Economic raptures, political legitimacy: an analysis of 1987 foreign debt moratorium

Vol. 36 No. 4 (2016)

Oct-Dec / 2016
Published October 1, 2016
PDF-Portuguese (Português (Brasil))
PDF-Portuguese (Português (Brasil))

How to Cite

Salomão, Ivan, and Pedro Cezar Dutra Fonseca. 2016. “Economic Raptures, Political Legitimacy: An Analysis of 1987 Foreign Debt Moratorium”. Brazilian Journal of Political Economy 36 (4):788-806. https://doi.org/10.1590/0101-31572016v36n04a07.

Economic raptures, political legitimacy: an analysis of 1987 foreign debt moratorium

Ivan Salomão
Professor Adjunto do Departamento de Economia e Relações Internacionais da Faculdade de Ciências Econômicas e do Programa de Pós-Graduação em Economia da Universidade Federal do Rio Grande do Sul (PPGE-UFRGS).
Pedro Cezar Dutra Fonseca
Professor Titular do Departamento de Economia e Relações Internacionais da Faculdade de Ciências Econômicas e do Programa de Pós-Graduação em Economia da Universidade Federal do Rio Grande do Sul (PPGE-UFRGS).
Brazilian Journal of Political Economy, Vol. 36 No. 4 (2016), Oct-Dec / 2016, Pages 788-806

Abstract

The historical context in which José Sarney assumed the presidency accounted for one of the main reasons for their weakness when he assumed the government. Housed in the historic moment of the decline of the military regime, the president-elect in opposition plate reaped the hostility of the streets and the indifference of the political establishmet. Knowing he could not count on the support of the political class nor the Brazilian society, Sarney tried to make the economic measures of broad popular impact his primary vehicle for legitimacy. After collapsing the Cruzado Plan, the president tried to make the negotiation of external debt his main political banner. He has sought, through the boastful tone in which he involved it, raise the internal support they so desperately needed.

JEL Classification: F34.


Keywords: Foreign debt Moratorium Jose Sarney Legitimacy