Wednesday, February 15, 2012

Pessimism in Mexico, Optimism in Brazil

Here's an interesting comparison from Este País. Such polls do not lend themselves to nuance, and I've seen others that show Mexicans feeling much more optimistic about life, but it's interesting nonetheless.

2 comments:

Mexfiles said...

Three differences. Brazil since independence has sought a world role. People forget it was a minor 19th century imperialist state, and while less belligerent in the 21st century, still seeks to expand economic and political influence, whereas Mexico has always turned inward and has seen itself as a victim of foreign powers.

Secondly, Brazilians have had social-democratic administrations for the last decade, whereas Mexico had neo-liberal conservatives running the economy.

Third, Brazil is a much poorer country, so modest economic improvement translates into a much more visible social improvement.

AND... Lula and Dilma are just much more intriguing figures than Fox and Calderon.

pc said...

I think you're making it a little more complicated than it needs to be (and I have to say that I am definitely not convinced that the level of intrigue of a country's leaders or their ideology has much of an impact on people's perceptions of the world's path): Brazilian incomes have grown a lot more in recent years.