BRAZIL: Legacy of Woes

Five years ago Brazil's President Juscelino Kubitschek unlocked Brazil's treasure chest, hauled out fistfuls of cruzeiros and headed west, into the empty interior. He covered a lot of ground—establishing the new capital of Brasilia, creating an auto industry turning out 140,000 vehicles a year, increasing the gross national product an average of 6% a year, increasing steel production and power output. The trip was expensive: as Kubitschek prepares to clear out of Brasilia's Palace of the Dawn, the chest he leaves is a Pandora's box of fiscal troubles (see chart) for incoming...

Want the full story?

Subscribe Now

Subscribe
Subscribe

Learn more about the benefits of being a TIME subscriber

If you are already a subscriber sign up — registration is free!