Cost of living in Brazil: January inflation is 0.21%, the lowest for January since the beginning of the Real Plan, in 1994

According to IBGE, the official inflation in Brazil, as measured by the Broad National Consumer Price Index (IPCA), decelerated to 0.21% in January of 2019, after registering an increase of 1.15% in December 2018. It is the lowest result for a month in January since the beginning of the Real Plan, in July 1994. In the accumulated of the last 12 months, the indicator registered 4.19%.

For economist Monica de Bolle, director of Latin American studies and emerging markets at Johns Hopkins University, "Brazil is experiencing a 'tropical version' of secular stagnation, with a stagnant economy, without reacting, and registering inflation contained below the target. It is not yet known what effect a reduction in interest rates could have on the economy in the current scenario".

To make matters worse, according to the International Monetary Fund (IMF), economic activity in Latin America and the Caribbean was stagnant in 2019, making it more challenging to resume growth in the region. The inflation figure for January in Brazil points to a certain stagnation remaining.

According to the IMF report, Brazil may grow by 2.2% this year and 2.3% in 2021 in the Gross Domestic Product (GDP). However, after the emergence of coronavirus cases in Wuhan, China, Brazil's main trading partner, these figures are being revised downwards by the Brazilian financial market.

Completely disconnected from the Brazilian reality, Paulo Guedes, Brazil's economy minister, complains about the country's poor because they do not save money

About to submit an economic package, Brazilian Economy Minister Paulo Guedes gave an interview to the newspaper Folha de S.Paulo, which President Jair Bolsonaro said he would cancel the signatures made by government agencies and the same newspaper that the president accuses to be one of the hyenas that attack the government.

In Paulo Guedes's interview with Folha de S.Paulo, the minister's complete disconnection from the reality of most Brazilians is evident.

Guedes, speaking in his interview that "the rich capitalize on their resources. The poor consume everything," shows that he simply cannot understand the Brazilian reality. This complete disconnect coupled with the inability to interpret shows that the minister is simply saying that our savings problem lies in the fact that the poor do not spare. It is a mixture of lack of empathy and ignorance.

Only a completely unprepared economist does not realize how terrible it is to claim that Brazilian probes do not spare. In 2019, in Brazil, the poorest 50% live with 413 reais per month (about 100 dollars). How those people are going to save money?

In the current Brazilian reality, of high unemployment and increased informality, about 104 million Brazilians live with the equivalent of half a minimum wage, currently at 998.00 reais.

According to economist Monica de Bolle, "It is well established - and almost tautological - that the poor are more likely to consume than the rich." According to her, "the reason is not that they undertake little, but that the resources they have are often enough just to reach the end of the month. Often not even that."