Given Brazil’s past experience, is the current moment one of crisis?

Prof. Paulo Barrozo argued that Brazil has endured related political and economic moments of instability in its history. If anything, our record shows the development of institutional, rule-of-law-advancing solutions to the problems at hand, as well as an overall increase in the nation’s productive capacities and a significant advancement of the social wellbeing of the general public. If this claim is to be true, then it begs the question of how Brazil will continue to move forward while maintaining the improvements it has fought for over its history.

The consequences of the post-Lava Jato and post-commodity eras in Brazilian politics and economy are still to unfold, though Prof. Barrozo displayed unshaken optimism about Brazil’s ability to harness strength to reinvent itself and further its political, institutional and economic commitments.

At the end of our fruitful conversation, we were left with a stimulating provocation, which we now share with the reader: were the world to end today, with what would Brazil have contributed to mankind? Or, In slightly different terms: why is it that we, as a people, are important to the history and future of the world?