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State Interests and the New Industrial Policy in Brazil: The Privatization of Steel, 1990–1994

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  02 January 2018

Alfred P. Montero
Alfred P. Montero*
Affiliation:
Carleton College
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Extract

It is difficult to argue with success. Brazil’s public steel firms—once the crown jewels of a state-led model of development—were, by the late 1980s, heavily indebted, unproductive, and dependent on the financial support of a state in fiscal crisis. As if by a wave of the proverbial magic wand, their privatization in the period 1990–94 made them exponentially more productive, financially sound, and competitive. Of the eight major Brazilian steel enterprises, seven were returning profits by the end of 1994. One of the seven, Usiminas, became the most profitable private firm in Brazil in 1993, two years after it was privatized.

Type
Research Article
Information
Journal of Interamerican Studies and World Affairs , Volume 40 , Issue 3 , Autumn 1998 , pp. 27 - 62
Copyright
Copyright © University of Miami 1998

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