I'm in Japan this week producing articles about the Abenomics, the economic policy of Prime Minister Shinzo Abe designed to take the country out of the quagmire (recession and deflation). However, in my conversations with businessmen and government officials, I had to answer how Brazil got into an even worst quagmire (recession, deflation and corruption).
A survey conducted by JETRO (Japan External Trade Organization) with Japanese multinationals gives the size of the pessimism about Brazil. The country scored 0.6 in the ranking of reliability. According to the survey, Brazil faces a “severe business climate” and has some of the worst grades in “complicated tax system” and “high labor costs”. Meanwhile, the survey finds that Mexico is attracting investments from Japanese companies, especially in the automotive sector.
The survey was conducted late last year, so before Petrobras has lost the good paying stamp of credit rating agencies. As the world recovers from the worst global crisis in recent history, Brazil dives deeper into the quagmire, guided by its own government.

*Translation from the original texts which are available on each link.