Brazil's corporations from 21 different business sectors doubled their profits in the five years of President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva administration (2003/2007), according to information disclosed by Economática consultants in São Paulo, in the Brazilian Southeast.
President Lula was first elected in 2002 and re-elected in 2006.
The profits of 257 corporations with shares in the stock market increased 100.76% between 2003 and 2007, which means earnings jumped from the equivalent of US$ 37 billion to US$ 73 billion in 2007; between 2006 and 2007, 20.1%.
The best performance for the fifth year running was the banking sector which managed profits of US$ 14.7 billion last year. Banks are followed by oil and gas, with earnings of US$ 11 billion and mining, US$ 10.2 billion.
If only the profits of oil company Petrobras and mining company Vale do Rio Doce, the two largest corporations of the country are considered, the aggregate profit was US$ 48.7 billion in 2007 compared to US$ 20.3 billion in 2003, an increase of 139.64%.
Just to give an idea, Petrobras profit in 2007 reached US$ 12.7 billion and Vale's US$ 11.9 billion, equivalent to 50.5% of the total registered by all the companies researched by Economática.
Not counting the two giants, the electricity generation sector had profits of US$ 8.6 billion; ironwork and metallurgy, US$ 6.6 billion and telecommunications US$ 4.1 billion.
No wonder the hard core Socialists, former members of the ruling Workers Party, define President Lula da Silva as the father of the poor and the mother of banks?
Mercopress
