NATIONALIZATION AND PRIVATIZATION IN BRAZIL: THE ROLE OF STATE COMPANIES IN THE CYCLES OF GOVERNMENT INTERVENTION IN THE ECONOMIC FIELD

Abstract

This paper aims to unveil the movements of expansion and shrinkage of the State Productive Sector (SPS) in Brazil between 1930 and 2010, as well as the arguments used by the governments to justify these processes. First, we describe the formation of the Brazilian SPS, highlighting the quantitative growth of these organizations. We analyse the economic and ideological changes triggering the privatization movement of the 80’s, which aimed to stop the uncontrolled growth of the number of state companies. Since 1990, the privatization process intensified and, with the beginning of the government of Fernando Henrique Cardoso, it became part of a broader movement to reform the State. The final section addresses the Lula mandates, characterized by a recovery of State intervention and, on the other hand, by the maintenance of the concessions policy started by the previous government.