Nobody wants to hear about Brazil abroad, says Naji Nahas

An emblematic figure in the Brazilian financial market, known for the episode of the crash of the Rio de Janeiro Stock Exchange, Naji Nahas believes that recent policy choices have made Brazil miss a great opportunity to stand out against its peers on the global stage.

During his participation in a Genial Investimentos event this Wednesday (10), Nahas stated that the recent environment of abundant liquidity in international markets, with strong performance in commodity prices, ended up being wasted by the country.

“Brazil had everything to be booming”, said Nahas, who recently returned to the headlines of the newspapers for organizing a dinner with the participation of former president Michel Temer and businessmen, in which imitations of president Jair Bolsonaro (no party) went viral on the networks social.

He pointed out fiscal policy and elections among the points of attention that reduce the country’s attractiveness from the perspective of foreigners.

“Unfortunately, politics is hurting. You go out there and talk about Brazil, no one wants to hear about Brazil,” said the Lebanese, who has lived in the country since 1969. “I’m not optimistic about 2022, I’m finding the picture very complicated.”

Nahas also addressed the episode that culminated in the crash of Rio’s stock market, emphasizing that it took 16 years to be cleared by the courts of market manipulation accusations in the late 1980s. “Nobody ever wanted to look at the truth,” he said. “It was a drama that ruined my life.”

In 2008, Nahas was arrested during the Federal Police’s investigation of Operation Satiagraha, on suspicion of participating in a scheme to embezzle public funds.