Trouble Down South

       Let's look at Brazil: the largest country in Latin America; the largest economy in South America; the country with the most natural resources(oil, minerals, timber, ag land); and the largest educated population.   And now- the largest country with a president undergoing impeachment proceedings.
President Dilma Rousseff, in her second term, is being hammered in the polls as voters withdraw almost any support of her administration.  Soon, she will join her neighboring executive- Kristina Kirchner of Argentina, in retirement.
      The web of corruption evident in the PetroBras Oil  Company indictments has finally caught up with the top executives.  The company is partly owned by the Brazilian Government.  Hence, the scandal has entangled elected officials as well as corporate leaders.  Most economists agree that the Brazilian economy is slowing to the point of depression, and could be there in 2016- the year of the Summer Olympics in Rio de Janeiro.  The slide in the global price of a barrel of oil, also predicted to continue to drop, almost guarantees the depressed economy next year.  Perhaps the government will realize that workers cannot retire at age 54 and expect a government pension for the rest of their lives.  Even the Nordics aren't guaranteed such benefits.
     We will continue to observe events in Brasilia, as former president Ignacio de Lula twittles his thumbs waiting to be indicted.  This will certainly taint his bid for presidential election next year.  Old "Brown" eyes may be wishing they were old "Blue" eyes instead.