A truly frightening display of idiocy was on show for viewers of Peru’s TV program “El Cuarto Poder” last night. Finance Minister Luis Carranza was interviewed on show and managed to pack in haughty arrogance, arch stupidity and a full-on attempt at mass-hypnosis in the space of just ten minutes. Here’s an Ottotrans™ of some direct quotes:
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“The most important is that they (the Peruvian people) are relaxed and continue making their consumption, savings and investment decision with a long-term view and not on account of bad news that might appear one day in a newspaper or from a pessimistic analyst.
He then went on to ask people not to be carried away by negativity because the government has the clear objectives to maintain growth and reduce poverty. And then…
“The important thing is to be relaxed and be safe in the knowledge that in the government we are doing everything we can and we have the strength to maintain GDP and employment growth according to our needs.”
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Repeat after me:
“The Government Will Look After You.”
“I’m From The Government And I’m Here To Help You.”
“Every Day In Every Way I’m Getting Better And Better.”
“Fitter, Stronger, More Productive.”
“I’m From The Government And I’m Here To Help You.”
“Every Day In Every Way I’m Getting Better And Better.”
“Fitter, Stronger, More Productive.”
So as you can imagine, Otto is sure his words went down well with the 10,000 Peruvian miners laid off in the first two months of 2009. Certain that the 45% drop in real estate sales registered in Lima in the final three months of 2008 will immediately bounce back thanks to Carranza’s soothing words. And how can there be any doubt that the ZERO PERCENT CURRENT GROWTH registered by local experts (when they don’t swallow the gov’ts massaged numbers whole) will immediately pick up again thanks to Luis’s performance last night?
To round off his pep-talk last night, Carranza reminded the world yet again that the IMF had predicted 5% growth for Peru in 2009. Hey wow..the IMF…they’re serious people and never get it wrong in South America. Or perhaps not.