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Through Provisional Measure number 881/2019, known as the “MP for Economic Freedom”, Brazil has managed to reduce bureaucracy to boost small and medium enterprises. In addition, it will eliminate licensing requirements for at least 287 activities.
Currently, Brazil is ranked 109th by the World Bank in terms of ease of doing business. Bolsonaro’s provisional measure seeks to boost Brazil’s standing in the rankings by reducing the regulatory burden for small businesses.
It also seeks to return Brazil to the essence of its Constitution and respect free market initiative, which was strangled during the cancerous spread of so-called “Socialism of the 21st Century,” propelled under the auspices of the Forum of Sao Paulo, and implemented in Brazil by Lula da Silva and Dilma Rousseff.
According to Article I of the Constitution, Brazil has as its foundation sovereignty, citizenship, the dignity of the human person, and the social values of work and free initiative.
Thus, the first paragraphs of Brazil’s Constitution are contrary to the project that was prevailing for years and encouraged economic dependence over achievement and reduced human dignity by promoting reliance on the state. Bolsonaro’s administration is seeking to reverse this phenomenon.
Accordingly, Brazil has reduced the demands made on companies, while asking them to comply with basic and essential standards in environmental and health matters. The home where the small business is run must belong to the employer, who must meet some minimum requirements: fire prevention, zoning issues, and ensuring that the business in question is among the 287 new categories that are undergoing deregulation.
For those who comply with these basic requirements, the state will eliminate fees associated with these licenses, protect the good faith of the employer, allow the registration of companies at home, and prohibits the state or municipality from requesting additional registration, provided that appropriate taxes are paid.
Brazil is betting on the economic freedom that worked in Chile
Deregulation generates favorable results, and has already worked in other countries. For example, Chile is ranked 56th in the World Bank’s ease of doing business ranking, while Brazil is a whopping 53 places lower.
In 2018 alone, 351 small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) were created every day in Chile. If you include large companies, the figure increases to 362.
To facilitate this process, the Andean country has an electronic registration system that saves the employer time and reduces the need for resources at the governmental level.
When the electronic company registration system was created, in 2013, the average creation of new companies was 58 per day, while in 2018 the average reached 362 companies per day. That is, there was a significant difference.
Gun ownership as an extension of freedom
Brazil has decided not only to bet on promoting entrepreneurship to improve Brazil’s economic situation, but also seeks to strengthen the autonomy of its citizens.
That is why the reduction of bureaucracy, which in turn allows the extension of freedom, is not limited to the economic plane. “Life has value, but even more valuable than life is freedom,” said Bolsonaro. He added that “the people must have the right to arms to defend themselves against those who dare to take their freedom.”
Through social networks, President Jair Bolsonaro made the remarks in a speech stating that he and the armed forces support the right of the civilian population to bear arms.
This also helps with the reduction of bureaucracy, since it takes away from the State the monopoly on security and returns to the individual his right to self-defense to protect his life, liberty, and property. So the citizen does not depend solely on a regulatory body for their safety.
Since Bolsonaro assumed the presidency, homicides in Brazil have decreased by 24%. The president seeks to return to citizens the right that was denied to those who voted in favor (60% of the population) of preserving the freedom to take care of themselves and their families in 2005.
It was the political caste dominated by the left that concentrates the power in the state who ignored the results of the referendum, and denied the Brazilian people the right to self-defense.
The consequences of disarmament in Brazil were immediate, with homicides reaching 62,000 per year. Even the promoter of the disarmament law was shot dead with an illegal weapon.
Economy ready to improve
Despite obvious progress, Brazil’s economy has not yet achieved the expected growth. For this, it is necessary to approve Bolsonaro’s pension reform, which has proved an incredible drain on the state budget.
For this reason, recently millions of Brazilians took to the streets in favor of the president and against the “Centrao”, the bloc of centrist politicians that have helped to hinder any progress, so that the productive sector, the private sector, is no longer impoverished by the unproductive sector, the state.
Brazilians are fed up. They are marching to demand less public spending and fewer privileges for the political caste. If achieved, this will lead to economic strengthening of the country.
