17/02/2020 Liberty Is on the Rise in Brazil - Foundation for Economic Education

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Brazil
We are con dent that if those who love liberty continue to work hard and
smart, Brazil’s best days are ahead.

Monday, January 13, 2020

Photo by Sergio Souza on Unsplash

Lawrence W. Reed Rafael Ribeiro

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17/02/2020 Liberty Is on the Rise in Brazil - Foundation for Economic Education

Economics Liberty FEE would

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(Editor’s Note: This week, online and in bookstores all across Brazil, the Sao
Paulo-based publisher Faro Editorial releases Como Se Preparar Para Uma
Economia Liberal by FEE President Emeritus Lawrence W. Reed. It’s a
Portuguese adaptation of his book Are We Good Enough for Liberty? and
includes additional chapters drawn from FEE.org. To mark the occasion,
Mr. Reed collaborated with Rafael Ribeiro of Salvador, Brazil, in the
preparation of this essay. Last year, Faro Editorial published Desculpe-Me
Socialista, a popular Portuguese version of Reed’s Excuse Me, Professor:
Challenging the Myths of Progressivism.)

_____

Many eyes around the world are watching Brazil, a country of 210
million people and Latin America’s largest. For those who love liberty
and free markets, it’s a place that now offers hope in place of the
despair that gripped the country before elections in 2018 swept
socialists from their long-held positions of power.

Brazil has experienced an extraordinary shift away from statism—in

terms of both popular ideas and public policy. These things never
move in a straight line, and there’s certainly still an immense amount
of progress yet to be made. But make no mistake about it, Brazil is a
different place today than it was a decade ago. The optimism,
excitement, and activity among Brazilians who long for a free society
are palpable nearly everywhere.

Books and articles written by scholars such as Milton Friedman,

Friedrich Hayek, and Ludwig von Mises can now be found with
Portuguese translations in bookstores across Brazil. Even previously
ignored pro-liberty Brazilian authors like Roberto Campos, once
unknown by the general public, are being given their due recognition.
Foreign and local organizations have been established, promoting
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17/02/2020 Liberty Is on the Rise in Brazil - Foundation for Economic Education

ideas to create and support a new

FEE would like generation
to send you pushof in uencers. And most
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importantly, ordinary people when new articles
are rejecting tired,areold, anti-freedom
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concepts that dominated Brazilian hearts and minds for many
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Winds of Change
The winds of change are blowing in Brazil. Citizens are becoming more
demanding with regard to both economics and politics; they want
results, not empty promises made with other people’s money.
Throughout the country, many new members of the federal Congress
and state assemblies have been chosen on platforms of feasible, pro-
liberty ideas. Terms like privatization are no longer considered
politically detrimental, while other ones, such as taxation (especially
more of it!), are now widely viewed as pejoratives.

In recent years, the number of Brazilians investing in the stock market

has doubled. And Brazil is the only country in the world where a
Google search for Austrian economist Ludwig von Mises surpasses that
of mainstream interventionist John Maynard Keynes.

“What’s next?” one might ask. Are Brazilians good enough for liberty?
It’s beginning to appear as if they might be, but they’re just getting
started. Brazilians have always exhibited an entrepreneurial spirit and a
measure of good character, and they have demonstrated an inclination
for liberty over subjugation. But ideas of state control and
redistribution pushed upon society by a handful of progressives have
taken a terrible toll and sidetracked Brazilians on the road to
prosperity. Brazilians have much to do to make sure the country will
continue moving in the direction of liberty.

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17/02/2020 Liberty Is on the Rise in Brazil - Foundation for Economic Education

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Pictured on the left is Alexandre Aleluia, FEE alum and Councilman on Salvador's City Council in
Brazil, and on the right is author Rafael Riberio. 

Freedom Movements on College Campuses

One step is spreading the freedom philosophy on more college
campuses in Brazil. It is of utmost importance because today’s
students will be tomorrow’s leaders. Como Se Preparar Para Uma
Economia Liberal will play a huge part in that effort.

Pedro Almeida, editorial director at Faro Editorial, explains the

backdrop that led to his decision to publish the book:

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17/02/2020 Liberty Is on the Rise in Brazil - Foundation for Economic Education

We decided to release
FEEMr. Reed’s
would book
like to send youearly
push this year because
Brazil is undergoing notifications when new articles
a major political are
and economic restructuring.
published.
And we need more material about Classical Liberal thought. For
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decades, the countrysettings.
lived under socialist theories, but now
everything isPowered
changing.
by The book comes
Don't Allow at a great
Allow time to start the
year under new perspectives for a truly liberal economy.

In late 2019, the current president of the country launched a

package of economic freedom laws to reduce bureaucracies at all
levels and encourage entrepreneurship, which ultimately reduces
state corruption and produces job creation. Reed’s book will
provide support, as one does not change a culture overnight
without sound ideas persuasively offered. It provides the basis for
Brazilians to understand how to operate in this new economic
model that emphasizes freer markets. We are delighted to launch
the book throughout Brazil at a time when we are making the leap
from a socialist economy toward a liberal one.

Brazilians must advance liberty principles in easy-to-understand ways

so they become crystal clear and tied to high standards of truth and
integrity. Good ideas like school choice, homeschooling, private
initiative, and entrepreneurship must be championed to the general
public. Free speech must be expanded to the fullest, not constrained
by political repression. Ordinary people should be free to run for of ce
as independents, representing their communities without a
mandatory party af liation. Brazilians must learn that one’s word and
personal character—not a meaningless stamp from a government
agency—should be paramount when making agreements and
contracts with each other.

The past few years have been amazing for lovers of liberty in Brazil. We
are con dent that if those who love liberty continue to work hard and
smart, the country’s best days are ahead.

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17/02/2020 Liberty Is on the Rise in Brazil - Foundation for Economic Education

So interested readers may

FEElearn more
would like about
to send the changes taking place
you push
notifications
in Brazil, we offer links below when newand
to articles articles are
interviews previously
published.
published at FEE.org
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Lawrence W. Reed isby president emeritus

Powered of FEE. Rafael
Don't Allow Allow Ribeiro is a
Brazilian Fulbright alumnus and the President of Instituto Antônio
Lacerda in the state of Bahia, Brazil. While at the University of Georgia
for a year, he worked with organizations such as Young Americans for
Liberty. He often writes articles related to his home country for FEE.

For additional information, see:

“How the Power of Ideas is Liberating Minds in Brazil” by Rafael Ribeiro

“Brazil Pivots Toward Economic Freedom” by Rafael Ribeiro

“Lawrence Reed on Bolsonaro’s Presidency, Etc.” – a 2019 Interview with

Brazil’s Crusoé magazine

“Will Brazil Take the Venezuelan or the Chilean Path?” by Helio Veiga Jr.

“Let People Be Free” – a 2018 Interview in Brazil with Lawrence W. Reed

“Can Brazil’s Bolsonaro Replicate the Chilean Miracle?” by Daniel J.

Mitchell

“Social Democracy in Brazil Is Robin Hood in Reverse” by Jean Vilbert

“Cuba’s Exit from Brazil’s ‘More Doctors’ Program Reveals the

Exploitative Nature of Socialism” by Rafael Ribeiro

“Can Brazil Save Latin America?” by Lawrence W. Reed (2017)

“What Does the Future Hold for Brazil’s Economy?” — a 2017 Interview
with Lawrence W. Reed

“The Glorious, Hilarious Political Chaos in Brazil” by Raphaël Lima (2016)

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17/02/2020 Liberty Is on the Rise in Brazil - Foundation for Economic Education

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Lawrence W. Reed
Lawrence W. Reed is President Emeritus,
Humphreys Family Senior Fellow, and Ron
Manners Ambassador for Global Liberty at the
Foundation for Economic Education. He is also author
of Real Heroes: Incredible True Stories of Courage,
Character, and Conviction and Excuse Me, Professor:
Challenging the Myths of Progressivism. Follow on
Twitter and Like on Facebook.

Rafael Ribeiro
Rafael Ribeiro of Salvador, Brazil, is a pro-
liberty activist and Fulbright alumnus. While at
the University of Georgia for a year recently, he worked
with organizations such as Turning Point USA and
Young Americans for Liberty and published an article
on FEE.org about Brazilian economist Roberto Campos.
Rafael has translated Mr. Reed’s interview with Brazilian
candidates for Congress into Portuguese.

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