Brazil, long viewed as one of the most promising emerging markets, has seen its crown slip slightly in recent months. The country has been enshrined as Latin America's economic powerhouse for more than a decade, fuelled by vast resource wealth and investment from China.
Yet its dominance is under threat as other emerging markets compete fiercely on cost.
"The last decade was very good for Brazil," James Lockhart Smith, head of Latin America, Maplecroft, told CNBC.
"Now, Brazil is having to compete with a lot of other countries and it has an Achilles heel in the cost of doing business, so it's much more complicated to generate growth."
After roaring to growth of 7.5 percent in 2010, gross domestic product is expected to grow by 3.2 percent in 2013 by the
Brazil's stock market has also been moribund. The benchmark index, Bovespa is up just 4 percent over the past year and only $7.6 billion was raised by companies listing in Sao Paulo last year, compared to almost $50 billion in 2010, a record year.
(Read More: Why Brazil Must Embrace a Strong Currency )