But during the past five to ten years, Brazilian and Mexican inflation rates have remained low. In particular, inflation in Brazil failed to spike after Brazil experienced financial crises and sharp currency depreciations in the late 1990s. Given Brazil's history of hyperinflation, this stability is especially remarkable.
Brazil did experience an uptick of inflation around its presidential election in 2002, but even this was minor by historical standards. This pattern of reduced inflation is seen across many countries, large and small, developed and developing. The data thus clearly show that better inflation performance in the last decade is a worldwide phenomenon. But is this lower inflation regime likely to persist?