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Countries experience different stages of the new contagion coronavirus and are using different measures to control the spread of the disease. No one can yet offer a ready and definitive answer, if there is one, on how to deal with this disease. We are all learning. On the economic front, the measures are also varied. Falling interest rates, increased financing and liquidity, social programs and company bailouts are all part of the broad arsenal to mitigate the impact of the recession. In the United States, interest rates have fallen to practically zero. Also as part of the monetary stimulus, the FED announced an asset purchase program with the promise of injecting 700 billion dollars into the market. In Europe, there was little room for interest rates to fall, but this was compensated for with more liquidity injections and fiscal stimuli.

The stimulus package from Germany, a country renowned for its strict control of public accounts, has been called historic. With good reason. Between the creation of an economic stability fund, spending on health equipment, research funding for the vaccine and transfers to families, the volume of resources totals something like 1 trillion euros.

Until March 2020, Brazil was following a different agenda. The country had been trying to contain a persistent fiscal deficit since 2014. With the onset of the pandemic, spending took over. As a proportion of GDP, Brazil's fiscal response to the pandemic exceeds that of countries like Mexico, Russia and Argentina, according to data from the International Monetary Fund's (IMF) Fiscal Monitor.

Here, the wide range of initiatives aimed at credit, which is extremely important at the moment, is also worth highlighting. Through the Emergency Program for Access to Credit, the federal government injected 20 billion reais into the Investment Guarantee Fund. Public banks have created credit lines with special conditions.

To ensure the stability of the financial system, the Central Bank reduced the compulsory deposit and authorized the granting of credit to banks, taking private securities as collateral. Aimed at boosting liquidity, the measures have the potential to reach more than 1.2 trillion reais. The monetary authority also announced measures to free up capital for banks, which could have an impact of 1.3 trillion reais on credit.

Compared to other emerging countries, Brazil comes out ahead, with measures to support the banking system amounting to 20% of GDP. On the part of companies, Central Bank data shows that there is indeed strong demand for credit. The volume of loans grew significantly after the crisis, with a special emphasis on working capital.

Making the journey will require companies to take a breather - we can also call it cash -. Postponing taxes helps to compensate for the drop in turnover. Labor flexibility has been an important instrument for preserving jobs at a time when operating restrictions have reduced activity.

Equally important was the release of the emergency aid, It is aimed at informal workers, individual micro-entrepreneurs and the self-employed whose income has been compromised by isolation. It is estimated that the aid has reached more than 65 million beneficiaries. The measure, which has been extended for another two months, mitigates the social impact of the crisis and, due to its multiplier effect, could have a positive effect on economic activity.

The unprecedented nature of the moment, which will certainly go down in history, justifies the magnitude of the measures. Projections point to a fall in the Brazilian economy of between 5 and 7%. If the most pessimistic forecasts are confirmed, this will be a greater downturn than that accumulated in the 2015-2016 biennium. On the fiscal side, it is estimated that Brazil's debt could reach 100% of GDP in the near future, depending on emergency programs. The time will also come to address this problem. But before that, we need to cross over.

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By: Elias Sfeir President of ANBC & Member of the Climate Council of the City of São Paulo & Certified Advisor