A few months away from the end of the current presidential cycle, Brazilian businessmen consider that health and education are the areas that have worsened the most in the last four years, while agribusiness, infrastructure, the economy and the fight against corruption are the ones that have made the greatest progress in the period. .
This is what the CNI (National Confederation of Industry) survey “Agenda de Prioridades” made in August of this year with 1,001 executives from small, medium and large industries. The survey, carried out by the FSB Research Institute, does not specifically propose an assessment of the government of Jair Bolsonaro (PL), although the time frame coincides with the president’s first term.
In a spontaneous survey, entrepreneurs were asked to point out which areas they consider to have improved the most in the last four years.
Agribusiness appears at the top of the list, with 16% of respondents seeing an improvement in the sector. Infrastructure and economics follow closely behind, with 12% of executives noticing an improvement in both areas. The fight against corruption comes in fourth place, with 10%.
The largest share of entrepreneurs (34%) indicated that other unspecified areas were the ones that improved the most in the last four years, while 17% say that nothing has improved significantly in this period.
Regarding the sectors that have worsened the most in the last four years, education appears in first place, accumulating 22% of the answers, followed by health (21%) and inflation (9%). For 13% of the entrepreneurs interviewed in the survey, there is no area that has worsened the most in the period.
Taxation is seen as a priority
The CNI poll also heard what executives say is the priority of Brazil’s next president. The largest share (43%) pointed out that tax reduction is the most important thing to improve the country’s economy.
The second topic mentioned is also related to taxation and concerns a simplification of taxes, which was mentioned by 28% of executives.
When asked specifically about what to do to generate more jobs, the majority of respondents (56%) point to tax reform as the main measure for the next government.
“The country’s complex and onerous tax collection system inhibits production in all economic sectors and makes it difficult for Brazilians to generate jobs and income. Tax reform is essential to accelerate the pace of economic growth and, therefore, , should be a priority for the next government”, says the president of the CNI, Robson Braga de Andrade, in a note.
They also appear as relevant measures for job creation, freeing up credit for companies to invest and expand their productive capacity (29%) and changes in labor legislation (25%).
Education must come before economic growth
Considered one of the areas that have deteriorated the most in the last four years, education was listed by entrepreneurs as a priority for the industry and for the country’s development. One in three executives said the president who takes over in 2023 should consider this the most important topic.
The second most cited topic was public health (26%), followed by economic growth, which appears in third position with 20% of responses.
For Marcelo Azevedo, manager of economic analysis at CNI, the research shows that there is a demand from the business sector for greater investment in technical education, which is more aligned with the needs of the job market — in addition to a concern with the quality of education.
“Faced with an increasingly technological industry, education needs to keep up with the skills required by companies,” he says.
Optimism about the economy
When it comes to the current scenario, almost half (48%) of entrepreneurs assess the situation of the Brazilian economy as excellent or good. Of all respondents, practically a third (35%) say they are regular, while 17% consider it bad or terrible.
Regarding the future of the country, the outlook is even more positive. Seven in ten entrepreneurs are optimistic: 69% said the economy should improve a little or a lot in the next four years.
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