The Economic Policies of Lula’s Regime in Brazil

Abstract

The Lula administration in Brazil (2003–10) represents the second in-depth case study of this book, which will provide further evidence for the thesis that the Developmental Regime approach is the best meta-theory of political economy for interpreting the pink tide in Latin America as defined and analysed in Chapter 2. This chapter will therefore begin with an analysis of the Brazilian financial crisis of 1998, in order to provide the necessary background and contextualisation for subsequent consideration of Lula’s regime. This consideration will encompass the economic policies of Lula, from efforts to stimulate growth to social policies such as Bolsa Familia. Once a complete analysis and understanding of Lula’s policies has been achieved, Chapter 7 will be able to move forward and explore the implications of these policies for Brazilian development.