"In Defence of Brazil" A coalition of left parties, trade unions, civic and church groups has launched a campaign against the neoliberal policies of the Cardoso government and the IMF. Mark Johnson The campaign is a response to the severe economic current crisis. "Inflation is rocketing, the exchange rate out of control, national and international capital is fleeing from Brazil, unemployment at an all-time high, and interest rates higher than for a decade," reports Linha Direta, newspaper of the Workers Party (PT) in Rio Grande do Sul state. "During the last elections, [President] Fernando Cardoso said this 24 International Viewpoint #312 June 1999 decisions in our economy are being made by speculators, multinationals, and the International Monetary Fund. But this is our country, not would be the future, if [PT leader] theirs!" Lula da Silva was elected. Less than The CUT trade union federation one month after * Cardoso's and student groups have adopted adj reelection, this catastrophic scenario the slogan "Out with Cardoso, out cir has become reality." with the IMF". This slogan has not SOI yet been approved by the national "This is our country" leadership of the PT. Lula is
Launching the "Defending apparently reluctant to launch such pr Brazil" campaign in Porto Allegre a slogan until the popular mobilisa- bo on 25 March, PT president Lula da tion has similar force to the move- InS Silva denounced the fact that "the ment to impeach president his go Brazilian economy is no longer in predecessor, President Collor. cO the hands of the Brazilian govern- Not that Lula denies Cardoso's dir ment. The new president of the responsibility. "President Cardoso Banco do Brasil is a French-born was elected on a programme of uS specialist in preparing companies education, health, and increasing for privatisation! In the last month the living conditions of the majority. try we've had two changes at the head Not to sell public property and of of the Central Bank. The new organise the most massive transfer CO President, Armino Fraga, is a former of resources to foreign hands since Ins employee of the global speculator this country was a colony producing de George Soros! gold for the Portuguese court!"* gr
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education spending on those countries which agreed to submit to the structural adjustment policies. This follows on demands by the World Bank and IMF to reduce both public expenditure and the public deficit.
Reductions in health spending combined with the sometimes drastic fall in a population's real income, lead to an increase in child mortality rates and perinatal maternal mortality rates. This is the case for the poorest countries of Sub-Saharan Africa, Central and Andean America, the Caribbean and South Asia. But it is also true of the lowest income groups in the other developing countries and those in transition towards a market economy. Health indicators throughout the world all showed an improvement during the period from the 50s to the early 80s. But since then, with the application of structural adjustment policies, the list of countries where progress has slowed gets longer and longer. As does the list of countries where the situation has deteriorated.