国外囧事: 西红柿涨价威胁巴西总统连任

President Dilma Rousseff may be among the world’s most popular presidents but her re-election next year is being jeopardised by a formidable opponent: the humble tomato.

巴西总统迪尔玛•罗塞夫(Dilma Rousseff)可能是世界上支持率最高的总统之一，但她明年竞选连任的前景正受到一个可怕对手的威胁：不起眼的西红柿。

The price of tomatoes is partly seasonal, but is also symptomatic of rising inflation. It is as sensitive in Brazil – in particular in São Paulo and its state of the same name – as onions in India because of the foodstuff’s status as a staple in a region whose Italian roots run deep.

西红柿价格一定程度上呈现季节性变动，但也是通胀上扬的症状。西红柿在巴西（尤其是在圣保罗市以及圣保罗州）就像洋葱在印度一样敏感，因为它在这个与意大利渊源很深的地区是主要蔬菜。

Bad weather this year has driven tomato prices up by about threefold, provoking protests from restaurateurs in a city known for the country’s best pizzas and pastas. It has thrown a spotlight on nagging inflation .

今年天气恶劣，推动西红柿价格涨了2倍，引发圣保罗市餐厅老板的抗议。圣保罗市的披萨和意大利面举国闻名，味道最好。这凸显出通胀问题令人担忧。

“I’ve had this restaurant for 48 years and this has been the worst price rise I have seen,” said Walter Taverna, whose restaurant is a fixture of São Paulo’s Italian district, Bixiga.

餐厅老板瓦尔特•塔韦尔纳(Walter Taverna)表示：“我经营这家餐厅已经有48年，这是我见过的最严重涨价。”他的餐厅已经成为圣保罗市意大利区Bixiga的一道固定风景线。

He said he had resorted to buying imported tomato purée from Italy.

他表示，他已经转而从意大利进口西红柿泥了。

Inflation is a highly emotive issue in Brazil because of the country’s struggle during earlier decades with runaway price rises of up to 2,500 per cent.

在巴西，通胀是个高度敏感的问题，因为巴西曾有数十年期间物价失控，涨幅高达2500%。

The inflation rate remains well below that of other emerging nations, such as neighbouring Argentina, where it is more than 24 per cent. But last month it hit 6.59 per cent, breaching the top of the central bank’s target range of 4.5 per cent plus or minus 2 percentage points.

目前巴西的通胀率远低于邻国阿根廷等其它新兴国家。阿根廷的通胀水平已经超过24%。然而，上个月巴西的通胀率达到6.59%，打破了巴西央行设定的4.5%上下浮动2个百分点的目标区间。

Although analysts expect it to moderate later in the year, it will continue to pose challenges for Ms Rousseff as she tries to kick-start an economy that grew less than 1 per cent last year.

尽管分析人士预计，今年晚些时候巴西通胀会趋缓，但这仍对罗塞夫总统构成挑战，她正试图推动巴西经济增长。去年，巴西经济增长率不到1%。

She owes much of her popularity rating of 78 per cent to the record low unemployment rate but any inflation shocks will undermine voters’ feelings of wellbeing ahead of elections next year.

罗塞夫的支持率达到78%，这主要归功于她把失业率保持在创纪录低位，但通胀引发的震荡将在明年大选之前破坏选民的幸福感。

That is why at Ceagesp, São Paulo’s central market for fruit and vegetables, the tomato is the dominant topic of conversation among traders.

因此，在圣保罗的水果蔬菜中央市场，西红柿是商贩们谈论最多的主要话题。