Brazilian economy will only grow again in 2020, say businessmen

Brazil's business sector no longer believes that the country will grow again in 2019. According to José Carlos Martins, president of (CBIC (Brazilian Chamber of Construction Industry, in Portuguese, Câmara Brasileira da Indústria da Construção), the confrontations between the president of the Republic Jair Bolsonaro and the president of the Chamber of Deputies, Rodrigo Maia, are bad for the economy. According to Martins, "people take their foot off the accelerator, not to say they put their foot on the brake."

According to the Getúlio Vargas Foundation (FGV), the General Price Index - Market (IGP-M) increased 0.01% in January, a percentage higher than the one reached in December, when it varied -1.08%. As a result, the index accumulated a high of 6.74% in 12 months.

Meanwhile, the lack of capacity of Brazilian companies in the chemical sector, according to Fernando Figueiredo, chief executive of Abiquim (Brazilian Chemical Industry Association), stood at 23%. Simultaneously, the average idleness of Brazilian industry is 26%, according to FGV.

As the Brazilian economy continues to operate with a high level of idleness, the tendency is to maintain the high unemployment rate.

As the Brazilian economy continues to operate with a high rate of idleness, the tendency is the permanence of the high rate of unemployment in the country. Due to this environment of economic deceleration, the number of Brazilians without work reached a new record: 65 million people.

These 65 million are people of working age, but who are not working or looking for work. These are people who, after months of searching and frustration, give up looking for work.