tiagoam

Jim Cramer's Mad Money In-Depth Stock Picks, 7/16/07

Is Philips tired of Brazil?

I saw in Brazilian press today numerous releases from Philips, in all of the country's most important newspapers, in which the company's Brazilian unit and its CEO show their support for a movement called "Cansei" (Portuguese for "I'm tired").

I suspect that, unbeknownst to its investors, Philips is endorsing a political movement, and a very controversial one.

By adhering to "Cansei", Philips takes a stance in Brazilian politics in the least honorable way possible: by participating in a movement designed to be a political low-blow at the recently re-elected president of Brazil.

To support such conclusion, it suffices to describe the movement's announced objective and their course of action: "Cansei" states it is against government corruption, government inefficiency, violence, unemployment, among other issues, but, as a form of protest, they propose a minute of silence in the memory of victims of a flight that recently crashed in a Sao Paulo, Brazil, airport, killing 200 people.

That accident killed a national parliament minority leader, and generated a significant media and politicians outcry against the recently re-elected Brazilian government, from suggestions that the airport's runway was improper for landings to accusations of corruption and disdain for middle-class Brazilians.

It's still early to know whether those complaints are justified, some of them are just politics anyway and, as such, will be matter of hot controversy throughout the years.

But having a company endorse a political movement just doesn't seem sound, anyway, irrespectively of its correctednes, which seems to be, to a significant part of Brazilian population, at least, very questionable.