Brazil: Neoliberalism versus Democracy

257 Pages·2018·5.61 MB·English

by  Alfredo Saad-Filho

Brazil

Brazil
Neoliberalism Versus Democracy
Alfredo Saad-Filho and Lecio Morais
First published 2018 by Pluto Press
345 Archway Road, London N6 5AA
www.plutobooks.com
Copyright © Alfredo Saad-Filho and Lecio Morais 2018
The right of Alfredo Saad-Filho and Lecio Morais to be identified as the
authors of this work has been asserted by them in accordance with the
Copyright, Designs and Patents Act 1988.
British Library Cataloguing in Publication Data
A catalogue record for this book is available from the British Library
ISBN 978 0 7453 3675 6 Hardback
ISBN 978 0 7453 3670 1 Paperback
ISBN 978 1 7837 1785 9 PDF eBook
ISBN 978 1 7837 1787 3 Kindle eBook
ISBN 978 1 7837 1786 6 EPUB eBook
This book is printed on paper suitable for recycling and made from fully
managed and sustained forest sources. Logging, pulping and manufacturing
processes are expected to conform to the environmental standards of the
country of origin.
Typeset by Stanford DTP Services, Northampton, England
Simultaneously printed in the United Kingdom and United States of America
Contents
Tables and Figures viii
Acknowledgements ix
Acronyms x
Presidents of Brazil, 1930–2017 xiii
Preface xiv
Introduction 1
Overview 1
Method and Analytical Framework 4
Systems of Accumulation in Brazil 6
Structure of the Book 8
1 A Troubled Path to Development 14
Overview 14
ISI in Brazil 16
Political Structures of ISI 18
A Developmental Dictatorship 21
Creeping Hyperinflation 28
Distribution and Stabilisation 33
Summary and Conclusion 36
2 Building a Fragile Democracy 38
Overview 38
The Transition to Democracy 39
Late Social Democracy, Late Welfare State 44
PT Rising 47
The Workers’ Party Grows – and Changes 49
Summary and Conclusion 53
3. Inflation Stabilisation and the Transition to Neoliberalism 55
Overview 55
Neoliberalism in Brazil 56
The Real Plan 60
vi . brazil
The Real Plan Unravels 65
Mature Neoliberalism 67
Summary and Conclusion 68
4. Impacts of Neoliberalism 70
Overview 70
The New Industrial Structure 71
A New Pattern of Employment 75
Limitations of Neoliberalism 77
Summary and Conclusion 78
5. Neoliberalism under the Workers’ Party 80
Overview 80
Running to Win: The Alliance of Losers 81
Embracing Neoliberalism 83
Enforcing Neoliberalism 85
Lula Hits the Buffers 89
Summary and Conclusion 91
6. Developmental Neoliberalism and the PT 92
Overview 92
The Hour of Neodevelopmentalism 92
The Alliance of Winners 94
Developmental Neoliberalism in Practice 96
Distributional Gains 99
The Bolsa Família Programme 103
Summary and Conclusion 105
7. From Glory to Disaster 106
Overview 106
Developmental Neoliberalism under Dilma Rousseff 106
Monetary Policy 108
Transport, Energy, Tax 111
The External Sector 114
The Wheels Fall Off 115
Developmental Neoliberalism: A Reckoning 120
Summary and Conclusion 124
contents . vii
8. Class and Class Politics in Brazilian Neoliberalism 126
Overview 126
The Bourgeoisie 127
The Formal Working Class 128
The Informal Working Class 131
The Middle Class 133
Breakdown 136
The Lumpenisation of Politics 139
Summary and Conclusion 143
9. From the Confluence of Dissatisfactions to the Restoration
of Neoliberalism 144
Overview 144
The Workers’ Party Courts Political Corruption 145
Corruption and the Middle Class 147
The Alliance of Privilege 149
The Lava Jato Operation 151
Dénouement: Impeachment and the Debacle of the PT 155
Summary and Conclusion 160
Conclusion: Crisis of Neoliberalism, Crisis of Democracy 162
Limitations of Neoliberalism, Limitations of Democracy 162
Contradictions of the Workers’ Party 164
The Journey Thus Far 169
Notes 173
References 200
Index 231
Tables and Figures
Tables
1.1 Growth rates of production and exports, 1964–74 24
1.2 Share of labour income in national income 34
4.1 Share of imports in manufacturing value added,
1993 and 1996 73
6.1 Distribution of the workforce, 1940, 1980 and 2000 100
6.2 Net new employment creation 100
6.3 Distribution of wages 100
7.1 Balance of payments, 1999–2016 116
Figures
1.1 Inflation, annualised monthly rate, 1973–2016 29
1.2 Inflation, annual rate and trend, January 1973 – March 1986 29
1.3 Gini coefficient of concentration of income, 1976–2014 34
3.1 Nominal exchange rate R$/US$ and real effective
exchange rate 62
5.1 Terms of trade, 1967–2016 (annual average) 88
7.1 Real GDP growth rate, 1962–2015 (per cent per annum) 118
Acknowledgements
We are grateful to many friends, colleagues and students who have
generously contributed to our understanding of Brazil. Special thanks
are due to Alice Kinghorn-Gray, Armando Boito, Ben Fine, Bruno Höfig,
Charlotte Hübner, Juan Grigera, Leda Paulani, Lucas Bertholdi-Saad,
Maria de Lourdes Rollemberg Mollo, Neil Coleman, Pedro Loureiro, Sam
Gindin and Sila Demirors for their helpful comments and suggestions.
Lena Lavinas read the entire manuscript and offered detailed comments,
for which we are immensely grateful.
We are indebted to Anne Beech for her continuing support for the
publication of this book.