You ruined everything.

To be sure, by sending mixed signals to financial markets, the Brazilians may have botched their attempt to cool down inflows.

Over the last two decades, our elites have been unable to maintain it, as economic power has long since gone global and dislodged itself from political power, often corrupting democratic politics in the process.

But a strong and durable economic expansion is unlikely until progress is made in dealing with the toxic assets poisoning the balance sheets of financial institutions and bedeviling policymakers almost everywhere.

It is traditional for teens and children to jump over the bonfires an allotted number of times for good luck sadly, this year's celebrations were marred by the death of two people, one of which died when he tripped while trying to jump over one of the biggest bonfires, perishing in the middle of the fire to unsuccessful attempts to rescue him by onlookers.

But Brazil s President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva, perhaps fearing the infamous resource curse that has blighted the development of so many countries blessed with mineral wealth, is determined that the new oil wealth not be turned into nonsense.

My carry on was carefully scrutinized, my passport examined from every angle, my shoes turned upside down (supposedly to see if anything was hidden in them), and my makeup bag was gone over with a fine tooth comb.