[Bazza6]

FROM MBK:

To explain why your first alternative, “Brazil stalled”, is not possible, I need to contrast the information the Present Perfect verb, and Past Tense verb, give to the meaning in a sentence.
Take this sentence:
He died.
When did this happen? Without a time phrase (e.g. yesterday, or, 6 months ago, or, in 1564), all we know is that this event happened prior to NOW, the moment of speaking the words in the sentence – that is, the past. Pictorially, it is:

………….|………….NOW……..
where | = the event of this death some time in the past.

This sentence:
My aunt has died, so I need to take a day off work to attend her funeral.
The Present Perfect Tense is anchored in NOW, the moment of speaking this sentence; and looks back…looks back over a PERIOD of time; to a POINT in time (specified or not) when some event took place.
Pictorially, it is:

………..|D<…<..has<..died…<.<|NOW…..
where NOW = the moment of speaking
D = death of my aunt
So “has died” = the period of time stretching back from NOW, back to the moment of her death.
When we relate this to your sentences, we see that
“has stalled” tells us of the state of economic growth as of RIGHT NOW in Brazil; whereas ‘stalled’ refers to an event in the past unconnected with NOW. We have “having been trying…” telling us of a period of time that relates to NOW, followed by a verb that refers to some event that could be months ago, a year ago, or last century! The two verb forms are incompatible.

When I have an acknowledgement that you have read this, I will go over your second sentence.