Investors, I think, are desperate right now. We've seen the collapse of the Asian markets. We've seen the collapse of Russia. And Latin America is the last of the healthy emerging markets. Brazil is the weakest link in that emerging market chain in Latin America, so, therefore, it's absolutely critical that Brazil, as the largest economy in the region, be shored up, given time and space to work out a problem so that the contagion doesn't continue to spread throughout Latin America.
Brazil is of particular importance to the United States, both economically and geographically.
So there was a real desire in Washington to devise a rescue package that would be both credible and would not do political damage to Brazil's president, Hernando Enrique Cardozo. Re-elected just last month, Cardozo is viewed as a strong and capable leader. And since his re-election, he's tried his best to prepare Brazil for the tough austerity measures he knew the IMF agreement would require. Today, markets in both Sao Paolo and on Wall Street were up slightly. All Rights Reserved.