Brazil’s Economic and Political Future

The 1985 elections in Brazil returned South America’s largest country to democratic rule after two decades of military government. But the Sarney administration faces substantial economic and political challenges: over a 250 percent annual inflation rate, a foreign debt of more than $115 billion, and over a 20 percent unemployment rate. This collection of essays by distinguished Brazilian and U.S. scholars and representatives of both the Sarney and Reagan administrations features the first penetrating analysis of Brazil’s economic prospects and its monetary program. Contributors exam ine Brazil’s debt crisis, foreign investment, and the balance of trade, giving particular attention to relations between Brazil and the United States. In addition, they review Brazilian politics from a historical perspective, analyze the process of political transition, and explore what redemocratization means for the future.