Euro zone crisis will not affect Brazil

Brazil’s Finance Minister Guido Mantega said on Friday a crisis in the euro zone will not affect 2010 growth in Latin America’s largest economy although it could have an impact on exports.

“What could affect us is that the recovery of European countries will be slower, so that world trade will react more slowly and we will have to wait longer to increase exports to the European Union,” Mantega said.

World markets have been in turmoil in recent weeks on fears Greece’s debt crisis could spill over to other European economies.

Greece’s parliament backed an austerity plan on Thursday but selling accelerated across global markets after the European Central Bank said it had not considered buying government bonds to ease Greece’s debt crisis.

Local economists in a weekly central bank survey now see Brazil’s economy expanding 6.06 percent in 2010.