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Fernando Lopez mocked proposals that, according to him, aimed to scrape the serial numbers off weapons to eliminate crime, explore oil starting in 2033 to cut 200 billion, remove Lula to reduce interest rates, and create an app to improve health. In the end, he stated, with indignation, that this way it was easy. #Política #Economia #Saúde (translated)

JH Fonseca stated that the penultimate week of the second round was educational, as, according to him, interest rates and the dollar surged in the face of fears of Lula winning. He warned that voters should not complain if the worst happened and they ended up financially ruined with very high interest rates. #Eleições2022 #Brasil #Economia (translated)

Marina Helena stated that Lula was the favorite of part of the Brazilian elite and said that government spending raised interest rates and transferred wealth from taxpayers to rentiers. According to her, interventionist and state-driven policies allowed entrepreneurs willing to violate the Penal Code to ally with the government, preserve their fortunes, and protect themselves from competition. Helena said that this elite accepted, in exchange, a bigger state, higher taxes, slower growth, and the maintenance of dependence of the poorest on the government. She claimed that workers, entrepreneurs, and freelancers threatened this structure and that, in a country with lower taxes, spending, and interest rates, competition could displace the current privileged. She also mentioned that this group was realizing it was right-wing and that it was the majority. In the end, she advocated for voting for Flávio Bolsonaro, number 22, on October 25. #Lula #economia #direita (translated)

Rodrigo Constantino stated that lulismo aimed to mobilize large groups with announcements of benefits funded by third parties close to elections, generating engagement on social media. Regarding individual micro-entrepreneurs (MEIs), he said they needed less taxation and bureaucracy, not debt forgiveness or transfers. In his assessment, measures of this kind could stimulate dependency, while their costs would later manifest in interest, inflation, and lower growth. Constantino added that the reaction on X indicated that part of the electorate still responded to these promises and that it was up to the opposition to highlight their potential costs. #Lulismo #Eleições2024 #Economia (translated)

NATO will continue to cooperate closely with our allies in the Black Sea region. We have already strengthened our positions on the eastern flank and will continue to monitor the security situation and adjust our deterrence and defense positions as necessary,” wrote M. Rutte online after a conversation with the Prime Minister of Bulgaria. #NATO #JuodojiJūra #saugumas (translated)

Mafinha thanked a message from a counterpart and said he agreed with the diagnosis of the Brazilian industry. He stated that the economic opening promoted by Collor in 1990 occurred without the sector's preparation, that FHC kept the exchange rate appreciated and interest rates high, and that PT governments used BNDES to finance companies close to them while China expanded its presence in the market. According to Mafinha, the manufacturing industry represented more than one-fifth of GDP in the 1980s and was close to 12% when he wrote. Mafinha attributed the cost of labor to the burden of the State, not to the prosperity of the population. He said that Brazilian companies spent about 1,500 hours a year to settle taxes, a number he called a world record, and that real interest rates were among the highest on the planet. He also stated that the income from minerals and soy was intended for public funding, instead of investments. He advocated for a State that would reduce bureaucracy and invest in areas where, according to him, the private sector did not reach, such as defense, technology, infrastructure, and energy. He cited Alexander Hamilton, who, he claimed, defended the importance of manufacturing for national independence in 1791, and said that South Korea had formed its conglomerates in this way. As a Brazilian example, he mentioned Embraer, which, according to him, was born from ITA, a state project from the 1950s, and continued to compete on equal terms. Regarding identity politics, Mafinha said it had been imported, replacing the citizen with labels and turning politics into a zero-sum game. He also mentioned the transposition of São Francisco: he stated that the idea existed since 1847, during the reign of Dom Pedro II, and that the delivery of water took more than 160 years. When commenting on the sum "45 + 47 = 92," he said he would like to see it materialize, as long as the law applied equally to both sides. Without this condition, he stated, a crisis would make the equation revert to 45 against 47; with it, it would be possible to unite the country around family and the right to prosper through one's own work. Finally, Mafinha said that the Guaíra canyon had become a flat path due to being under the Itaipu lake since 1982. He described the project as having taken almost twenty years and stated that Itaipu remained one of the largest energy generators in the world. #Brasil #Economia #Indústria (translated)

Tarcísio Gomes de Freitas criticized the PT and stated that the party had promised picanha to the population, but, according to him, delivered high interest rates, more taxes, and an increase in the cost of living. He said that the rising prices were noticeable in supermarkets and in Brazilians' shopping and stated that the population deserved respect and results, not just promises. #Brasil #Política #Economia (translated)

The author noted that Pedro Passos Coelho would give an interview to Maria João Avillez on SIC Notícias, between 9 PM and 10 PM, and argued that his governance should be reassessed in light of the financial conditions he encountered. According to the author, Portugal had already requested external assistance when Passos Coelho arrived at the Government in 2011, and the adjustment program of 78 billion euros had been negotiated before he took office. He maintained that during the legislature, exports rose from about one-third of GDP to nearly 40% in 2015, including tourism, and that the tourism sector gained strategic momentum. Regarding privatizations, he acknowledged that some operations were questionable and warranted scrutiny but argued that they allowed the collection of billions of euros, the amortization of public debt, and reduce financing needs and interest burdens. He also considered that cuts in the public sector were painful but questioned what the alternatives would have been when the State could no longer finance itself normally. The author further highlighted that Portugal completed the financial assistance program in 2014 and returned to market financing without a precautionary program, recovering, in his view, decision-making leeway. He stated that Passos Coelho was the most relevant politician of the century in Portugal for having made unpopular decisions and contributed to an economic change whose effects surpassed his Government. #Portugal #Política #Economia (translated)