Macroeconomic policies and economic democracy in neoliberal Brazil

Authors

Abstract

This paper aims at questing for the macroeconomic policing relating its decision making process to a conception of democracy that is characterized by popular participation in decisions that affect the welfare of entire society. Special attention is given to the decisions on Brazilian public indebtedness over the years following the launching of the Real Plan. Empirical evidences show a limited democracy, which is revealed by the material inequality that reproduces political inequality and restricts real freedom. It must be added the selective bureaucratic insulation of decisions on economic policy, and the parliament’s omission to deal with the macroeconomic agenda. The later is thus left to control by the economic apparatus of the executive branch, which on one hand submits itself to substantial political influence from finance and, on the other hand, restricts the popular participation in the fiscal and monetary decisions.

Published

2015-12-01

Issue

Vol. 24 No. 3 (2015)

Section

Articles

License

Authors who publish in this journal agree to the following terms: Authors retain copyright and grant the journal the right of first publication, with the work simultaneously licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution License, which allows the sharing of the work with acknowledgment of authorship and initial publication in this journal. Authors are authorized to enter into additional contracts separately for the non-exclusive distribution of the version of the work published in this journal (e.g., publish in an institutional repository or as a book chapter), with acknowledgment of authorship and initial publication in this journal. All content of the journal, except where identified, is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution BY-NC License.