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State Autonomy in Economic Policy: Brazil's Experience 1822-1930
Published online by Cambridge University Press: 02 January 2018
Extract
The crushing weight of Brazil's foreign debt and the enormous role of state enterprise in the economy have led to sharp criticism of public economic policy. Private entrepreneurs and many social scientists complain that the state has become virtually autonomous, subjecting society to its will. The “bureaucratic bourgeoisie” has taken advantage of two decades of authoritarian rule to concentrate power and “mordomias” (perquisites). According to critics, they have thereby caused the national private sector to atrophy and development to halt. The solution suggested by many Brazilians today is redemocratization; by making the state more responsive to civil society its economic presence can be diminished and the private sphere strengthened.
The study of Brazil's past experience with changes of regime casts doubt on the possibility of restricting the scope of the state in the economy. It is true that the traditional interpretation argues that the Republican Revolution of 1889 dramatically reduced the state's economic role.
- Type
- Research Article
- Information
- Journal of Interamerican Studies and World Affairs , Volume 26 , Issue 4 , November 1984 , pp. 449 - 476
- Copyright
- Copyright © University of Miami 1984
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