English class 3, 4, 5

Estudamos um texto nas últimas aulas sobre o governo Lula e o Brasil. Estava em uma revista comercial encartada no Financial Times.

THE NEW BRAZIL / COMMENT

A NATION'S DESTINY

President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva describes his achievements in reviving a stagnant economy and raising his countrymen from poverty

Vocabulário:
Achievements = realizations
Countrymen = fellow people (conterrâneos)
Raising = elevation
Reviving = (restaurar)

WHEN I LOOK back on my seven years as president of Brazil, i have great reason to be proud of the achievements of my government. In that time, we have returned to growth an economy that had long been stagnant, taken tens of millions of people out of absolute poverty, created more than 14m formal jobs and increased workers' incomes. Today, most Brazilians are members of the middle class. Our internal market has also grown exceptionally, which was crucial in protecting Brazil from the worst effects of the global financial crisis.

Vocabulário:
In that time = during this period
Incomes = (rendimentos)
Income = come in
Input = put in
Output = put out
Income tax = (imposto de renda)
Income and jobs = (emprego e renda)
Internal market = domestic market (é mais comum nos Estados Unidos)
Exceptionally = dramatically (não quer dizer dramático!)

Most Brazilians = generally speaking (a maioria dos brasileiros)

We did this while keeping inflation under control, reducing the ratio of debt to gross domestic product and rebuilding the regulatory functions of the Brazilian state.

Vocabulário:
Por que 'We did this' e não 'We made this'?
É como se Lula respondesse a uma pergunta: What do/did you do?

GDP = PIB
Gross Domestic Product = Produto Interno Bruto
Ratio of debt = a proporção da dívida/ a razão da dívida
Ratio of debt to gross domestic product = a relação dívida/PIB (no Brasil é 37%)

We set in motion a powerful process to improve our infrastructure - in energy, housing and social assets - through the accelerated growth programme. As part of this, we are eliminating the bottlenecks that have affected our competitiveness in the past - what is often called the "Brazil cost".

Vocabulário:
Assets = ativos
Assets and liabilits = ativos e passivos
Accelerated growth programme = PAC - Programa de Aceleração do Crescimento
Bottlenecks = (gargalos)

I am the first president of Brazil without a university degree, yet my government has built the most universities, and ensured they open their doors to hundreds of thousands of young poor people.

Vocabulário:
Yet = tanto pode ser 'ainda' como 'porém' - aqui, porém...
Ensured = to ensure = guarantee/secure... insurance

Sintaxe e morfologia:
Hundreds of thousands
Tens of thousands
Several billions
BUT
14 million (singular)
10 billion (singular)

Brazil has also been able to substantially reduce its vulnerability to external shocks. We are no longer debtors, but have become international creditors. There is no little irony in the fact that the union leader who once shouted "IMF out!" in the streets has become the president who paid off Brazil's debts to the same institution - and ended up lending it $14bn.

Vocabulário:
We are no longer debtors = we are no debtors anymore
There is no little irony = (tá dizendo que é uma grande ironia!)
Union leader = (liderança sindical)
Pay off = (quitar, pagar totalmente)
IMF = FMI

It is particularly satisfying to have led these changes while strengthening democracy. The tough criticism i have faced from the opposition and from sections of the media are testament to the health of Brazil's democracy.

Vocabulário:
Media = mídias (seria a grande mídia aqui no Brasil.
Medium (sg) e Media (pl) MAS no Brasil dizemos MÍDIA com sentido de toda a mídia.

Tough criticism = forte crítica (tough = taff / taff man)

Continua outro dia...