Gabriel Mazzetto

Last week the Brazilian government decided to increase taxes on more than 1,200 imported products under the justification of “protecting national industry.” Among these products are smartphones, notebooks, and computer hardware components. But here’s the ironic part: Brazil doesn’t even have a smartphone industry nor a significant hardware manufacturing sector to protect. These taxes aren’t protecting anything or anyone. Now keep in mind that for us Brazilians, these products are already absurdly expensive because of the exchange rate (the U.S. dollar is currently about R$5.20) and on top of that we already face astronomical import-related taxes. In many cases of online imports into Brazil, the federal import tax of 60% plus state ICMS pushes the effective tax burden close to around 92% of the product’s value because of how the taxes compound. Now imagine adding yet another percentage on top of all that, a percentage that is inherently inflationary. Do you see where I’m going with this? I have never seen Brazil in such a bad situation in my entire life. Not only economically, but also in terms of public safety, and morally and intellectually as a society. There is also a growing concern about judicial activism and the increasing concentration of power within institutions that were meant to act as neutral arbiters. Even our national soccer team seems symbolic of the broader sense of decline... I genuinely feel like my country is walking toward an inevitable cliff, and all we can do is delay the fall for as long as possible. Brazil has too many uninformed and manipulated people who are intentionally kept that way by those in power who benefit from maintaining dependency in exchange for votes and crumbs, eroding education, critical thinking, and moral character in the process. That’s the Brazil people outside don’t see. Many skilled Brazilians are leaving the country. And if the current political direction continues after the next elections, I believe it could represent a decisive turning point for the country. Salvation feels individual at this point.