Economia política no Brasil: o primeiro governo Lula

Abstract

The election of the major leader of the Brazilian Worker's Party, Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva, to be the president of Brazil in 2002 has sparked the debate over the paths the economic policies should take. Despite the history of this party, continuity was noteworthy. Such a fact has not cooled down the debate among Brazilian economists and this is the debate this work tries to show. The economic schools that take part in this dispute are classified in, essentially, the orthodox, the Keynesian, which is presented here with the Brazilian structuralism, and the socialist. As the object of study is set and seen through three distinct points of view, an assessment of the object and, at the same time, the status of the Brazilian political economy is achieved. Besides that, throughout the text the schools' theoretical foundations become explicit. The text tries not to reduce the debate to monetary, exchange rate and fiscal policies, as welfare, social assistance, institutions and regulatory agencies are also focused. The argument goes through themes as labor legislation, tax burden, income inequality, growth, as well as commercial, industrial and investment policies