Brazil: neoliberalism versus democracy

Product Description With the sixth largest economy in the world, Brazil has played a key international role for decades. It was one of the first “pink wave” administrations in Latin America. In 1994, it was responsible for shutting down the US-sponsored proposal for a Free Trade Area of the Americas. Notably, it is also one of the few large countries where social spending has risen and the distribution of income has improved over the last thirty years. As we saw during the 2014 World Cup protests, however, the country still remains highly unequal, with vast unmet social welfare needs and a precarious infrastructure.   In Brazil: Neoliberalism Versus Democracy, Alfredo Saad-Filho and Lecio Morais review the complex paradox that is modern Brazil. Focusing on 1980 to the present, they analyze the tensions between the two dominant systemic political transitions from military rule to first democracy, then neoliberalism. A groundbreaking interpretation of this intricate relationship, Brazil examines how the contradictory dynamics of these transitions eventually became symbiotic as they unfolded and intertwined.    Review “The contradiction between neoliberalism and democracy is now well-known: this books offers a new and profound insight into this through a sharp and convincing account of the Brazilian experience—combining the political transition from military dictatorship to democracy, and the economic transition from import-substituting industrialisation to neoliberalism. This is critical political economy at its best.”   -- Jayati Ghosh, Jawaharlal Nehru University, New Delhi“Saad-Filho and Morais excel at providing a critical, powerful and persuasive analysis for Brazil’s economic, social, and political development since the 1930s, emphasizing distinct transition paths from dictatorship to democracy and from state-led industrialization to neoliberalism. Grounded on a solid marxist political economy framework, this book is a must-read to understand Brazils current predicament and defying challenges ahead.”   -- Lena Lavinas, Federal University of Rio de Janeiro About the Author Alfredo Saad-Filho is professor of political economy at SOAS, University of London. He is the author of Marx's “Capital”, also published by Pluto Press. Lecio Morais is economics advisor at the Lower House of the Brazilian Parliament.