1. MORE EXAMPLES OF THE INCOMPETENCE OF THE ROUSSEFF
GOVERNMENT OF BRAZIL
Fernando Alcoforado *
The infrastructure of a country has two characteristics: 1) economic; and, 2) social. The
economic infrastructure is represented by systems of: 1) energy; 2) transport; and, 3)
communications. The social infrastructure is represented by systems of: 1) education; 2)
health; 3) sanitation; 4) housing; and, 5) public safety. Energy systems involve its
production (hydro, nuclear, coal, oil, solar, wind, biomass, etc.) and its distribution to
meet the demand of consumers in homes, industries, trade and services. Transport
systems in their various modes (road, rail, waterway, air transportation, maritime,
subway, bus, pipeline, etc.) involve the existence of structures (network and stations for
bus, railwayand subway and pipelines, ports and airports, etc.) that allow the movement
of cargo, fuel and people to various destinations. Communication systems are networks
(postal, telephone, internet, radio, television, etc.) through which flow the information
that must meet the needs of people and the productive sectors in an integrated and
effective way.
Education systems at all levels (primary, secondary and university) aim to prepare
people for citizenship, for life in general and also to exercise with competence his
professional activities with the use of structures (teaching units elementary and
secondary and university) devoted to this end. Health systems have functions to prevent
and cure diseases that threaten the population with the use of structures (clinics,
hospitals , etc.) devoted to this end. The sanitation systems consist of structures of water
supply to households, industries, commerce, services and agricultural activities, as well
as structures of collection, transportation, treatment and final disposal of solid and
liquid waste generated in rural and urban areas. The housing systems should aim to
build housing for people contemplating the elimination of existing deficits and meet
future demand. The public safety systems should aim at preventing and combating the
occurrence of crimes against people and public and private equity and recover people in
prisons who have committed offense.
In Brazil, all systems mentioned above have at present great deficiency in its
performance both in providing its services to the population and the productive sectors
and in their extremely high costs of many of them. The precariousness of these systems
is mainly the result of failure in public and private investments in the area of economic
and social infrastructure in Brazil. Article Brasil precisa investir R$ 100 bi ao ano em
infraestrutura (Brazil needs to invest R$ 100 billion per year in infrastructure) posted
on the website < http://veja.abril.com.br/noticia/economia/pais-precisa-investir-r-100bi-ao-ano-em -Infrastructure >, inform that "the country would have to invest additional
R$ 2.5 trillion in the next 25 years to achieve investments in the sector 4 % of GDP, the
minimum required to reach a reasonable level of modernization". Brazil would need to
invest additional R$ 2.5 trillion over the next 25 years to double the level of investment
in the sector from the current 2 % to 4 % of the Gross Domestic Product (GDP) .
Paulo Fleury from Institute of Logistics and Supply Chain published in September 2011
text under the title Infraestrutura: situação atual e investimentos planejados
(Infrastructure : Current and planned investments) in which estimated the necessary
investments in ports (R$ 42.9 billion), railways (R$ 130.8 billion) and highways (R$
811.7 billion), totaling R$ 985.4 billion. Adding this value to the required ports and
inland waterways (R$10.9 billion), airports (R$ 9.3 billion), power sector (R$ 293.9
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2. billion), oil and gas (R$ 75.3 investments billion), sanitation R$ 270 billion) and
telecommunications (R$ 19.7 billion) totaled R$ 1,664.5 billion (See the website <
http://www.eesp.fgv.br/sites/eesp.fgv .br/files/file/8 20FORUM % % % 20PAULO
20Fleury.pdf >).
In turn, the health sector requires investments of R$ 83 billion per year reported on the
website <http://noticias.r7.com/brasil/noticias/governo-precisa-investir-ao-menos-60-amais-para-melhorar-a-saude-no-brasil-20110921.html>,
education sector needs
investment of R$ 16.9 billion / year to get quality education in Brazil reported on the
website
<http://agenciabrasil.ebc.com.br/noticia/2013-09-14/apesar-de-mais-altosinvestimentos-em-educacao-ainda-sao-mal-distribuidos-aponta-ocde>
and
public
housing requires R$160 billion to eliminate the housing deficit in the country reported
<http://www.cimentoitambe.com.br/deficit-habitacional-no-pais/> website. The total
investment in economic infrastructure (energy, transport and communications) and
social infrastructure (education , health, sanitation and housing), thus correspond to R$
1,924.4 billion, which is almost £ 2 trillion. In turn, Exame Magazine informs on the
website
<http://exame.abril.com.br/economia/noticias/r-5-tri-em-5-anos-resolvem-oproblema-de-infraestrutura> that $ 5 trillion over 20 years solve Brazil's infrastructure.
According to Luiz Araújo Port Nelson , author of the study A Infraestrutura Brasileira Desafios e Oportunidades (The Brazilian Infrastructure - Challenges and
Opportunities), data from the Organization for Economic Cooperation and
Development (OECD) show that, among the world's largest economies, Brazil is the
country with the lowest rate of investment in sector in relation to GDP. While China has
invested 40 % of GDP in infrastructure in 2007 and India, 33.8 % in the same period,
Brazil has allocated only 15.7% (See the website < http://www.brasileconomico.com .
br/noticias/a-falta-de-infraestrutura_80871.html>).
In
article
Brasil
perde
competitividade por problemas na infraestrutura (Brazil loses competitiveness by
problems in infrastructure), is informed that Brazil lost eight positions in
competitiveness ranking of the World Economic Forum. According to the Global
Competitiveness Report for 2013-2014, released by the World Economic Forum, the
country fell from 48th to 56th place in the overall index (See the website
<http://www.cnt.org.br/paginas/Agencia_Noticia.aspx?noticia=transporte-cargasinfraestrutrutura-competitividade-congresso-abtc-05092013>).
The poor quality of infrastructure is the cause of the worsening of Brazil in
competitiveness ranking. In this regard, Brazil was ranked in 114th place and it has
been identified as a major problem for doing business in the country. And when it
comes to transport, placing further worsens. Quality of roads Brazil reached the 120th
position, ports 131th, airports 123th and railroads 103th place. The study assesses 148
economies based on 5600 data from international organizations . Data from the Institute
of Applied Economic Research (IPEA), an agency of the federal government, point out
that logistics costs in Brazil reaches 6.7% of Gross Domestic Product (GDP). In the
United States, for example, the value is approximately 4% of GDP. In contrast,
investment in the transportation system here in Brazil is approximately 0.6 % of GDP,
while in the United States reaches 7.7%. “To meet the demand, we multiply by five
what we invest nowadays in roads, ports, airports and railways" says coordinator IPEA
Infrastructure,
Carlos
Campos
(See
the
website
<http://www.cnt.org.br/paginas/Agencia_Noticia.aspx?noticia=transporte-cargasinfraestrutrutura-competitividade-congresso-abtc-05092013>).
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3. It is undisputed that there is no development in a country that does not have the
infrastructure well planned, implemented and constantly with conservation of the
system. The development process in Brazil is being highly compromised by the existing
poor infrastructure. It should be noted that it is technically and economically proven that
investments in infrastructure enable sustainable development cycles, translating into
growth of Gross Domestic Product (GDP). The analysis of indicators of countries like
China, India and South Korea (which invest respectively in total, including economic
infrastructure, 48 %, 37 % and 28 % of its GDP) suggests a relationship between
economic growth and investment in transport, energy and telecommunications.
Unfortunately, Brazil is intended only 15.7% of GDP. The focus of the Chinese to
modernize the ports was critical to increase its foreign trade, while investments in
airports led to the increased flow of people and cargo.
Due to lack of public resources, the Brazilian government has adopted the policy of
privatization of some infrastructure such as the energy, transport, communications,
education, among others. However, privatization of infrastructure systems in Brazil will
not solve its problems in this area. It will only happen with the solution of the issue of
high federal debt (R$ 1.95 trillion), which includes internal and external indebtedness,
corresponding to 67 % of GDP (R$ 2.25 trillion). If there isn´t a reversal of the
increasing trend of rising domestic debt and of the policy of payment of interest and
amortization in that today the federal government allocates almost 50 % of the budget to
that goal, the imbalance between demand and availability of resources to meet the needs
of Brazil in economic and social infrastructure will accentuate it with the passage of
time to the detriment of the population and the national productive sector.
For the Brazilian government have resources for investment in economic and social
infrastructure, it must necessarily renegotiate with domestic and foreign banks (creditors
55% of public debt), mutual funds (21 % of creditors public debt), funds pension (16 %
of creditors public debt) and non-financial companies (creditors of 8 % of the public
debt) reduction in expenditure in the payment of debt service lengthening the term of
payment of interest and amortization of debt. In addition, the federal government should
develop a plan for systemic and integrated development that addresses the solution to
the problems of all infrastructure systems in Brazil. Without this strategy, Brazil will
continue without the necessary infrastructure, as a result, compromising their future
development. This solution is a task to be taken over by a new government that meets
the necessary competence and political courage to carry out this strategy. This would
not be the case the current government that, beyond the demonstrated incompetence in
managing the Brazilian public sector, bent to the dictates of domestic and foreign
monopolies, especially the financial system with the blessings granted to them.
*
Alcoforado, Fernando, engineer and doctor of Territorial Planning and Regional Development from the
University of Barcelona, a university professor and consultant in strategic planning, business planning,
regional planning and planning of energy systems, is the author of Globalização (Editora Nobel, São
Paulo, 1997), De Collor a FHC- O Brasil e a Nova (Des)ordem Mundial (Editora Nobel, São Paulo,
1998), Um Projeto para o Brasil (Editora Nobel, São Paulo, 2000), Os condicionantes do
desenvolvimento do Estado da Bahia (Tese de doutorado. Universidade de Barcelona,
http://www.tesisenred.net/handle/10803/1944, 2003), Globalização e Desenvolvimento (Editora Nobel,
São Paulo, 2006), Bahia- Desenvolvimento do Século XVI ao Século XX e Objetivos Estratégicos na Era
Contemporânea (EGBA, Salvador, 2008), The Necessary Conditions of the Economic and Social
Development-The Case of the State of Bahia (VDM Verlag Dr. Muller Aktiengesellschaft & Co. KG,
Saarbrücken, Germany, 2010), Aquecimento Global e Catástrofe Planetária (P&A Gráfica e Editora,
Salvador, 2010), Amazônia Sustentável- Para o progresso do Brasil e combate ao aquecimento global
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4. (Viena- Editora e Gráfica, Santa Cruz do Rio Pardo, São Paulo, 2011) and Os Fatores Condicionantes do
Desenvolvimento Econômico e Social (Editora CRV, Curitiba, 2012), among others.
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