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Why Brazil's Government Shake-Up Matters To Americans

Besides being a big democracy, Brazil is the kind of country that Americans should want to see suceed, says AS/COA's Brian Winter in interview with NPR's All Things Considered.

 

 

 

Brazil's political implosion matters not just to Brazilians but to the world. Brazil is the largest economy in Latin America, so to talk about what this means for Americans, Brian Winter joins us. He's the editor in chief of Americas Quarterly. Welcome to the program.

BRIAN WINTER: It's a pleasure to be here.

SHAPIRO: So if somebody came up to you at a dinner party and said, hey, Brian, why should I care that Brazil's president is out, what answer would you give them?

WINTER: Well, first of all, Brazil is big, which you've already touched on. But it's also the kind of country that Americans should want to see succeed. It's a big democracy, a messy democracy certainly lately, but it's the kind of place - it has no real ethnic conflict. It gets along well with its neighbors. And countries like that are in short supply in the world these days.

SHAPIRO: OK, so from a political democratic perspective, we should want Brazil to do well. What about from an economic perspective?

WINTER: It's also a $2 trillion economy. It's the biggest in Latin America. It actually accounts for about 40 percent of Latin America's GDP. And when it goes well, that basically - the whole region south of the United States tends to do better as a result.

SHAPIRO: And when it doesn't...

WINTER: And when it doesn't, it's tough. You know, Brazil has connections to virtually every country in the region. Trade is not huge part of its of its economy. But it certainly is a country that people around Latin America look to....

Listen to the full interview here.

 

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