As bases do novo desenvolvimentismo : análise do governo Lula / The foundations of the new developmentalism in Brazil : analysis of the Lula government (2003-2010)

AUTOR(ES)
DATA DE PUBLICAÇÃO

2010

RESUMO

High concentration of political power and social exclusion strongly marked the development of Brazilian society. These characteristics remained while assuming different forms as a result of changes in the system of production and in the political organization of the State in Brazilian history. The Foreign Debt crisis, at the beginning of the Eighties, and later on, the unrestricted opening of the economy to foreign trade and financial flows, the weakening of State Finance and the Deregulation of the economy, during the nineties, interrupted growth and resulted in the increase of external vulnerability and intensified distributive conflicts. As a consequence income and wealth concentration increased as well as social exclusion. In this text we put forward the thesis that recent economic trends in Brazil represent a reversal of the structural features above mentioned. The Lula Administration performed an unprecedented progress in the solution of what was considered to be the Achyles Heel of Brazilian Economy: the so called "Balance of Payments Constraint". For the first time Brazil moved forward in the direction of building true economic stability. But the most original feature of the Lula Administration was the importance granted to income and social inclusion policies. The previously prevailing view that social problems would be solved by market forces, complemented by compensatory policies gave place to strong and systematic actions to combat poverty and social inequality, that contributed significantly to the expansion of mass consumption in the domestic market. The growth of the domestic market, driven by public policies with strong social impact, represented a unique feature in Brazilian economic development history. In fact social policies were responsible for the path, the substance and the consistency of recent economic growth in Brazil. Social inclusion became one of the main structural dimensions of the new style of economic development in Brazil. This development represents a radical departure from the policies of the previous period when the established policy paradigm in Brazil and in Latin America as a whole was Neoliberal. Furthermore it also represents the beginning of a radical departure of the historic development path which was marked by social exclusion and concentration. Recent economic development in Brazil was also marked by: the consolidation of democracy and republican institutions, a new dynamic role of Brazil in international affairs, an increasing awareness of the importance of environmental sustainability and the efforts to use knowledge as a driving force for creating innovation and adding value to high quality education for everybody. The above mentioned features distinguish the new style of development not only from "Neoliberalism" but also from the old style of "Nationalistic Development" that prevailed before the Foreign Debt Crisis. For that reason we argue that a new type of development has began in Brazil, which could be called "New Development" to stress its differences from previous development styles

ASSUNTO(S)

desenvolvimento econômico - brasil economic development

ACESSO AO ARTIGO

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