Brazil is blessed. Its proven reserves(已探明储量) of oil are huge and growing. Within its borders the world’s largest river, the Amazon, flows through its greatest rainforest. More than half of Brazil’s electricity comes from hydropower(水力发电). Its farmland is among the most productive on the planet; it will soon become the largest exporter of food, overtaking America. Beneath its soils lie vast deposits of rare-earth minerals(稀土矿物). Its 220m people are enterprising(有进取心的), creative and diverse. Brazil’s vast potential has long been apparent. When the capital, Brasília, was built in the 1950s, its streets were laid out in the shape of an aeroplane, symbolising a country ready to take off(起飞；腾飞).
巴西得天独厚。其已探明石油储量巨大，且仍在增长。世界第一大河亚马孙河穿境而过，流经全球最大的雨林。巴西一半以上的电力来自水电。它的农田是地球上生产力最高的农田之一，很快将超越美国，成为全球最大的粮食出口国。其土壤之下蕴藏着大量稀土矿产。2.2亿巴西人富有进取心、创造力和多样性。巴西的巨大潜力早已显而易见。20世纪50年代修建首都巴西利亚时，街道被设计成飞机的形状，象征着一个准备起飞的国家。
Yet it is still stuck on the runway(困在跑道上). Over the past half-century, rather than taking wing(展翅高飞), Brazil’s economy has stagnated(停滞) relative both to its peers and average global growth. The general election on October 4th offers little hope of a turnaround(转机；好转). The choice before Brazilians is bleak(黯淡的).
然而，它至今仍困在跑道上。过去半个世纪，巴西经济非但没有展翅高飞，反而相对于同类国家和全球平均增速陷入停滞。10月4日的大选几乎带不来任何转机的希望。摆在巴西人面前的选择黯淡无光。
The incumbent(现任的) left-wing president, Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva, known as Lula, faces Flávio Bolsonaro, the eldest son of his right-wing populist(民粹主义的) predecessor, Jair. Lula is about to turn 81, the same age Joe Biden was when he dropped his re-election bid in 2024. He is a democrat, and sound on(在……方面可靠) the environment. But he has done precious little(少得可怜) to unleash(释放；激发) growth or restrain spending. He has failed to push economic reforms, bar a sales-tax simplification, and calls fiscal discipline “nonsense”.(除了一项销售税简化措施，他未能推动任何经济改革，还把财政纪律称为“无稽之谈”。) His government is on course to(势将；预计会) end the term with the largest public-debt-interest bill in a quarter of a century.
现任左翼总统路易斯·伊纳西奥·卢拉·达席尔瓦（人称卢拉）的对手是弗拉维奥·博索纳罗——其右翼民粹主义前任雅伊尔·博索纳罗的长子。卢拉即将年满81岁，与乔·拜登2024年放弃竞选连任时同龄。他是一位民主派人士，在环境问题上立场可靠。但他几乎没有为释放增长潜力或约束开支做过什么。除了一项销售税简化措施，他未能推动任何经济改革，还把财政纪律称为“无稽之谈”。他的政府任期结束时，预计将留下四分之一世纪以来最大规模的公共债务利息账单。