It's always interesting to read such misinformed comments from US readers, as if Brazil was the jungle and nothing else. Almost NOBODY lives in the Amazon, Sir, and no high-tech industries exist in the rainforest region, apart from the customs-free industrial zone set up in the Amazon State capital Manaus more than 40 years ago.
Actually more than half of the Brazilian population is already "middle class", not to mention its very rich elite...Brazil is the 4th biggest market in the world for cars, and would be EVEN bigger were it not for the very high taxes that plague the country.
And before some person starts saying something about Brazil being the next "China sweatshop", it's important to highlight that the country has one of the highest labor costs on Earth, as well as a very extensive safety net - this is why you don't see "Made in Brazil" stickers like you do for China, Bangladesh, Poland, Romania and other low-cost places. In fact, the Brazilian labor force today is probably more expensive than the US one, notably at executive level (CEO/Director-level salaries in Brazil are the highest in the world). Comparisons with labor costs in China are, in any case, totally unwarranted since Brazilian labor is MUCH more expensive than in Asian sweatshops.
The main objective of this initiative is not simply to create jobs: it's to foster the high-tech sector and give much easier access to tablets as the next big thing in digital inclusion policies - IMPORTED electronics are very expensive in Brazil, and with local production (even if many components are still imported), the final price can fall by at least 30% in there because of tax reductions...a great achievement already.
As for Apple/Foxconn, they secure a manufacturing spot in a safe, democratic and Western powerhouse, while tapping the gigantic local market big time - the usual Brazilian mongrel dogs (those who never say anything positive about the country) may say that this is just an "assembly" factory using imported parts - fact is: access to technology is crucial for Brazil's definitive entry into the developed Western world, and the network/indirect economic benefits from having a Foxconn plant there will definitely lead to at least some degree of technology transfer and expertise.
And I assure you will NOT hear about "Chinese suicides" down there - we are far more protected and expensive than the usual Asian or even US employee.
p.s.: MR editors, PLEASE correct the name of the Brazilian Minister: it is Aloízio Mercadante..!
