Brazilian markets plunge following Rousseff victory

Brazil’s President Dilma Rousseff, who won a second term in power by a narrow margin in Sunday’s election runoff, faces the tough task of controlling high inflation, attracting investment and reviving an economy in its fourth year of muted growth. Brazil’s stock market and currency experienced losses on Monday as most expect much of the same over the next four years. Political analyst Sonia Fleury said, “the government faced very diverse challenges, including an economic crisis in which the country stopped growing. But it was able to contain unemployment, which was one of Rousseff’s main concerns. She managed to communicate well to the electorate that while the whole world is in crisis, Brazil is handling the crisis well, holding on to jobs and raising the minimum wage. That’s why she won, because she was able to prove she could deal with the crisis.” Rousseff has pledged to work with political adversaries and business leaders alike in order to achieve her goals. However, critics of Rousseff have said they are unsure whether she is committed enough to fiscal discipline to take on politically difficult tax and pension reforms. The Brazilian economy is expected to grow by just one percent in 2015 – a far cry from the 7.5 percent growth in 2010 before Rousseff took office.