Foreign investors are not attracted to Brazil by high interest rates but because the economy has sound fundamentals, is well diversified and has a large and expanding consumer market. That´s the view of is, Henrique Meirelles, the chairman of the Brazilian Central Bank who has been steering the monetary authority during President Luis Inácio Lula da Silva´s two terms in office. In this interview, Meirelles – who is expected to leave the Central Bank in the near future and stand for the governorship of his native state of Goiás next year - explains why he has no doubt that Brazil will emerge from the current crisis in better shape than it was when the crisis broke out.

by John Fitzpatrick

If São Paulo state governor Jose Serra stands for the presidency next year he will find it difficult to attack President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva´s economic record. Brazil´s economy has grown under Lula´s administration and has avoided the worst fallout from the global economic crisis. Serra – who is well ahead in opinion polls - might be better advised to play up his track record as health minister from 1998-2002 when he led a successful campaign to combat AIDS and slashed the cost of drugs by introducing generics. Health will cast a shadow over this election in another way as Lula´s favorite candidate, Dilma Rousseff, is being treated for cancer and there are still doubts over whether she will stand.

Federal and state authorities in Brazil have signed what the Brazilian environment minister Carlos Minc described as "a historic step forward for wind energy in Brazil". It is estimated that Brazil has the greatest wind power potential in the whole of Latin America and the Caribbean, although it only has around 200 MW of installed capacity at present. The so-called "wind charter" is aimed at developing public policies and setting targets for the production of wind energy, which currently accounts for less than 1% of the power generated in South America’s largest country. It also establishes goals for raising funds, formulating public policies and creating incentives for developing wind power.