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In an article entitled “Resisting and reshaping destructive development: social movements and globalizing networks”, P. Routledge describes neoliberal development, “Contemporary economic development is guided by the economic principles of neoliberalism and popularly termed ‘globalization’. The fundamental principal of this doctrine is ‘economic liberty’ for the powerful, that is that an economy must be free from the social and political ‘impediments,’ ‘fetters’, and ‘restrictions’ placed upon it by states trying to regulate in the name of the public interest. These ‘impediments’ - which include national economic regulations, social programs, and class compromises (i.e. national bargaining agreements between employers and trade unions, assuming these are allowed) - are considered barriers to the free flow of trade and capital, and the freedom of transnational corporations to exploit labor and the environment in their best interests. Hence, the doctrine argues that national economies should be deregulated (e.g. through the privatization of state enterprises) in order to promote the allocation of resources by “the market” which, in practice, means by the most powerful.” (Routledge) Neoliberalism is a form of economic liberalism that emphasizes the efficiency of private enterprise, liberalized trade, and relatively open markets. Neoliberals seek to maximize the role of the private sector in determining the political/economic priorities of the world and are generally supporters of economic globalization. During the 1930s and the late 1970s most Latin American countries used the import substitution industrialization model to build industry and reduce dependency on imports from foreign countries. The result of the model in these c... ... middle of paper ... ...that this tactic might initially have. (Edemariam) Essentially, these policies might have worked for Brazil for a period of time, but in the long run they can hurt local economic growth. Works Cited De Lourdes Rollemberg Mollo, Maria and Alfredo Saad-Filho. "Neoliberal Economic Policies in Brazil (1994 – 2005): Cardoso, Lula and the Need for a Democratic Alternative." New Political Economy March 2006: 99-123. Edemariam, Aida. "'Everybody knows it doesn't work'." 18 February 2009. The Guardian. 2 March 2011 . Filh, Alfredo Saad. "Neoliberalism, Democracy, and Development Policy in Brazil." DEVELOPMENT AND SOCIETY June 2010: 1-28. Routledge, P. "Resisting and reshaping destructive development: social movements and globalising networks." Geographies of Global Change (2002): 310-327.
Larry Rohter was a journalist in Brazil for 14 years and from his experiences he offers in this book some unique insights into Brazilian history, politics, culture and more. In 10 topical chapters Rohter’s easy-to-read book provides a look at Brazilian history and the extraordinary changes the country has undergone -- and is still undergoing. Rother covers many significant issues, but several stand out more than others. Namely: the country’s history, culture, politics, and finally its economy/natural wealth.
The purpose of this paper is to demonstrate how Brazil, a country with an extremely high rate of inflation and low growth, positioned itself as the 7th largest economy of the world and what are the challenges that the country is facing. First of all, the Real Plan of Fernando Henrique Cardoso and how it helped the country to stabilize its economy and drop down the inflation rate will be discussed. Secondly, how his successor’s policies, Luis Inácio Lula da Silva, improved country’s economy. At the end the challenges that Dilma Vana Rousseff, the current president, is facing will be discussed.
The Realm of Desire and Dream: Brazil and its Self-Constructing Middle Class of the 1980s, 1990s and Today
In the past years, Brazil has celebrated itself as a great economic performer with emerging markets and increasing influence on the international stage. However, in 2013, Brazil was paralyzed by huge demonstrations expressing deep discontent with their governments’ performance. In this paper, I look at the sudden onset of the protest and the absence of it in the previous years. I will argue that despite these protests, the government of Brazil maintains a hegemonic culture that propagates its own values and practices. Brazil experiences the process of modernization from the above, which does not quite reflect the demands of the lower class. Using Brazil as an example, I will expand on how the political leadership establishes and maintains its control.
Brazil is the largest economy in South America. Under the leadership of former president Henrique Cardoso in the 1990's, the country's macro economic situation stabilized significantly. As the new millennium began, the leadership of president Cardoso's successor, former president Lula da Silva saw the country's economy accelerate significantly such that the Lehman scandal effect failed to significantly affect its growth (The Economist). Brazil economy reported an economic growth rate of more than seven percent in 2010 which is considered as its best performance in 25 years. This trend saw the country awarded the lucrative rights to host this year's FIFA World Cup Finals. However, this has changes dramatically after former president Lula da Siva convinced Brazilian voters to elect Dilma Rousseff as their next president (The Economist). Currently, the country' macro economic status is in turmoil with economic growth in 2012 reported to have been at less than 1%. This essay seeks to analyze the contemporary macro economic conditions in Brazil and present a commentary on the...
Watkins, Thayer. "SYNOPSIS OF BRAZILIAN POLITICAL HISTORY." Synopsis of Brazilian Political History. San Jose State University. Web. 16 Nov. 2013. .
Przeworski, A., 2004. Capitalism, Development and Democracy. Brazilian Journal of Political Economy, Vol. 24, No. 4 (96), Pp. 489-497
...tions of good intent, ended up harming the continent’s prospects of development in ways that can not be easily reversed. In many aspects, Brazil has a great opportunity to show that its “South-South” approach is more sustainable for long term growth and integration.
Brazil, the largest country on the continent of South America, has historically been seen as the underdog socially, politically, and especially economically. Referred to as “the country of the future… and always will be” by many Brazilians and those who know the country best, the country has not always been a beacon of hope for Latin America as it is today (Weyland, pg 64). Brazil has many unique qualities when compared to many of its Latin American counterparts. While much of Latin America has wrestled with its Spanish colonial past, Brazil has been much more diplomatic and tolerant of its Portuguese colonial past. With such a vast amount of natural resources and territory, Brazil has had the advantage of being relatively self-sufficient when it needed to, but also being able to develop into one of the busiest and prosperous trading nations in Latin America. With frequent political transitions throughout its 500 year history, and experiencing periods of oppression and totalitarianism, Brazil has managed to overcome and move past the scars of its dictatorial past. This is in part due to its fortunate avoidance of ruthless and violent dictators in the style of Pinochet in Chile, Peron in Argentina, Castro in Cuba, and Fujimori in Peru, just to name a few. In this research paper, I will briefly describe an overview of Brazil’s present political circumstances while also touching on a few key factors that have aided its development, in addition to in-depth analyses of the country’s history through three main phases. I will also make philosophical connections to explain and put into proper perspective the events that have shaped Brazil into the country it is today.
Before Lula, the military was still a strong player in politics and past presidents had center and right ideologies so a shift to a leftist party, was a start to a new era of politics in Brazil. Lula was a representative of “the most ideologically coherent and disciplined party in a field dotted with parties whose politicians possess few principled commitments and have been known to switch allegiances in order to get ahead” (Hunter 152). The Worker’s Party was known to be a programmatic, non-clientelist party. When Lula was in power, there was changed in the party’s ideology, he prioritized economic stability. This approach resulted in a lack of attention to other economic and social development problems, such as poverty, inequality, and education. When Lula realizes that the poverty in Brazil remained at an alarming rate, he established an innovative approach to poverty called “Bolsa Familia”. This social policy was a family allowance, or conditional cash transfers made to low-income families. The money was ideally given to the mothers under some conditions: the child must be enrolled in school, had to regularly see a doctor, and receive vaccinations. This policy decreased the levels of poverty, “…by over 55 percent, from 35.8 percent of the population to 15.9 percent in 2012. Extreme poverty [was] reduced by 65 percent, from 15.2 percent to 5.3 percent over the same time period.” (Weisbrot, Johnson, and Lefebvre
McMichael, Philip, ed 2012. Development and Social Change: A Global Perspective, 5th ed. London: Sage Publications, Inc.
As a nation, Brazil has a long and eventful history, involving both its post-colonial status as an ex-member of the Portuguese imperial regime and the long term history of its pre-colonial indigenous tribes. Borrowing from information provided by Boris Fausto, a professor at the University of Sao Paulo in his book A Concise History of Brazil, it is clear that Brazil is a country confused in its post-colonial identity. While colonialism brought massive wealth and prosperity to a nation that is rich with resources, the question of the treatment of the remaining indigenous tribes remains a deep-rooted issue for many Brazilians.
To begin with, it is necessary to discuss some basic information about the current system in place. Neoliberal capitalism is an economic system that promotes free market policies of liberalization, deregulation, privatization, and the cutting of social support systems. The International Monetary Fund and the World Bank are two key organizations that help spread free market policies through globalization by implementing structural adjustment programs as conditions for any aid or support to any third world developing countries. Once structural adjustment programs are put into place they tend to disrupt developing countries’ economies and end up making them even worse off than before. Before the 1980s, developing countries had a per capita growth rate of more than 3%, once structural adjustment programs were put into place growth rates dropped to 1.7% (Hickel 2012: 7).
Brazil’s economic history reflects periods of economic prosperity followed periods of stagnation. The biggest boom was the coffee boom that began in the 19th century. At the turn of the century, Brazil was the supplier of 75% of the global coffee supply accounting for 10% of their GDP (Lowman, 2014). While coffee has served as an important factor of Brazil’s economic success, the fact that their economy was dependent on commodity exports was a major vulnerability in the past. In the 80’s the Brazilian government was forced to reschedule their debt and in the 90’s the country experienced hyperinflation. However with the implementation of the
The changes of educational policies in Brazil can be examined by looking at the many different parties that have taken over Brazil throughout the years. During the time of the Old Republic, there was a strong relationship of clientelism and agrarian oligarchies. The result of this oligarchy created diverse educational policies that only benefited the elite. However, at the end of the Old Republic and beginning of the Vargas era, Vargas was mainly interested in industrialization and modernization, with education falling behind his true interests. After the end of the Vargas era and the beginning of the Fourth Republic, there was a strong increase of educational backwardness. Under the leadership of president Jucelino Kubitscheck, Brazil’s primary funding went towards energy, transportation, industry, and education, with education only receiving around 3% of total investments. Briefly in 1964, Brazil was apart of a military dictatorship. During this time, education was seen as an important part of the development program, however, there was no funding towards secondary education. This lack of funding contributed to the division among social classes. The lack of funding towards secondary education only affected those of lower income while the rich continued to progress in their education, receiving higher-paying jobs. It is evident that throughout the years the best interests of citizens of Brazil have not been taken to heart, with those in power taking advantage of average