The United Nations (UN) said Tuesday that a global recession was likely, and lowered its gross domestic product (GDP) growth estimates for several countries including Brazil.
In a document, the UN revised its estimates for Brazil's GDP growth in 2012 from 5.3 to 2.7 percent. The figures are below the average growth estimated for Latin America, which is 3.6 percent.
The UN also said that if Europe fails to recover from its current economic crisis, Brazil may grow only 0.5 percent this year.
However, estimates from the UN are much lower than the Brazilian government's. Finance Minister Guido Mantega believed the country will grow 4 to 5 percent this year, while the Central Bank estimated a growth of 3.5 percent.
The local market was also more optimistic than the UN. In the latest Focus market survey, economists from Brazil's financial institutions anticipated a 3.27 percent growth for 2012.
According to the UN's estimate, besides Brazil and Mexico, other emerging countries such as India and China will also suffer from the impact of the crisis.