the negative result recorded in 2012 (-US$54.23 billion, an all-time record for a closed year), with an increase of 50%. In 2014, the deficit was even higher: US$90.9 billion (later revised to US$103.98 billion).
Budget In February 2011, the government announced a record R$50 billion cut in the federal budget for the same year, equivalent to 1.2% of the
gross domestic product (GDP). The justification for the cut was that the spending block was a way for the government to try to combat inflationary pressures, and consequently allow a "softer" policy for the basic interest rate. Minister of Finance
Guido Mantega also explained that the measure was also part of the process of reversing all the stimuli made to the Brazilian economy between 2009 and 2010 to avoid the negative effects of the
2008 financial crisis. During the
election campaign in which she emerged victorious, both Dilma and her opponent José Serra denied that they would make adjustments of this kind to the public accounts. In the record budget cut, the
Minha Casa, Minha Vida Programme received a reduction of more than R$5 billion in government transfers, despite the government's claim that spending on social programmes and
PAC (Programa de Aceleração do Crescimento) investments would be fully maintained. According to
Miriam Belchior, Dilma's chosen Minister for Planning, Budget and Management, the reduction in spending was related to the fact that the second part of Minha Casa Minha Vida has not yet been approved by Congress. The programme aimed to provide two million homes by 2014, 60% of them for low-income families. Dilma suspended the hiring of those approved in public tenders and the holding of new selection processes during 2011, as a way of containing government spending, which had been considered high in years leading up to it. Nothing was said about the suspension during her campaign.
Economic development and innovation data The Programa de Aceleração do Crescimento 2 was launched on 29 March 2010 and provided for resources in the order of R$1.59 trillion in a series of segments, such as transport, energy, culture, the environment, health, social areas and housing. There are 6 areas of investment in PAC 2: Cidade Melhor, Comunidade Cidadã, Minha Casa, Minha Vida, Água e Luz Para Todos (expansion of Luz para Todos), Transportation and Energy. Sanitation was also included, with a total investment of R$2.8 billion for 635 municipalities throughout the country. Data from the 8th PAC 2 balance sheet revealed that "of the total R$665 billion invested up to 31 August 2013, R$217.4 billion (33.2%) refers to housing finance. Another 178.3 billion (27.2%) was invested by state-owned companies, including Petrobras. The private sector was responsible for R$129.9 billion (19.8%), and the Minha Casa, Minha Vida Program for another R$60.3 billion in investments (9.2%)". For official sources, the programme had contracted 3.2 million housing units by March 2014, with investments of R$205 billion. The
Brazilian Association of Infrastructure and Basic Industries (ABDIB), which brings together major infrastructure companies, said in an official statement that, for several reasons, the model of favouring management and public budget resources to expand infrastructure in recent years has been outdated. According to the association, two successive programmes – PAC 1 and PAC 2 – brought some innovations in control and risk analysis, but still failed to significantly meet the expected results. In the opinion of
Michael Reid, one of the editors of
The Economist magazine, PAC 2 had brought more problems than solutions. In an interview in October 2013, he said:Brazil came through the
2008 financial crisis well, but then started to go off the rails a bit. Partly because all over the world the forces behind the wave of growth began to run out of steam. But I also think that the government has learned the wrong lesson from the crisis, that the solution lies in state capitalism, as the
Beijing Consensus says (the nickname given to the Chinese growth model, which involves principles of economic openness and a lot of state intervention in the economy). That's why there's a very negative business mood at the moment. In 2013, Brazil was in 64th place in the same ranking. The indicator was released by the
World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO),
Cornell University (USA) and
INSEAD. The ranking considers 84 indicators to evaluate elements of the national economy that favour innovation activities, such as institutions, human capital and research, infrastructure, business improvement, as well as evidence manifested in knowledge and technology and creative results. The five countries considered to be innovation champions are Switzerland, Sweden, the United Kingdom, the
Netherlands and the USA.
GDP In June 2011, the
IBGE released the first GDP figures of the Dilma government. According to the institute, the Brazilian economy grew by 1.3% in the first quarter of 2011 compared to the fourth quarter of 2010, when GDP had expanded by 0.8% over the third quarter. Compared to the first quarter of 2010, GDP grew by 4.20%. On 26 December, several British newspapers reported that Brazil had overtaken the United Kingdom to become the world's sixth largest economy, the first time that Brazil's GDP had surpassed the UK's. The data comes from the
Centre for Economics and Business Research. In March 2012, the IBGE reported that the GDP in Dilma's first year in office grew by 2.7%, a performance below that expected by the financial market and by sectors of the government, such as the Ministry of Finance, which had forecast an expansion of around 3% for 2011. In 2012, GDP grew by 0.9%, also below what the market and the government expected at the start of the year. The figure was later revised to a 1% expansion, according to the IBGE. In 2013, despite the unfavourable scenario experienced by most of the world's economies, GDP grew by 2.3%. The result was below the government's initial estimates for the year, but surprised financial market economists, who were expecting a smaller expansion. In relation to the 13 main world economies that released their 2013 results, Brazil had the third highest growth – behind only China (7.7%) and
South Korea (2.8%). Representing the financial market,
Monica Baumgarten de Bolle, a professor at
PUC-RJ and director of the Galanto consultancy, said that the better-than-expected performance of the economy in 2013 could dispel the pessimistic assessments that were beginning to emerge in the country. She said:This will create a reality shock for the country's economy. Pessimism does not result in recession or a fall in GDP. On 11 March 2015, the IBGE released GDP results based on a new methodology, as recommended by the
European Commission, IMF, UN and
World Bank. Economic growth in 2011 went from 2.7% to 3.9% and in 2012 and 2013, from 1% and 2.5% to 1.8% and 2.7% respectively. The 2014 GDP, which was released using the new methodology, grew by 0.1%, resulting in an average of 2.2% per year in the first term, the lowest since the
Collor government. According to a 2014 report by the International Monetary Fund, Brazil was the 62nd country in the world in the GDP
per capita ranking (which is the final value of goods and services produced in a country in a given year, divided by the population of that same year), with a value of US$11,310 per inhabitant. The USA is in 8th place with US$54,980 per inhabitant, Germany in 18th with US$44,999 per inhabitant, and Japan in 25th with US$39,100 per inhabitant.
Taxation On 8 March 2013, Dilma surprised her own party by announcing a tax cut on the basic
food basket on television. She declared that "by cutting taxes on the basic food basket, the government will give up 7.4 billion
reais in revenue per year". Other tax breaks, such as IPI and payroll tax, had also been made during his term in office. The telecommunications sector was also granted tax breaks to encourage improvements in the sector's infrastructure to implement
4G technology. Under the Dilma government, the tax burden rose every year. The last time there was a reduction was in 2009, due to a drop in revenue caused by the global crisis, temporarily falling from 34.4% to 33.5% of GDP. In 2014, the tax burden reached 36.3% of GDP, an all-time high and the second highest in Latin America. In 2014, after four years of Dilma's government, for the fifth time in a row, a survey carried out by the Brazilian Institute of Planning and Taxation (IBPT) named Brazil as the country with the worst tax return to the population. The study compares the 30 countries with the highest tax burden in relation to GDP; Brazil's tax burden exceeds 35% of GDP. For the president of IBPT, the study reinforces and shows the need to demand better use of the resources paid by taxpayers: "Brazilians recently took to the streets in protests in which the banners also showed their dissatisfaction with the high tax burden and the limited quality of life".
Inflation Despite still being within the
National Monetary Council (CMN) target of 4.5%, with a tolerance of 2 points up or down, the National Broad Consumer Price Index (IPCA) for 2010 (the last year of the previous government) registered an accumulated increase of 5.91% and was the highest since 2004. In January 2011, the first month of the Dilma government, the inflation index registered a monthly rate of 0.83%, the highest result since April 2005 (0.87%), which brought the accumulated rate over 12 months to 5.99%. In March 2011, with strong inflation pressure driven by prices in the Food and Transport group, the IPCA remained at a high level of 0.79%, which represented the highest rate for the month since 2003. The monthly result brought the 12-month accumulated rate to 6.30%, a level very close to the cap of the target pursued by the Central Bank, which caused concern among financial market economists and forced the government to adopt new credit restriction measures to control the economy's heat. In April, the IBGE indicator showed a slowdown, to a rate of 0.77%, but this did not prevent the accumulated result over 12 months from exceeding the cap of the inflation target. The figure reached 6.51% and represented the first breach of the level pursued by the Central Bank since June 2005. After registering an increase of 7.31% in the accumulated 12-month period and reaching the highest mark in this comparison since May 2005, the IPCA began a slow process of deceleration in the following months. The inflation index ended 2011 with an accumulated rate of 6.50% and remained at the cap of the target set by the CMN, registering the highest annual level since 2004, when it showed a rate of 7.60%. In 2012, official inflation registered 5.84%. Although this represents a slowdown compared to 2011, it was once again above the Central Bank's target. In December 2012 in particular, inflation rose by 0.79%, the highest since March 2011. According to the IBGE, the rise in prices at the end of the year was mainly driven by food, due to climatic problems. Domestic servants were the most expensive (12.73%), while cars fell by 5.71%. The measures adopted decelerated inflation, although not as much as the government had planned, ending 2011 with an accumulated rate of 6.50%, at the cap of the target set by the National Monetary Council. Despite facing difficulties, in June 2011 the IBGE presented positive policy results, indicating growth of 1.3% in the first quarter of the year. The positive performance placed the country in the position of the sixth largest economy in the world.
Interest rates The Dilma government raised interest rates as an initial measure to prevent inflation from reaching uncomfortable levels to meet the 2011 target set by the Central Bank. At the very first
Copom meeting, the Central Bank's board of directors raised the
SELIC rate by 0.50 percentage points to 11.25%, the highest level since March 2009. At the second meeting of the Central Bank committee, interest rates were raised again by 0.50 percentage points, now to 11.75% per year, the highest level since the 12.75% of January 2009. In April, a further 0.25 percentage point adjustment to the Selic brought the rate to 12% per year. With this increase, Brazil continued to lead the world with the highest real interest rates. The position was maintained after the June and July Copom meetings, which promoted two more 0.25 percentage point increases and took the Selic to 12.50%. At the August Copom meeting, the Central Bank's board of directors surprised the financial market with a 0.50 percentage point cut in the Selic rate, to 12% per year, while all economists were working to maintain the Selic rate at 12.50%. The justification given by the directors of the monetary authority was that the international crisis experienced by central economies, such as those in Europe, would have an influence on the Brazilian economy. The Central Bank's decision was criticized by the financial market and opposition parties. They raised the hypothesis of a loss of independence for the monetary authority, given that, a few days before the decision to reduce interest rates, Dilma had stated that she was beginning to see the possibility of reducing interest rates in Brazil. Minister of Finance Guido Mantega refuted the criticism of the Central Bank, dismissing the hypothesis of political interference in Copom's decision. After the August 2011 interest rate cut, to stimulate economic activity, the Central Bank promoted a strong reduction in monetary policy, with further reductions in the Selic rate, which in October 2012 fell to 7.25%, the lowest level in history. Until April 2013, when it rose to 7.50%, interest rates in Brazil remained unchanged. After this period, to avoid inflationary pressures that threatened compliance with the target set by the CMN, Copom began a process of monetary tightening, with consecutive interest rate hikes that brought the Selic rate to 10.75% in February 2014, the same level that Dilma found at the start of her term. With the basic interest rate (Selic) at 10.75% per year, Brazil remains at the top of the ranking of countries with the highest real interest rates in the world, while the basic interest rate stood at 4.48%. In second place was China, with a real rate of 3.41%. Third was
Turkey, with 3.09%, followed by India (2.86%) and
Hungary (1.28%).
Energy generation : deep-water oil exploration has made the company a world reference The Dilma government stimulated the energy sector, providing incentives for research and production of oil and coal, the construction of
hydroelectric dams and the development of alternative energy sources, such as biodiesel and sugarcane alcohol. Brazil has achieved international prominence in several programmes, such as deep-water oil research and alcohol production. The environmental and agrarian issue is related to this field, as Brazil has been historically ineffective in combating threats to its ecosystem. In addition to alternative investments, other lines of action have been noted by the government, such as Brazil's connections with the problem of
climate change. Brazil gained international prominence in the negotiations on warming policies, proposing voluntary targets for reducing
greenhouse gas emissions, and was praised by the UN for its reduction in historical rates of deforestation, but the effectiveness of the results of recent environmental policies has raised discussion and controversy. Agribusiness, one of the strengths of the Dilma government, contributed 100 billion dollars in exports to the country and was a sector with great political influence, especially due to its strong presence in Congress as an allied base of the then president (the so-called Parliamentary Agricultural Front). However, the sector has interests that often diverge from those of environmentalists, leading to a series of conflicts, sometimes violent, which are aggravated by the demands of other sectors of society, such as the landless and indigenous peoples.
Microeconomics Relations with the private sector and concessions In February 2012, the Dilma government awarded control of three Brazilian airports to the
private sector; the Invepar consortium won the bid for
Guarulhos Airport,
Viracopos Airport was awarded to the Aeroportos Brasil group, and the Inframerica Aeroportos group was assigned to the
Juscelino Kubitschek Airport in Brasília. In August 2012, her government carried out a 153 million construction project at
Galeão Airport before privatizing it, but the Civil Aviation Union filed a lawsuit against the government. The concession for Campinas airport was expected to last 30 years, Brasília for 25 years and Guarulhos for 20 years.
Infraero, the state-owned company, will hold up to 49% of the capital of each airport. The operating licence for Guarulhos airport was put up for auction for a minimum price of R$3.4 billion and was sold for R$16.213 billion, with a premium of 373%. The Campinas licence was offered for R$1.47 billion and won for R$3.821 billion (a 159.8% premium). Brasília, offered at R$582 million, was bought with a premium of 673%, for R$4.501 billion. In addition to paying for the licences, each concessionaire will have to invest a minimum of R$1.38 billion by 2014 in the case of Guarulhos, R$873 million in the case of Viracopos and R$626 million in Brasília. The auction notices also include requirements regarding the quality of the services that will have to be provided, including quotas in parking lots, chairs in waiting rooms and longer queues at service points. However, it was estimated that the investment needed to adapt the airports to the volume of traffic expected over the next few years, with the
World cup and Olympics, would be R$4.6 billion for Guarulhos airport, R$8.7 billion for Campinas and R$2.8 billion for Brasilia. In addition, public concessions have been granted for oil basins and means of transportation.
Energy tariff In January 2013, in a national radio and television address, Dilma announced a cut in energy tariffs of 18% for households and 32% for industries. The measure was possible through an agreement with the energy transmission companies, which agreed to the price reduction as long as the government paid compensation for improvements carried out on the grid before 2000. The payment was calculated at R$62.2 billion in 2017 and will be diluted in consumers' electricity bills until 2025. The opposition accused the president of electoral fraud, claiming that it was a maneuver to reduce electricity bills on the eve of the 2014 presidential campaign, but with the compensation provided, consumers would suffer an increase after the elections.
Minimum wage In February 2011, the National Congress approved the proposal stipulated by the Dilma government to increase the
minimum wage from R$510 to R$545, despite the opposition parties' suggestion of R$560 and R$600. The adjustment was higher than the accumulated inflation of 2010, when the INPC was 6.47%, but received criticism from sectors of civil society. Experts point out that, if projections for the INPC for the first two months of the year are confirmed, the R$545 would have had 1.3% less purchasing power in March, the month it came into force, than in January 2010, when the Lula government made the last adjustment. An increase to R$552 would be necessary to replace 14 months' inflation. With inflation in the first two months of the year confirming expectations of a more intense rise, it was the first annual adjustment of the minimum below inflation since 1997. In December 2011, Dilma signed a decree readjusting the minimum wage by 14.13%. As a result, as of January of the following year, the new minimum wage was R$622. According to a study by
DIEESE, the increase led to the minimum wage's purchasing power reaching its highest level in more than 30 years. According to the institution, considering the value of the basic food basket calculated in November by the organization (R$276.31), the new floor could buy 2.25 baskets, the highest amount recorded since 1979. Also according to DIEESE, the R$77 increase determined by the president caused an extra annual expense of R$19.8 billion for Social Security. However, this cost was less than the increase in tax collection, since, due to the growth in consumption resulting from the increase in the minimum wage, the forecast was that tax collection would rise by R$22.9 billion in 2012.
Economic assistance measures ,
Tereza Campello, participate in the graduation of Pronatec students aimed at the low-income public, who were part of the
Brasil sem Miséria Plan
Brasil sem Miséria was a government plan with associated projects to address specific areas of the family economy, such as
Bolsa Família, which granted beneficiaries from R$77.01 to R$154, depending on the number of dependents and the degree of poverty. According to Tereza Campello, former Minister of Social Development and Fight against Hunger, the programme was a success, lifting 22 million Brazilians above the poverty line:It was the end of misery, from the point of view of income, for the Bolsa Família public. [...] This new political project alleviated poverty, empowered women, improved living conditions in the
Northeast, took children to school and had a positive impact on the health of children and pregnant women. [...] The income of the poorest grew by 6.4% in relation to that of the richest, the minimum wage increased by 72% above inflation and more than 20 million formal jobs were created in these 10 years. Francisco Diniz Bezerra, a specialist at
Banco do Nordeste, stated that "beneficiaries tend to consume goods produced nationally, helping to strengthen the country's productive sector, stimulating the internal market and creating a mass consumer demand".
Trade , 9 April 2012 In April 2011, Dilma travelled to China to expand business in the country, allowing for the production of
Embraer aircraft, as well as gaining unprecedented approval for the export of pork, with the licencing of three meatpacking plants. In all, more than 20 commercial agreements were signed, with
Huawei announcing investments of US$350 million in Brazil. On a brief visit to
Uruguay in May 2011, she and José Mujica signed agreements involving nano, IT and biotechnology, and established projects for the installation of a 500-kilowatt transmission line between
San Carlos in Uruguay and
Candiota in Brazil, as well as the adoption by the Uruguayan government of the Japanese-Brazilian digital TV standard. After receiving a record total of US$288.575 billion in
foreign exchange reserves from the previous government, Dilma's government reached a total of US$300 billion in stocks at the beginning of February, representing a new historic mark. Economists believe that, while on the one hand, a high level of reserves provides the country with greater security to face external crises, on the other hand, the purchase of dollars by the Brazilian government tends to increase the country's domestic debt. According to information from the Central Bank, in 2013, Brazil's international reserves registered their first decline in 13 years, totaling US$375.79 billion, compared to US$378.61 billion at the close of 2012; the decrease was 0.74%, or US$2.81 billion. Before that, the last time reserves had fallen was in 2000, still under the
Fernando Henrique Cardoso administration, when they fell by US$3.34 billion, from US$36.34 billion in 1999 to US$33 billion in 2000.
Second term Joaquim Levy, appointed Minister of Finance, stated at his presentation ceremony on 27 November 2014, that his immediate goal would be to set a primary surplus target for the first three years of his tenure (1.2% of GDP in 2015 and at least 2% in 2016 and 2017). He did not dismiss the possibility of budget cuts and asked for the support of the private sector to get the economy growing again. In his first two months in office, Levy adopted fiscal adjustment measures, such as
MPs 664 and 665, which modify the rules for granting labour and social security benefits. When they were sent to Congress, they displeased different segments of society. Trade unions pointed out that workers' rights were being taken away and the business community disapproved of the increase in the tax burden. In a manifesto with more than a thousand signatures, Brazilian economists opposed the contractionary measures envisaged in the fiscal adjustment, especially the adoption of a high interest rate policy. Contrary to the "discourse of financial market spokespeople who call social spending and public investment 'inflationary' at any stage of the economic cycle", the manifesto also refutes the argument that associates inflation with public spending represented by tax breaks that reduce tax costs and credit subsidies that reduce financial costs". The text recalls that "austerity has aggravated recession, unemployment, inequality and the fiscal problem in
developed countries even though it has been accompanied by very low real interest rates and currency devaluation". The document also warns of the risk of recession due to exchange rate appreciation, stimulated by high real interest rates, and what it calls an "avalanche of imports". Levy was criticized by
PT parliamentarians and trade unions, but said that these measures were necessary and urgent and called for swift approval by Congress, which would be essential for the country to return to growth. However, the PMDB was more receptive, welcoming Levy at the end of February 2015 to detail his economic package. At this meeting, Levy declared that the payroll tax exemption that Dilma promoted in her first term "was a joke that cost the public coffers R$25 billion a year, and studies showed that it had neither created nor protected jobs". Through his advisors, Levy apologized for the statement. Part of the economic package was the modification of the payroll tax exemption policy, which was sent to the Chamber of Deputies but returned to the government without approval. In April 2015, the Central Bank introduced a new methodology for calculating current foreign transactions, revising the 2014 deficit to US$103.98 billion. The draft budget guidelines law for 2016, also sent to Congress in April, predicted a 0.9% drop in GDP in 2015 and real growth of 1.3%, 1.9% and 2.4% for 2016, 2017 and 2018, respectively.
GDP, exports and external debt In May 2015, the National Confederation of Commerce (CNC), in its newsletter
Síntese da Conjuntura, prepared by economist and former Minister of Finance
Ernane Galvêas, made a projection for GDP indicating a fall in national production of around 1.4%, mainly driven by the fall in industrial production (−4.0%), which had been going through a period of stagnation for three years. Even trade, which traditionally grows, lost steam in 2014 (−1.8%) and everything indicates that it will continue to fall in 2015 (−0.4%). In the first two months of 2015, exports fell by 16.4% and imports by −15.7%. The negative current account balance rose to 100.2 billion dollars over the last 12 months. According to data from the International Monetary Fund (IMF), published by the newspaper
O Globo, Brazil's
external debt reached 750 billion dollars at the end of 2013; the equivalent of 1.8 trillion reais, or 33.45% of the Gross Domestic Product (GDP).
Education policy According to the 2010 Monitoring of Education for All report launched by
UNESCO, Brazil has made "significant progress" in education, but inequalities persist between segments. The document also concluded that Brazil was far from meeting the targets for access to and quality of education set by the organization, ranking 88th out of 128 countries. In 2011, Brazil remained in the same position in the world education ranking, being considered "medium-developed" in the area, behind
Argentina, Chile and even
Ecuador and
Bolivia. In 2014, Brazil was ranked 38th out of a total of 40 countries and territories evaluated by the international education ranking of Pearson, a company that provides solutions for the area. It only surpassed Mexico and Indonesia. At the top of the ranking are South Korea, Japan, Singapore and Hong Kong (China). The Learning Curve 2014 study ranked educational performance based on factors related to changes in global educational performance and the importance of personal skills for the 21st century. Brazil rose one position in relation to the first ranking, released in 2012, but continued among those that registered a drop in the school performance and cognitive skills index. Also in 2014, a UNESCO study of 150 countries revealed that Brazil ranked 8th among those with the highest number of adult illiterates. According to the most recent
National Household Sample Survey (PNAD), carried out by the IBGE in 2012 and released in September 2013, the illiteracy rate among people aged 15 and over was estimated at 8.7%, which corresponds to 13.2 million illiterate people in the country. Only eighteen Brazilian universities are among the thousand best in the world (1.8% of the total) in a global ranking that highlights those with the greatest impact and scientific influence, according to a study carried out in 2014 by CWUR (
Centre for World University Rankings), an Arab consultancy based in Jeddah. In 2012, when the rankings began, and in 2013, CWUR only surveyed the 100 best institutions; Brazil did not appear in either of these last two rankings. Of the ten best universities in the world, eight were from the USA. Only one Brazilian university was among the three hundred best in the world (0.33% of the total), and only four were among the five hundred best (0.8% of the total). On 25 May, Dilma suspended the distribution of anti-homophobia kits in schools that the Ministry of Education had planned to distribute with the aim of combating bullying and discrimination against homosexuals. According to the General Secretariat of the Presidency,
Gilberto Carvalho, "President Dilma did not like the videos, found the material inadequate, and determined that they should not be officially circulated". In 2015, the world education ranking released by the
Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) ranked Brazil 60th in the world for education, out of 76 countries surveyed, putting the country at a level close to that of African nations.
Pronatec Back in 2011, the Federal Government created the Programa Nacional de Acesso ao Ensino Técnico e Emprego (
Pronatec) to offer free professional qualification courses. With planned investments of R$24 billion by 2014, the programme aims to expand, internalize and democratize the offer of professional and technological education courses for Brazilian students.
Mais Educação The Mais Educação Programme aimed to encourage full-time education, with priority given to the poorest regions.
Aloizio Mercadante, Minister of Education from January 2012 to February 2014, said that the biggest problems are in secondary education, but "in the last 15 years we have brought in around 5 million more students. Inclusion is fantastic. [...] The country has become aware that education is something strategic".
Sports World Cup 2014 in
Natal in January 2014, as part of the country's preparations for the 2014 FIFA World Cup. Before the
2014 World Cup, there were several demonstrations in the streets against the event and numerous criticisms of the event being held in Brazil. However, the competition was a success, even though there were several protests during the cup. Previously, polls showed that less than half of those interviewed supported the tournament, but on the eve of the semi-finals of the cup, the situation was reversed, with the majority of those surveyed approving of the event. A
Datafolha survey revealed that 83% of foreigners who came to Brazil rated the organization of the World Cup as good or excellent. Opinions on urban mobility and the country's communication system were divided. For the majority (60%), Brazil's public security (reinforced during the event) was better than expected, and for 34%, it was within what they expected. The organization of the World Cup was better than expected for 51%, and within expectations for 39% of those interviewed. Urban mobility was better than expected for 46% and within expectations for 40%. The communication system (including telephony and internet access) was the item surveyed with the most divided evaluations. For 24%, the communication system exceeded expectations, for 24% it was worse than expected, and for 31% it was within expectations. Before the World Cup, Brazilian magazines, such as the weekly
Veja, suggested back in 2011 that the works for the tournament would not be completed until 2038. A few days before the event, the controversial filmmaker, journalist and columnist for various media outlets,
Arnaldo Jabor, said that the competition would reveal Brazil's "incompetence" to the world. A month before the tournament, the renowned German magazine
Der Spiegel reported that the World Cup could be a disaster because of protests, violence in the streets, problems with public transport, airports and stadiums. However, the number of demonstrations was lower than expected, as were isolated cases of tourists and fans being inconvenienced throughout Brazil. After the start of the World Cup, media reports began to praise the competition and international journalists suggested that the 2014 World Cup was the greatest they had ever seen, both for the soccer played on the pitch and for the cordiality and festive, peaceful atmosphere observed in Brazil. According to a survey carried out by the
Ministry of Tourism with over 6,600 tourists, the 2014 World Cup attracted more than one million foreign tourists from 203 different nationalities to Brazil, 61% of whom had never been to the country before. 92.3% said they had come to the country because of the event and 95% said they intended to return. The average length of stay of international tourists in Brazil was 13 days, visiting 378 cities across the country. The number of Brazilian citizens who travelled around the country during the World Cup was more than 3 million, with the state of São Paulo being the main source of domestic tourists (858,825), followed by
Rio de Janeiro (260,527) and
Minas Gerais (220,021). A research study conducted by the Economic Research Institute Foundation (FIPE) estimated that hosting the 2014 World Cup injected around 30 billion
reais into the Brazilian economy, or 0.7% of the country's gross domestic product (GDP) in 2013.
Minorities , 9 March 2015 On 9 March 2015, Law No. 13,104 included the qualifier of feminicide in the
Brazilian Penal Code, which occurs when committed "against a woman for reasons of her condition as a female". It defines
feminicide as being committed for reasons of the female sex when the crime involves: domestic and family violence or contempt for or discrimination against women.
Human development and health In the 2010 survey, the last year of the Lula government, Brazil was in 73rd place out of 169 countries in the HDI (
Human Development Index) ranking. In the first two years of the Dilma administration, the country fell seven places in the ranking, coming 80th in 2012 and rising one place in 2013. However, 79th place still reflected an index below the Latin American average for education and life expectancy. The average schooling in Latin America was 7.9 years; in Brazil, 7.2 years. The figure has remained the same since 2010. Brazilian life expectancy was 73.9 years in 2013, below the Latin American average of 74.9 years. The United Nations study calculates countries' Human Development Index based on education, health and income indicators. In July 2013, the Dilma government launched the
Mais Médicos Programme, created to fill the lack of doctors in municipalities in the interior and on the outskirts of Brazil's big cities. The format of "importing" doctors from other countries was harshly criticized by associations representing the category, civil society, health students and even the
Public Prosecutor's Office. Regarding the Mais Médicos Programme, Irene Abramovich, president of the Association of Doctors at the
Hospital das Clínicas in São Paulo, said: "There's no shortage of doctors, there's a shortage of hospitals and infrastructure". Márcia Rosa, president of the Regional Council of Medicine of the State of Rio de Janeiro, said: "The changes [proposed by the government] put the health of the population at risk, especially those who use the
SUS". Despite criticism from medical associations, the programme was supported by the majority of the population. According to a survey by the MDA institute, commissioned by the National Transport Confederation and carried out in September, 73.9% of the population was in favour of foreign doctors coming to the country. Based on a study by the Institute of Science, Technology and Quality (ICTQ), 61% of Porto Alegre residents support the programme, while the average for all 16 capitals surveyed was 33%. Another survey, by the Methodus Institute, indicated that 59.3% of the people of Rio Grande do Sul approved of Mais Médicos. In August 2013, a survey published by the
Bloomberg News agency placed Brazil in last place among the world's health systems. The research only considered nations with populations of more than 5 million, a GDP
per capita of more than U$5,000 and a life expectancy of more than 70 years. 48 countries were ranked on the criteria of life expectancy and the
per capita cost of health treatment. Brazil came last on the list behind countries such as
Romania,
Peru and the
Dominican Republic. The report was based on official data from the World Bank, IMF (International Monetary Fund) and WHO (
World Health Organization). == Foreign policy ==