For months, Brazil’s presidential race has been consumed by concerns over U.S. meddling, a scandal embroiling the Supreme Court and the political fallout from a multibillion-dollar banking corruption investigation.
But for many Brazilians, the most pressing issue as they prepare to vote on Sunday is a crisis much closer to home: crushing personal debt.
More than 80 percent of Brazilian families are in debt, a historic high for the country, according to the National Confederation of Commerce, a retail group.
Brazil also has the highest benchmark interest rate among 40 major economies, and families spend nearly 30 percent of their income on debt payments, according to Brazil’s central bank.
