Two priorities for the Dilma administration

Continuity is the word in Brazil. After a brief wobble last month, Dilma Rousseff eventually secured the presidency this weekend, defeating Jose Serra in a run-off yesterday. So far as economic policy is concerned, Dilma is unlikely to depart from the path that has served Brazil so well over the past decade and potential growth should remain around 4-5% for the foreseeable future. But in truth this is a missed opportunity to shift the economy to an even higher growth trajectory. What’s more, a tendency to rely on foreign capital to finance a pick-up in investment suggests that an increasingly bumpy path may lie ahead.