Macroeconomic policies and economic democracy in neoliberal Brazil

Resumo

The objective of this paper is to investigate some of the forms of conduct of macroeconomic policies related to a substantive concept of democracy, characterized by popular participation – direct or through representatives – in decisions that unevenly affect the material well-being of the entire Brazilian population. Special attention is given to decisions about the country’s public indebtedness in the years following the launching of the Real Plan. Empirical evidences show a limited democracy, revealed by the material inequality, which in turn reproduces political inequality and restricts real freedom. This is combined with the selective bureaucratic insulation of economic policy decisions, and the parliament’s failure to deal with the macroeconomic agenda. The latter is thus left to the control of the executive branch’s economic apparatus, which on one hand submits itself to substantial political influence from finance and, on the other hand, restricts popular participation in decisions on both fiscal and monetary policies.