Growth and Repression, the Ambiguous Logic of the Dependent State: The Case of Brazil

The often intuitive association between the army and foreign capitalists alters the analysis of the condition of dependency and the nature of the dependent State. We intend to shed light on the importance of the Brazilian State's autonomy, in the face of foreign domination and local capitalists. This autonomy is strengthened by the fundamental shift noticed between the economic decision-making system and the method of political control. The link between political domination and economic decisions is found in the State; it lies in the association between the army and the civil technocracy. Our study shows that this association is based on a distribution of power within the state, that it is characterized by conflict, and thus that it requires bargaining. The difficulties encountered by the government, led by General Geisel (197479), reflect the contradictions of that association.

Our purpose here is not to improve a typology and to advance subtle distinctions that would allow us to measure the present gap between the Brazilian regime and a democratic system, or the slight divergence that distinguishes it from a totalitarian government. Such an exercise appears to be of limited interest. The objectives of this study are to determine the nature of the Brazilian State—by a careful study of its political structure—and to identify social changes resulting from dependent dēvelopment.

Actors and Strategies in the Economic Integration Process in Latin America

This article examines two forms of economic integration in Latin America: the Latin American Free Trade Association (LAFTA) and the Andean Pact. Although inspired by the work of the Economic Commission for Latin America (ECLA) and, theoretically, having as the principal actors in the integration process both the industrial bourgeoisie and the State, these two forms of integration have had different results.

LAFTA was created in the early 1960's at a time when the most developed countries of the region began policies of import substitution of essential goods. The analysts of ECLA expected that the dynamism of the industrial bourgeoisie would lead the integration process. The state would only subsidize the “deficiencies” of private enterprise, and would intervene only at the level of joint planning. But for the industrial bourgeoisie, it was not the appropriate time to begin creating integrated economies, either at the national or regional levels. Their primary concern was to develop the connections with the bourgeoisie of the western industrial countries.

The Andean Pact was created at the end of the I960's among countries in which the industrial bourgeoisie was weak or virtually nonexistent. The leadership of the integration process thus devolved upon the State. The new dynamism of integration had three actors: the state, multinational corporations, and the industrial bourgeoisie. Integration should be conceived not only as a means of amalgamating the economies of the members, but also as a mechanism to strengthen the bargaining position of the main actors vis-a-vis the multinational corporations. Integration, in short, is conceived as an instrument for the renegotiation of dependency.

Perhaps the most important concept in wide use by social scientists for the analysis of political attitudes and behaviour has been the left-right dimension. Not surprisingly therefore, the terms “left” and “right” themselves have been used in survey research on public opinion in Canada, and have subsequently been central to the data analysis of several recent articles on Canadian politics. Important to these papers has been the assumption that the terms “left” and “right” are understood by the average Canadian in such a manner that data gathered in response to questions using these terms will be valid. This paper argues that this assumption is mistaken.