In order to grow and try to escape the influence of international crises, Brazil has intensified the adoption of an economic model based on consumption and credit expansion - which contributed to an increase in public debt. However, the model is exhausted and today a growth model based on increasing investments is supported.  According to José Roberto Afonso, an Applied Economics researcher from FGV's Brazilian Institute of Economics (IBRE), in order to create a sustainable environment that encourages investment financing, Brazil needs to reduce its gross debt - sum of internal and external (bank and securities) debt of federal, state and municipal governments -, which has already reached 59.6% of the Gross Domestic Product (GDP) last May. Our gross debt is too high, above the average for emerging markets, points out Afonso, specialist in public finances.  Click and read the full analysis (in Portuguese).