One man expressed it this way. "Rio has a limited
number of rich to big rich, and a world of poor to very poor. We
lack a middle class. We are very short on middle class. After the
war people of Brazil flocked to Rio, and, far far oftener than
not, left a position and life much higher than the one they
attained, or could ever attain, in Rio."
Right now, they are slowed down almost critically by reason of a
shortage of American dollars. They want and badly need to buy
from us, but have no stable currency to pay with. Added to this,
it would appear to the average outsider, they have some
unfortunate and crippling legislation that doesn't help this
situation.
We went to a cocktail party at the Copacabana Hotel. And there we
met some 20 to 25 men from the States in various commercial and
financial activities in Rio. It was the general opinion that the
financial and industrial situation is rather bad. No impending
panic seems evident, but a ripple of pessimism exists. As the
evening advanced and the cocktails expanded, that pessimism
dissipated. By the time some of us got to where a cock's tail
blended into the rest of his feathers and where the cocktail
party blended into the dinner party, it appeared a boom was about
to start.
Pages:
283
284
285
286
287
288
289
290
291
292
293
294
295
296
297
298
299
300
301
302
303
304
305
306
307