Em 1999, o economista Robert Barro esteve em Porto Alegre, no Fórum da Liberdade. Foi a segunda visita dele ao Brasil na década de 90, na primeira, em 1996 ele disse que a política fiscal e monetária do governo não era suficientemente séria. Na segunda, manteve a impressão sobre isso e ficou horrorizado com a política do governo do estado do RS(ele teve a infelicidade de vir na época do governo Olívio), parece que disse que nunca mais voltaria aqui. Vou postar a parte do artigo que ele fala do governo do Olívio:

I was not surprised to learn that Brazil had made little progress in tackling its fiscal and monetary problems. But I was astounded to discover that the state in which the conference took place--Rio Grande do Sul--had joined Cuba and North Korea as one of the world's few remaining Marxist economies. The local governor, Olivio Dutra, was even a dead ringer for Josef Stalin. His economic program seemed to have been inspired by the Soviet Union of the 1950s: an end to privatization, creation of new state companies, coercive agrarian reform, governmental repudiation of contracts with General Motors Corp. and Ford Motor Co., curtailment of foreign investment, and the cessation of payments on debts to the federal government. This local program actually made Brazil's national economic policies look pretty good.

To add to the strangeness, Brazil also appears to be the only major country in the world that imposes cumbersome entry requirements on U.S. citizens. I almost did not make the trip in 1996 because of difficulty in obtaining a visa. Brazilians say the U.S. requires them to get visas to visit, too. So it's just a matter of Brazilian pride. But perhaps in this area, as well as in monetary matters, Brazilians ought to worry more about sound policy and less about nationalism.

O artigo completo está em: http://www.businessweek.com/1999/99_18/b3627062.htm