Brazil is at "serious risk of slipping into recession" (analyst) Brazil is at "serious risk of slipping into recession" says economist José Ronaldo, from IPEA's research Institute in Rio de Janeiro. Brazil's economy shrank in the first quarter of the year, official data shows, taking Latin America's biggest country to the brink of recession for the first time in two years. IMAGES AND SOUNDBITES of Jose Ronaldo, economist at the IPEA, research institute