IMF doubles 2017 growth outlook for Portugal

[Brás Garcia de Mascarenhas]

LISBON, June 30 (Reuters) - The International Monetary Fund has more than doubled its 2017 growth outlook for Portugal after the country's "near-term outlook strengthened considerably", thanks to rising investment and exports, it said on Friday.

In a report on a monitoring mission following the end of Portugal's bailout in 2014, the IMF now predicts that gross domestic product will grow 2.5 percent this year, up from a forecast of 1.3 percent released in February.

The upgrade is similar to ones made by many official forecasters, who have sharply raised their growth assessments of the country in the past few weeks, partly due a rapid improvement in Portugal's fiscal accounts.

Earlier this month, the Bank of Portugal raised its growth outlook to 2.5 percent from a previous estimate of 1.8 percent.

The IMF said it now sees growth of 2.0 percent in 2018, up from its previous estimate of 1.2 percent.

"Portugal's near-term outlook has strengthened considerably, supported by a pick-up in investment and continued growth in exports, as recovery in the euro area has gained momentum," the IMF said. "Portugal has also made commendable progress in addressing near-term risks."

The lender said a key improvement was Portugal's reduction of its budget deficit, to 2.0 percent of GDP last year, the country's lowest since the 1970s. Portugal's goal to cut the deficit further to 1.5 percent of GDP this year "is well within reach," the IMF said.

Portugal's growth improvement has been boosted by tourism, which is set to generate double-digit revenue growth for the fourth year running in 2017, helping a rebound in the construction sector, the IMF said.

"There are also signs of a broad-based pickup in exports, boosted by the robust euro area recovery," the IMF said. (Reporting By Axel Bugge; Editing by Toby Davis)


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[Brás Garcia de Mascarenhas]

[JMack]

Good. Portuguese people deserve better than what these Euro bandits were doing in Portugal in the last decades.

But the truth is that nothing will change in most places that have been affected by the crisis if the Anglo empire stand still. What people doesn't understand is that exists a very strong correlation between culture and economics. So it doesn't matter if Portugal grows economically if Portuguese kids stay buying american things, Portuguese women seeing American Holywood stars as models and, mainly, Anglo-American ideals of how to govern your country or run your lives. If Anglo-American softpower stay untouched, it's difficult even to start to change the things.

Actually it's the same problem in all places. You can switch ''Portuguese'' for almost any Southern European ethnicity and the situation is the same. People doesnt understand that we live in a Anglo-American colonized world. Everyone is so colonized, even supposed nationalists in this forum, that the Anglo obsession with the idea of ''race'' touches even nationalists from Southern countries, places where these ideas should be foreign.

I remember talking with Prof. Claudio Mutti in Bologna and he said that the end of Anglo-American colonization is the only viable solution to Europe. It's basically what Dugin, Alain de Benoist and the other nationalists are saying.

[Brás Garcia de Mascarenhas]

Good. Portuguese people deserve better than what these Euro bandits were doing in Portugal in the last decades.

But the truth is that nothing will change in most places that have been affected by the crisis if the Anglo empire stand still. What people doesn't understand is that exists a very strong correlation between culture and economics. So it doesn't matter if Portugal grows economically if Portuguese kids stay buying american things, Portuguese women seeing American Holywood stars as models and, mainly, Anglo-American ideals of how to govern your country or run your lives. If Anglo-American softpower stay untouched, it's difficult even to start to change the things.

Actually it's the same problem in all places. You can switch ''Portuguese'' for almost any Southern European ethnicity and the situation is the same. People doesnt understand that we live in a Anglo-American colonized world. Everyone is so colonized, even supposed nationalists in this forum, that the Anglo obsession with the idea of ''race'' touches even nationalists from Southern countries, places where these ideas should be foreign.

I remember talking with Prof. Claudio Mutti in Bologna and he said that the end of Anglo-American colonization is the only viable solution to Europe. It's basically what Dugin, Alain de Benoist and the other nationalists are saying.

Portuguese people buying American products? U.S.A. is not even one of our main trading partners. Spain, Germany and France are. As for Anglo-American ideals, I don't know if you are aware that our present government is constituted by the Socialist Party, the Left Block (the equivalent of Syriza in Greece) and the Portuguese Communist Party. Still quite distant from the Anglo-American ideological spectrum. You're seeing things from a Brazilian perspective, if you had said that we are living on a Europe ideologically dominated by Germany I would have given you some reason.

[Brás Garcia de Mascarenhas]

Thankfully our unemployment rate has been decreasing substantially as well, approaching OCDE average leves. Much of this is the result of tourism revenue, as Portugal is consolidating its name as both a premium and low budget (when compared to other Western nations) tourist destination.

[Brás Garcia de Mascarenhas]

[JMack]

Portuguese people buying American products? U.S.A. is not even one of our main trading partners. Spain, Germany and France are. As for Anglo-American ideals, I don't know if you are aware that our present government is constituted by the Socialist Party, the Left Block (the equivalent of Syriza in Greece) and the Portuguese Communist Party. Still quite distant from the Anglo-American ideological spectrum. You're seeing things from a Brazilian perspective, if you had said that we are living on a Europe ideologically dominated by Germany I would have given you some reason.

Germany itself is dominated by Anglo-American ideals, economics and world-view structure. Basically all the financial system operates with Manhattan/Wall Street at it's main center and financial heart. You can live in Brazil, Portugal, Germany, Togo or even Virgin Islands and still be totally dependent upon this world order that have been constructed post-1945 by American financialists. Why only countries that goes against this system are put as members of the ''Axis of Evil'' (basically Iran, Russia, Syria and North Korea today)? It's because they don't accept the rules of this game, economically, in various degrees, but mainly ideologically and culturally. All this supposed differences in ideology of mainstream political parties are just different sides of the same coin. So they say that the ''mainstream'' society dominated by progressive/liberal media is pluralistic and capable to represent all ideological positions (''see, we have people pro-market and anti-market, pro LGBT and anti-LGBT, pro and anti abortion etc.) when in fact any alternative to this worldview is regarded as craziness, lunacy, thing that only insane individuals and nations would be capable of doing. So they have the imense structure of the soft power (that's a really innacurate term, haha) with the media, music, books, films etc. all representing this supposed ''diverse'' society. It's actually a society dominated by a single and very exclusive Weltanschauung, but this kind of pernicious worldview is disguised as a beneficial thing for all people dominated by this system (''look, the market is the solution'' they say). That's the big difference between the contemporary empire and the empires of the past: People like Julius Caesar, Cortez or Genghis Khan screamed loud and violently that they were big conquerors, they were conquering on the benefit of the Romans, Spaniards or Mongols. Today, the conquerors basically say that if you do what they want it will be better for you. Of course that's some simplification I made and ancient empires also had ideological justifications, but they operated in a totally different way.

European countries alone can't do nothing today, even Germany, that goes against this whole thing orchestrated by the the deep state, financial powers and so on. Even parties that supposedly brag about being free from this (like Syriza) are just playing the rules of the game in another way. That's the reason Syriza was not capable of doing anything they promised that would clash with this system, you can't achieve nothing playing by the rules of the game.

It's a kind of a cultural war, we live in a very conected world, things happening on the other side of the earth can have an instantaneous impact wherever you live. All history is just the playing of great empires and military forces, might is right as said in that famous pastiche of Ragnar Redbeard. Carl Schmitt, would certainly agree, haha. And we have only one big force today: Anglo-American dominated United States of America. We like it or not, they have the power to obliterate the world in seconds if they want. But there's no point in rulling a world devoid of people.

[Brás Garcia de Mascarenhas]

I doubt North Korea is considered evil because of being allegedly against the world order, it has more to do with the fact that it is a tyrannic state. As for Russia and Iran, their ideological premisses might differ but their economic mold is still pretty much based on capitalism like anywhere else. Syria is right now a warn-torn area.

Anglo-American ideals as you speak of and the reigning world order are actually in decay and being unable to keep up with emerging powers like China. It is a matter of decades until China directly competes with the U.S.A. has the only world's police state. It is just not in their political agenda radar right now but pretty much of the world growth is becoming highly dependent on China (Africa per example).