It is isolated, and the inhabitants are poor, mainly engaged in cattle raising and small-scale farming.

The municipality contains about 55% of the 38,177 hectares (94,340 acres) Nascentes Geraizeiras Sustainable Development Reserve, created in 2014.

The main economic activities are cattle raising (7,000 head in 2006) and farming with modest production of sugarcane, corn, and rice.

The above figures can be compared with those of Poços de Caldas, which had an MHDI of .841, the highest in the state of Minas Gerais.

The lowest was Manari in the state of Pernambuco with an MHDI of .467 out of a total of 5,504 municipalities in the country as of 2004.