The vote promises to be close. Cardoso loyalists in congress already had to delay a planned referendum on the bill Tuesday because they couldn't be sure it had the votes; now the austerity plan looks headed for a vote late Wednesday. The problem? Its centerpiece is a money-saving reduction in the cushy social security benefits of civil servants -- and in Brazil's congress, that's about as popular as rounding the workers up and shooting them. The plan has broad popular support -- Cardoso was reelected as a budget-cutter -- but legislatures, as America well knows, don't always listen to that pesky vox populi. Perhaps they'll listen to that wolf that's been pawing at their door all week.
Today's the Day for Brazil
SAO PAULO: Maybe the fourth time will be the charm. President Fernando
Henrique Cardoso tries again to yank the budget-deficit bottle from his
country's mouth on Wednesday as Brazil's congress vote on his
fiscal austerity plan. The plan's last failure, in December, sparked the
capital flight that forced Brazil into its current currency debacle; another
one would cause a full-fledged meltdown. Foreign investors have given
a cautious blessing to the real so far, but the country's near future
depends on investors' confidence in Brazil's economy over the long term.