it isn't a lot of money because the government has been having surpluses of billions of dollars. also, brazil has 7.9 cars per capita, 23.3 million in total (source, in portuguese: http://www.webmotors.com.br/wmpublicador/Colunista 2_Conteudo.vxlpub?hnid=36334 ), which is nothing compared to the numbers in developed countries, but it's a significant number. plus, our roads are terrible, and they *are* considered a priority in brazil; they cause a high number of deaths, plus, on the economic side, they make our exports way more expensive. an april issue of the economist claimed that the cost of transportation of soybeans (one of our most important exports) is more than 20% higher than the one faced by american exporters. so, yes, i'm saying 30 million isn't a lot of money (especially considering bad consequences that this measure could cost), because the government spends less than that on roads, which are considered a huge priority by brazilians and even the government.
oh, and btw, the brazilian government actually provides most of the aids drugs to the people; this measure will save about U$30 million a year, according to the government itself. 30 million is nothing to the government, considering that it invested less than that on roads the whole last year. this is just another populist and dumb move, which can lead to terrible consequences.
i'm brazilian (living in the u.s., though), and i was in brazil during that time, as a matter of fact, i was in two different and very distant brazilian cities during the period youtube was blocked, maceió and brasília. i couldn't access youtube in neither of them. i gotta say, though, that a friend from brasília who had a different isp (not brasil telecom) was able to access it. but i can say that the majority of my friends couldn't access it.
well, a government isn't democratic just because it was democratically elected. hitler was democratically elected.
(godwin's law, i know, but think about it)
Environmentally and financially it's foolish, as a previous poster pointed out. i'm brazilian, and although sugar cane ethanol is 30% less efficient than gas, it is still cheaper than it. i'm living in the u.s. now, so i don't know the prices exactly, but ethanol there is always more than 30% cheaper than gas.
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it isn't a lot of money because the government has been having surpluses of billions of dollars. also, brazil has 7.9 cars per capita, 23.3 million in total (source, in portuguese: http://www.webmotors.com.br/wmpublicador/Colunista 2_Conteudo.vxlpub?hnid=36334 ), which is nothing compared to the numbers in developed countries, but it's a significant number. plus, our roads are terrible, and they *are* considered a priority in brazil; they cause a high number of deaths, plus, on the economic side, they make our exports way more expensive. an april issue of the economist claimed that the cost of transportation of soybeans (one of our most important exports) is more than 20% higher than the one faced by american exporters. so, yes, i'm saying 30 million isn't a lot of money (especially considering bad consequences that this measure could cost), because the government spends less than that on roads, which are considered a huge priority by brazilians and even the government.
oh, and btw, the brazilian government actually provides most of the aids drugs to the people; this measure will save about U$30 million a year, according to the government itself. 30 million is nothing to the government, considering that it invested less than that on roads the whole last year. this is just another populist and dumb move, which can lead to terrible consequences.
i'm brazilian (living in the u.s., though), and i was in brazil during that time, as a matter of fact, i was in two different and very distant brazilian cities during the period youtube was blocked, maceió and brasília. i couldn't access youtube in neither of them. i gotta say, though, that a friend from brasília who had a different isp (not brasil telecom) was able to access it. but i can say that the majority of my friends couldn't access it.
well, a government isn't democratic just because it was democratically elected. hitler was democratically elected. (godwin's law, i know, but think about it)