Não adianta

E no New York Times, este foi parte do artigo.

“…

The most optimistic projections point to a 3 percent contraction of the economy this year, after a 1.5 percent decline in 2011. Officially, unemployment is at 14.9 percent, its highest point in more than a decade, and more than 30 percent of the country’s young people are out of work. But some analysts suggest that the government is underestimating the true jobless rate, especially for youths, which they say may run as high as 40 or 45 percent.

Hospitals are closing. State benefits, public wages and pensions are being cut. New taxes have been added, and old taxes increased. The government has sold its stake in the national electric company to a state-run Chinese corporation.

In Greece, austerity along these lines unleashed chaos and rage in the streets of Athensand brought about the rise of political extremism. The crisis in France helped drive the conservative Nicolas Sarkozy from the presidency in favor of a socialist, François Hollande, who is calling for a renewed emphasis on growth.

But for all the talk of fascism and firebombs, most people in the austerity zone — which includes Ireland, Greece and Spain — seem to accept their lot. Even the Irish, who have occasionally rebelled against their own government, approved the deficit-cuttingEuropean Union fiscal treaty last week by a healthy margin.

Perhaps nowhere, however, are people quite so acquiescent as in Portugal. Month after month, the government has obligingly put in place the budget cuts, tax increases and loosened labor laws demanded by its international creditors — the so-called troika of the European Commission, the European Central Bank and the International Monetary Fund — with little protest from the Portuguese.

The troika recently cited Portugal’s success in cutting its budget deficit last year to 4.2 percent of gross domestic product, from a high of 10.2 percent in 2009. And with exports rising to a record level in 2011, Portugal’s trade balance has also improved significantly.

While some opposition leaders and trade unions have called to slow the pace of budget cuts, few suggest that the changes are not ultimately necessary. Nor do they contest the urgency of efforts to improve the economy’s competitiveness.

“The Portuguese are mild people,” Mr. Marçalo said. “We don’t take to the streets so much.”

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By me