Brazilian economy could harness success of Rio Olympics yet

Despite the political turmoil, the Zika virus, junk bond rating of its sovereign debt and its deepest recession in a century, Brazil still stands as one of the world’s largest economies – and one of the most important trading partners for Ireland in South America.

Back in 2009 when Rio de Janeiro was awarded the 2016 Olympics and the 2014 World Cup, the economy was looking forward to boom times. Commodity prices were skyrocketing and Brazil had just had its biggest oil discovery.

Enterprise Ireland identified Brazil as a key target market for Irish firms back in progressive years after 2009.