经济学人497:巴拉圭的新总统

 　　The Americas

　　美洲

　　Paraguay's new president

　　巴拉圭的新总统

　　Cartes plays his cards

　　卡特高明的手段

　　Trickle-down economics in one of South America's poorest countries

　　南美最穷一国的滴流经济学

　　IN OCTOBER claims surfaced that Victor Bogado, a Paraguayan senator, had arranged two lucrative¹ public jobs for his children's nanny.

　　十月宣言浮出水面， 巴拉圭的参议院议长柏佳都，为其孩子的保姆安排了两项有利可图的公共工作。

　　A few weeks later 23 of his peers—a majority—voted against stripping him of the immunity² from criminal proceedings³ that Paraguayan legislators enjoy.

　　几周后，23位同僚，大多数反对剥夺巴拉圭立法者所享有的豁免刑事程序。

　　Instead of going unnoticed in a country where political clientelism has long been the norm, the story sparked outrage⁴.

　　按理说国家出现政治上的庇护很正常可被忽略，反而故事引起了更多的愤怒。

　　Restaurants, petrol stations and beauty salons⁵ in the capital, Asuncion, put up signs naming the 23 shameless rats, and barring them as customers.

　　首都亚松森的餐馆，汽车加油站以及美容沙龙，公然张贴了广告名为23只不知羞耻的老鼠，禁止他们进店消费。

　　Two weeks later a senate committee overruled the vote for immunity.

　　两周后，参议院委员会豁免视此种行为属于无效选票。

　　The case of the golden nanny is part of a wider citizen revolt against political corruption⁷.

　　金牌保姆的事件只是更多市民参与反对政治腐败的一部分。

　　In October the Supreme⁸ Court ruled that Daniel Vargas, a radio host, had the right to know the names and salaries of municipal employees.

　　十月份，最高法院判定电视台节目主持人丹尼尔·巴尔加斯，有权知道市政雇员的名字和他们的薪酬。

　　Six years earlier listeners had asked him to investigate; he went to court after being stonewalled.

　　早在6年前听众让其去调查，他在受阻后上了法庭。

　　Without public pressure the Supreme Court would never have dared to move against Congress, says his lawyer, Benjamín Fernandez.

　　若没有了公共压力，最高法院将绝不敢反对议会，他的律师本杰明·费尔南德兹说道。

　　Rather than obliging citizens to seek the information piecemeal⁹, Paraguay's new president, Horacio Cartes, told public bodies to publish it, though many are dragging their feet.

　　而不是为了使有责任心的公众获取的是零碎的信息，巴拉圭的新任总统奥拉西奥·卡尔特，告诉公众去惩治此事，尽管许多人不愿意合作。

　　Mr Cartes, a tobacco magnate, is a political neophyte¹⁰ who only joined the Colorado party in order to run for office in April's general election.

　　卡尔特先生，烟草巨头，也是一名政治新秀，仅为科罗拉多党成员参加了四月普选。

　　The Colorados held power for 60 years, 35 as a notoriously corrupt⁶ dictatorship, before losing in 2008 to Fernando Lugo, a former bishop¹¹ whose left-Liberal alliance promised to redistribute land and cut poverty.

　　科罗拉多党执政60年来，臭名昭著的腐败独裁者多达35名，于2008年失败于巴拉圭领导人费尔南多·卢戈，前任大主教，左倾自由主义联盟承诺重新分配土地以及治理贫穷。

　　In power Mr Lugo turned out to be weak and politically inept¹².

　　手握重权的卢戈不过是一名懦弱的笨拙的当政者。

　　After an unfairly abrupt¹³, though constitutional, impeachment¹⁴ his Liberal vice-president, Federico Franco, replaced him in 2012. Lacking a strong internal candidate, the Colorados plumped for Mr Cartes.

　　尽管是合乎宪法的，他遭到了有失偏颇的突如其来的弹劾，副总统费德里科·弗朗哥于2012年取代了他。由于缺乏强大的内部候选人，科罗拉多政党选中了卡尔特先生。

　　Many assumed the new president would be his party's puppet.

　　许多人设想新任总统将会是其政党的傀儡。

　　Does his support for the anti-corruption fight show that the Colorados got more than they bargained for?

　　他反腐政策表明了科罗拉多意味着他们会获得比他们要求的更多。

　　On taking office in August, Mr Cartes named technically¹⁵ able outsiders to his cabinet and passed a fiscal-responsibility law limiting budget growth to 4% above inflation and the deficit¹⁶ to no more than 1.5% of GDP.

　　自从8月入职以来，卡特尔先生技巧性的给其内阁以外的人，并通过了一项财政法律限制其预算增长到4%通货膨胀以及财政赤字不高于国民生产总值的1.5%。

　　Since most spending goes on wages, that will squeeze patronage¹⁷.

　　因为大多数花销都用于付薪酬，那将会丧失庇护。

　　A new law will allow the executive to auction¹⁸ infrastructure¹⁹ concessions²⁰ without having to get approval from Congress, where the Colorado old guard holds sway.

　　新法将允许行政人员拍卖基础性设施让步，而无须得到由科罗拉多一股老保守派统治的议会的批准。

　　Some waterways should be auctioned²¹ in months, says Jose Molinas, a former World Bank official who is now minister of planning.

　　一些水道应该在近几个月内拍卖，Jose Molinas，前任世界银行的官员现任规划部部长。

　　Landlocked Paraguay relies on rivers to get its vast soya and beef exports to market. Intercity roads will follow.

　　被陆地包围的巴拉圭依靠河运来出口大量的豆类与牛肉。城市间的道路的处理也随之而来。

　　A law providing for disputes between government and concession-holders to be settled by international arbitration²² is planned for 2014.

　　一项解决政府以及让步性之间的争端将有国际仲裁部于2014年开启。

　　The economy is predicted to have grown by 13.6% in 2013.

　　2013年经济被预测已经增长了13.6%，

　　But that is mainly because of a bumper²³ soya harvest after drought saw GDP shrink by 1.2% in 2012.

　　但是这主要是因为2012年国民生产总值减少了1.2%在豆制品丰收后。

　　Paraguay is one of South America's most unequal countries.

　　巴拉圭是南美最不公平的国家之一，

　　A third of its people are poor and 18% extremely so, while 6% of farms occupy 85% of farmland.

　　大约三分之一的人们贫穷，18%极端贫穷，仅有6%的农场就占据了85%的耕地。

　　Though Mr Lugo failed to reform landholding, partly because of opposition²⁴ in Congress, he did introduce modest handouts²⁵ for the poorest.

　　尽管卢戈进行私人性质耕地的改革失败，部分原因是因为议会的反对，他确实为最穷苦的人给予了最简单的救济品。

　　Mr Franco brought in an income tax, albeit²⁶ at just 10% for the highest earners.

　　弗朗哥先生引进了收入税，尽管对收入最高的富人只征收10%的税收。

　　Mr Cartes, too, promises to cut poverty and create a fairer society.

　　卡特尔先生，也承诺消减贫困，创造一个相对公平的社会。

　　But his plans rely less on redistribution than on wooing foreign capital.

　　但是他的计划过度依靠借助外资而不是资源的重新分配重组。

　　He has ceaselessly plugged the opportunities offered by the coming infrastructure auctions²⁷, Paraguay's abundant land, cheap labour, light-touch regulation—and, of course, low taxes.

　　他执着于接洽即将到来的基础设施的拍卖,如巴拉圭的富饶的耕地，廉价劳动力，温和管理模式，当然，还有低税收。

　　He vetoed a levy²⁸ on the export of soyabeans, the economy's mainstay.

　　他决定对豆类的出口进行征税，社会经济的主要来源。

　　A rise in land taxes is the only one planned.

　　耕地税的增长是唯一按照计划进行的，

　　He sometimes strikes an off-key note, as when he told Uruguayan businessmen that Paraguay aimed to be easy, like a beautiful woman.

　　有时候他的做派不是很合理，比如当他告诉乌拉圭商人巴拉圭头脑简单，就像一个徒有其表的美女。

　　But he has swiftly restored ties with Mercosur, a regional bloc²⁹ from which Paraguay was suspended after the ousting³⁰ of Mr Lugo.

　　但是他很快恢复了与南方共同市场，自卢戈被驱逐后，受人怀疑的巴拉圭所在的区域集团。

　　Mr Cartes has secured its readmission, partly by persuading Congress to ratify³¹ Venezuela's admission to the group.

　　卡特尔先生保证了巴拉圭重新获得认可，部分原因是因为说服了议会来修正委内瑞拉的入市资格。

　　It's in Paraguay's interests to be back inside Mercosur, he says. I don't want to waste my presidency³² on fights.

　　他说道：这返回南共市是巴拉圭的利益，我不想把时间浪费在争夺总统之位上面。

　　In Brazil strident calls for land reform faded when growth boosted jobs and salaries in cities.

　　在巴西疯狂叫嚣耕地改革的呼声已经褪去，当时城市工作岗位以及薪水均已经增长。

　　But even if Mr Cartes's brand of trickle-down economics shows promise, many obstacles remain.

　　但是即使卡特尔模式的滴流经济学表态承诺实施，但是仍然困难重重。

　　Paraguay lacks the skilled workers to build all the promised infrastructure.

　　巴拉圭缺乏技术工人来建造所有的承诺过的基础设施。

　　And the Colorado old guard will surely regroup. They are giving me time, says Mr Cartes.

　　科罗拉多老保守派势力势必会重组。

　　If I deliver results it'll be fine. He is counting on people power and openness to maintain momentum³³.

　　他们给予了我时间卡特尔先生说道，如果我传达了结果，事态将会好些。

　　People get used to things getting better. If you give them improvements they won't want to go back.

　　他依靠人民大众的力量，公开保持这种势头。人们已经习惯了越来越好，如果你改善了他们的生活，他们将不想倒退回去。

　　1.instead of 代替,而不是...

　　Consider renting or borrowing instead of buying.

　　考虑用租赁或者借用代替购买。

　　I wish mother was here instead of you!

　　我宁可是妈妈在这里而不是您!

　　2.put up 举起；张贴

　　Protesters have been putting up barricades³⁴ across a number of major intersections³⁵.

　　抗议者们在许多主要的十字路口设置了路障。

　　He was putting up a new fence at his home.

　　他正在为自己家搭建新的篱笆墙。

　　3.ask to 邀请…参加…

　　Audiences often ask to see the previous screen again.

　　听众经常会要求再看一遍上一张幻灯片。

　　Could they ask to be paid for assuming illiquidity risk?

　　他们能够因为预想中的非流动性风险而要求赔偿吗？

　　4.dare to 敢于

　　Politicians must then dare to support such action.

　　届时，政治家们必须敢于支持此类行动。

　　Whether the epp would dare to eject mr berlusconi is another matter.

　　欧洲人民党是否敢驱逐贝卢斯尼先生是另一码事。

1 lucrative   

adj.赚钱的，可获利的

参考例句：

• He decided to turn his hobby into a lucrative sideline.他决定把自己的爱好变成赚钱的副业。
• It was not a lucrative profession.那是一个没有多少油水的职业。

2 immunity   

n.优惠；免除；豁免，豁免权

参考例句：

• The law gives public schools immunity from taxation.法律免除公立学校的纳税义务。
• He claims diplomatic immunity to avoid being arrested.他要求外交豁免以便避免被捕。

3 proceedings   

n.进程，过程，议程；诉讼(程序)；公报

参考例句：

• He was released on bail pending committal proceedings. 他交保获释正在候审。
• to initiate legal proceedings against sb 对某人提起诉讼

4 outrage   

n.暴行，侮辱，愤怒；vt.凌辱，激怒

参考例句：

• When he heard the news he reacted with a sense of outrage.他得悉此事时义愤填膺。
• We should never forget the outrage committed by the Japanese invaders.我们永远都不应该忘记日本侵略者犯下的暴行。

5 salons   

n.（营业性质的）店( salon的名词复数 )；厅；沙龙（旧时在上流社会女主人家的例行聚会或聚会场所）；（大宅中的）客厅

参考例句：

• He used to attend to his literary salons. 他过去常常去参加他的文学沙龙。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• Conspiracy theories about Jewish financiers were the talk of Paris salons. 犹太金融家阴谋论成为巴黎沙龙的话题。 来自互联网

6 corrupt   

v.贿赂，收买；adj.腐败的，贪污的

参考例句：

• The newspaper alleged the mayor's corrupt practices.那家报纸断言市长有舞弊行为。
• This judge is corrupt.这个法官贪污。

7 corruption   

n.腐败，堕落，贪污

参考例句：

• The people asked the government to hit out against corruption and theft.人民要求政府严惩贪污盗窃。
• The old man reviled against corruption.那老人痛斥了贪污舞弊。

8 supreme   

adj.极度的，最重要的；至高的，最高的

参考例句：

• It was the supreme moment in his life.那是他一生中最重要的时刻。
• He handed up the indictment to the supreme court.他把起诉书送交最高法院。

9 piecemeal   

adj.零碎的；n.片，块；adv.逐渐地；v.弄成碎块

参考例句：

• A lack of narrative drive leaves the reader with piecemeal vignettes.叙述缺乏吸引力，读者读到的只是一些支离破碎的片段。
• Let's settle the matter at one stroke,not piecemeal.把这事一气儿解决了吧，别零敲碎打了。

10 neophyte   

n.新信徒；开始者

参考例句：

• The neophyte began to stammer out a reply,but fell silent.新门徒嗫嚅了两句，然后沉默了。
• He is a neophyte at politics.他是个初涉政界的人。

11 bishop   

n.主教，（国际象棋）象

参考例句：

• He was a bishop who was held in reverence by all.他是一位被大家都尊敬的主教。
• Two years after his death the bishop was canonised.主教逝世两年后被正式封为圣者。

12 inept   

adj.不恰当的，荒谬的，拙劣的

参考例句：

• Whan an inept remark to make on such a formal occasion.在如此正式的场合，怎么说这样不恰当的话。
• He's quite inept at tennis.他打网球太笨。

13 abrupt   

adj.突然的，意外的；唐突的，鲁莽的

参考例句：

• The river takes an abrupt bend to the west.这河突然向西转弯。
• His abrupt reply hurt our feelings.他粗鲁的回答伤了我们的感情。

14 impeachment   

n.弹劾；控告；怀疑

参考例句：

• Impeachment is considered a drastic measure in the United States.在美国，弹劾被视为一种非常激烈的措施。
• The verdict resulting from his impeachment destroyed his political career.他遭弹劾后得到的判决毁了他的政治生涯。

15 technically   

adv.专门地，技术上地

参考例句：

• Technically it is the most advanced equipment ever.从技术上说，这是最先进的设备。
• The tomato is technically a fruit,although it is eaten as a vegetable.严格地说，西红柿是一种水果，尽管它是当作蔬菜吃的。

16 deficit   

n.亏空，亏损；赤字，逆差

参考例句：

• The directors have reported a deficit of 2.5 million dollars.董事们报告赤字为250万美元。
• We have a great deficit this year.我们今年有很大亏损。

17 patronage   

n.赞助，支援，援助；光顾，捧场

参考例句：

• Though it was not yet noon,there was considerable patronage.虽然时间未到中午，店中已有许多顾客惠顾。
• I am sorry to say that my patronage ends with this.很抱歉，我的赞助只能到此为止。

18 auction   

n.拍卖；拍卖会；vt.拍卖

参考例句：

• They've put the contents of their house up for auction.他们把房子里的东西全都拿去拍卖了。
• They bought a new minibus with the proceeds from the auction.他们用拍卖得来的钱买了一辆新面包车。

19 infrastructure   

n.下部构造，下部组织，基础结构，基础设施

参考例句：

• We should step up the development of infrastructure for research.加强科学基础设施建设。
• We should strengthen cultural infrastructure and boost various types of popular culture.加强文化基础设施建设，发展各类群众文化。

20 concessions   

n.（尤指由政府或雇主给予的）特许权( concession的名词复数 )；承认；减价；（在某地的）特许经营权

参考例句：

• The firm will be forced to make concessions if it wants to avoid a strike. 要想避免罢工，公司将不得不作出一些让步。
• The concessions did little to placate the students. 让步根本未能平息学生的愤怒。

21 auctioned   

v.拍卖( auction的过去式和过去分词 )

参考例句：

• It was sad to see all grandmother's lovely things being auctioned off. 眼看着祖母那些可爱的东西全都被拍卖掉，心里真不好受。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• TV franchises will be auctioned to the highest bidder. 电视特许经营权将拍卖给出价最高的投标人。 来自《简明英汉词典》

22 arbitration   

n.调停，仲裁

参考例句：

• The wage disagreement is under arbitration.工资纠纷正在仲裁中。
• Both sides have agreed that the arbitration will be binding.双方都赞同仲裁具有约束力。

23 bumper   

n.(汽车上的)保险杠；adj.特大的，丰盛的

参考例句：

• The painting represents the scene of a bumper harvest.这幅画描绘了丰收的景象。
• This year we have a bumper harvest in grain.今年我们谷物丰收。

24 opposition   

n.反对，敌对

参考例句：

• The party leader is facing opposition in his own backyard.该党领袖在自己的党內遇到了反对。
• The police tried to break down the prisoner's opposition.警察设法制住了那个囚犯的反抗。

25 handouts   

救济品( handout的名词复数 )； 施舍物； 印刷品； 讲义

参考例句：

• Soldiers oversee the food handouts. 士兵们看管着救济食品。
• Even after losing his job, he was too proud to accept handouts. 甚至在失去工作后，他仍然很骄傲，不愿接受施舍。

26 albeit   

conj.即使；纵使；虽然

参考例句：

• Albeit fictional,she seemed to have resolved the problem.虽然是虚构的，但是在她看来好象是解决了问题。
• Albeit he has failed twice,he is not discouraged.虽然失败了两次，但他并没有气馁。

27 auctions   

n.拍卖，拍卖方式( auction的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• They picked up most of the furniture at auctions in country towns. 他们大部分的家具都是在乡村镇上的拍卖处买的。 来自辞典例句
• Our dealers didn't want these cars, so we had to dump them at auctions. 我们的承销商都不要这些车子，因此我们只好贱价拍卖。 来自辞典例句

28 levy   

n.征收税或其他款项，征收额

参考例句：

• They levy a tax on him.他们向他征税。
• A direct food levy was imposed by the local government.地方政府征收了食品税。

29 bloc   

n.集团；联盟

参考例句：

• A solid bloc of union members support the decision.工会会员团结起来支持该决定。
• There have been growing tensions within the trading bloc.贸易同盟国的关系越来越紧张。

30 ousting   

驱逐( oust的现在分词 )； 革职； 罢黜； 剥夺

参考例句：

• The resulting financial chaos led to the ousting of Bristol-Myers' s boss. 随后引发的财政混乱导致了百时美施贵宝的总裁下台。
• The ousting of the president has drawn widespread criticism across Latin America and the wider world. 洪都拉斯总统被驱逐时间引起拉丁美洲甚至全世界的广泛批评。

31 ratify   

v.批准，认可，追认

参考例句：

• The heads of two governments met to ratify the peace treaty.两国政府首脑会晤批准和平条约。
• The agreement have to be ratify by the board.该协议必须由董事会批准。

32 presidency   

n.总统(校长，总经理)的职位(任期)

参考例句：

• Roosevelt was elected four times to the presidency of the United States.罗斯福连续当选四届美国总统。
• Two candidates are emerging as contestants for the presidency.两位候选人最终成为总统职位竞争者。

33 momentum   

n.动力，冲力，势头；动量

参考例句：

• We exploit the energy and momentum conservation laws in this way.我们就是这样利用能量和动量守恒定律的。
• The law of momentum conservation could supplant Newton's third law.动量守恒定律可以取代牛顿第三定律。

34 barricades   

路障，障碍物( barricade的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• The police stormed the barricades the demonstrators had put up. 警察冲破了示威者筑起的街垒。
• Others died young, in prison or on the barricades. 另一些人年轻时就死在监牢里或街垒旁。

35 intersections   

n.横断( intersection的名词复数 )；交叉；交叉点；交集

参考例句：

• Traffic lights have been placed at all major intersections. 所有重要的交叉路口都安装了交通信号灯。
• Intersections are of the greatest importance in highway design. 在道路设计中，交叉口占有最重要的地位。 来自辞典例句