The other question is whether Cardoso, once reelected, can finish the job. Here the signals are mixed. Of the president's commitment to his central vision there can be no doubt. Moreover, Brazilian political culture has historically favored avoidance of clear-cut decisions and a preference for accommodation and compromise rather than confrontation and resolution. Unfortunately, without further reforms, particularly reform of the Bra-zilian state, inflation is bound to get the upper hand once again.
Brazil is different from other Latin American countries.
Elsewhere in the region, the United States has become accustomed to worrying about leaders going off in strange directions, taking their countries over the precipice with them. The stakes in this game are too high for anyone to remain indifferent. Mark Falcoff is a resident scholar at the American Enterprise Institute. Reuters dispatch, April 14, 1997. Brazil File , vol.