As usual in Brazil, the policy of "growing first to share it later" is still going strong. I remenber it as the military governments' favourit moto. Another one equally endlessly repeated was "what's good for the US is good for Brazil"...that one makes me puke even harder, although fortunatelly it seems we are already dissociating our economy from the US's --although culturally we haven't dissociated ourselves from them enough, in my humble opinion --hence the glitering lifestyle and snobbish atittude of the rich towards the very poor (the first believe they were born somewhere in Texas).
But what is important to say here is that there will be no real economic growth in Brazil without creating a FAIRER and MORE EGALITARIAN society. We can't continue to be such an unfair society well into the 21 century. A much better education and health system need to be implemented asap and hand in hand with the infra-structure improvements, to start with. The problem with Brazil has been and still is, that it's people are badly let down by governments that have been obsessed in ruling the country by privileging the already reach and powerful in detriment of the poor, so that they could privilege themselves and stay within the government ranks forever --needless to cite names here, just check how many years of senate many of them have had since 1970's--. Brazilian poorer citizens have little education and low level of literacy. They have no idea of what the world looks like outside their little existences and therefore don't know how life could be any different. The only way forward is to get these people and give them a good shake up, investing in cultural projects, better education for the children and skills oriented courses for the adults. If the next government to step in at least kick start this revolution then I will begin to believe --and only then-- that Brazil will finally take off.