Jair Bolsonaro is not the only reason his country is in a ditch

HOSPITALS ARE full, favelas echo with gunfire and a record 14.7% of workers are unemployed. Incredibly, Brazil’s economy is smaller now than it was in 2011—and it will take a lot of strong quarters like the one reported on June 1st to repair its reputation. Brazil’s death toll from covid-19 is one of the worst in the world. The president, Jair Bolsonaro, jokes that vaccines might turn people into crocodiles.

Brazil’s decline was shockingly fast. After the military dictatorship in 1964-85, the country got a new constitution that returned the army to barracks, a new currency that ended hyperinflation and social programmes that, with a commodity boom, began to ease poverty and inequality. A decade ago the country was flush with oil money and had been awarded the 2014 World Cup and the 2016 Olympics. It seemed destined to flourish.

Brazil failed to seize the opportunity. As our special report this week argues, consecutive governments made three mistakes. First, they gave in to short-termism and put off liberal economic reforms. Blame for this belongs chiefly with the left-wing Workers’ Party, in office in 2003-16. It oversaw growth of 4% a year but did not invest to raise productivity. When commodity prices fell, Brazil faced one of its worst-ever...