Dilma Here, Obama There

The slow recovery of the American economy had its first anniversary. Since 2009, the country started to dig itself out of the biggest financial crisis since 1930. But the anniversary gift was not a good one. The stock market reflects the gift, with recent data showing that the housing market is far from recovering.

Just as a reminder, it was the puncture in the “real state blister” that shot up the prices on houses and properties throughout the country, making property owners unable to pay their mortgages, creating debts bigger than their own property value and causing them to owe their banks.

As a result, banks made it more difficult to obtain credit, which is required in order to purchase objects such as houses and cars.

And with the stimulus package certainly coming to an end, the private sector is unable to recover.

For example, just like in a team race, the state is trying to pass the bar to the private sector, but it doesn’t have enough energy to keep running.

With the end of monetary help to homeowners who can’t afford to make payments in the refinancing of their properties, the market may collapse again. Home sales dropped 27 percent in July — the biggest fall ever registered.

The economy is showing new signs of exhaustion in other areas ever since the end of the $87 billion stimulus package, which was approved by Congress in 2009.

Also, with the unemployment rate getting closer to 10 percent, the chances of the private sector winning this race are very small.

President Barack Obama has serious problems ahead of him. The Republican Party, the opponent of the Democrats, has a slight chance to win the majority of votes in the House and in the Senate during the legislative elections in November. If that happens, the chances of Obama approving a new package of economic recovery are scarce.

But it’s possible that the Republicans would want to keep the president and the economy on its knees until 2012, with the approach of a new election year.

According to a new poll, the majority of the population disapproves of the Obama administration — 20 months after the new president took the White House, cheered on by 2 million people in Washington.

In Brazil, the economy can be a winning factor in the elections for Lula and Dilma.

For Obama, the picture is this: less time and less hope.