Introduction

Brazil’s developmental state and its social policies have been the focus of much debate in the last few decades. The Latin American giant is one of the developing nations going through a momentous process of modernization and economic growth. In less than a decade, its GDP quadrupled, from US $.5 Trillion to US $2 Trillion (World Bank 2011, 606).¹ The country has become, together with Russia, India and China (BRIC group), one of the leading forces behind worldwide growth.² One of the main achievements of the Brazilian state has been the deployment of the largest welfare programs in the world (Hall 2006, 697), which is symbolized by the Bolsa Familia.

The purpose of this paper is to assess to what extent the state has been capable of pushing back the market to create a public space from which to enact such ambitious social policies. What are the political processes through which the state negotiated with the dominant classes in Brazil, and achieved acceptance of state intervention on matters of development strategy, taxation policies, social expenditures, etc.? How fragile is the accord, and what are its weaknesses? These questions shall bring into light theoretical debates about the nature and role of the state, international competition, and other highly contentious issues.

Through the examination of the Brazilian state, I hope to critically assess its accomplishments and limits. Ultimately, I hope to link this to the broader debate about the ability and capacity of capitalist developmental states to solve social issues arising out of the process of capital accumulation.

¹ “World Bank 2011” consists of an excel spreadsheet. Therefore, page numbers for this source refer to the row #.

² The four nations, which represent 40% of the world population, accounted for about half of global growth between 2000 and 2008. According to the International Monetary Fund, BRIC will account for 61% of global gross domestic product growth in 2014 (France-Presse 2010).