|Area:||8,547,404 sq km (3,300,171 sq mi)|
|Population||(1999 est.): 163,947,000|
|Head of state and government:||President Fernando Henrique Cardoso|
No sooner had Brazilian Pres. Fernando Henrique Cardoso been inaugurated for his second four-year term on Jan. 1, 1999, than his administration faced one of its toughest challenges—avoiding an economic meltdown. On January 6 Itamar Franco, governor of the state of Minas Gerais, announced a moratorium on the state’s debt to the central government. This touched off widespread speculation on the future of the Brazilian currency that resulted in central bank president Gustavo Franco’s resignation on January 13. Two days later Brazil devalued its currency by about 8% before allowing it to float on January 15. With capital flight estimated at between $500 million and $800 million daily, rumours circulated on January 29 that the government might confiscate bank accounts, and bank runs occurred in major cities. Cardoso twice appeared on national television to dispel the notion that the government was going to confiscate accounts. In February Cardoso appointed Armínio Fraga Neto, a former hedge fund manager for investor George Soros, as central bank president. Assuming office on March 3, Fraga began to direct the bank’s market intervention strategy, raising basic interest rates to 45% in early March to defend the real. In March and in April, the government renegotiated its $41.5 billion loan package with the International Monetary Fund (IMF) to regain credibility. The loan required Brazil to meet a budgetary surplus target of 3.1% of its gross domestic product in 1999, following a fiscal adjustment strategy of raising taxes, cutting spending, devaluing the currency, balancing the budget, and tightening credit in the economy. In March it was estimated that Brazil’s GDP would shrink by 3.5–4.5% by the end of 1999.
March also saw political disputes heat up as federal judges went on strike to demand higher wages. Congress launched two Congressional Inquiry Committees (CPIs), one into corruption of the judiciary and the other into alleged improprieties in the financial system. The attention given to the CPIs prevented Congress from making progress on reform measures such as the fiscal responsibility law, social security reform, and tax reform.
In late May scandal took centre stage as a leading São Paulo newspaper released tape-recorded phone conversations between Cardoso and Andre Lara Resende, former president of the Brazilian National Bank for Social and Economic Development, which appeared to show that presidential favouritism played a role in the privatization auction of state-owned telecommunications giant Telebrás. Adding to Cardoso’s burdens, half of the Brazilian states pressed for rescheduling of their debts with the federal government. In June Pernambuco state refused to honour its debt. Congress limped into the winter recess in July having survived political and economic tumult but with little momentum to carry out the structural reforms favoured by the IMF.
Cabinet reshuffling marked the winter recess. Pedro Parente moved from the Budget Ministry to become the president’s chief of staff; Martus Tavares was named budget minister; and Chief of Staff Clovis Carvalho became minister of development, industry, and trade. Key Cardoso allies were retained, such as Paulo Renato as minister of education. These ministerial changes largely enhanced Cardoso and the Brazilian Social Democratic Party’s control of the executive branch.
In late July 350,000 truckers went on strike in 17 states to protest gas prices and increases in tolls, and major highways were paralyzed for several days. The government ceded to the truckers’ demands by suspending a planned increase in roadway tolls and keeping gas prices stable. On July 26 the Landless Workers’ Movement (MST), the Catholic Church’s Pastoral Social (CPT), the Sole Worker’s Central (CUT), and the Workers’ Party (PT) embarked on a 1,580-km (982-mi) march from Rio de Janeiro, arriving in Brasília on October 7. Cardoso faced the wrath of 15,000 farmers who filled the esplanade in Brasília with tractors from August 16 to 19 to seek the forgiveness or postponement of more than $18 billion in rural debt. Finally, on August 26, the “March of the 100,000,” organized by the PT, CUT, MST, and elements of the CPT, rallied an estimated 60,000–80,000 persons in Brasília in the largest protest against the Cardoso government.
Reacting to social unrest and the lowest approval ratings of his tenure, Cardoso attempted to make a comeback, unveiling a multi-year budget plan called “Forward Brazil” on August 31. The four-year plan (2000–03) forecast government spending of $578 billion, including $165 billion destined for 358 projects covering social needs, transport, energy, telecommunications, and environment. Forward Brazil also estimated a return to GDP growth of 4% in 2000, followed by 5% for the next two years. In May, Congress promulgated social security legislation taxing the pensions of government retirees as well as raising the contributions of active civil servants. The Supreme Court, however, found these measures unconstitutional at the end of September, forcing the government to seek a constitutional amendment.
According to the Brazilian Census Bureau, the Brazilian economy grew just 0.12% in 1998. Per capita income actually decreased 1.45%, the worst showing since 1992. Despite the predictions of an economic contraction of approximately 4% of GDP for 1999, the first six months showed only a slight drop in GDP—0.42%—from the same period in 1998. Brazil had largely avoided the predicted economic recession, and revisions even pointed to a possible positive growth by year’s end. Inflation was expected to reach approximately 10%. Up to mid-September the government had met all the IMF targets, and a policy of slow and steady market intervention by the central bank had reduced the basic interest rate from 45% to 19% at the end of October. On October 14 Cardoso and the central bank launched 21 measures designed to open credit markets and reduce the interest rates on bank accounts held by individuals and businesses. Among the measures were a reduction of the tax on bank loans from 6% to 1.5%, the publication of interest rates charged by banks, and the elimination of banking reserve requirements for balances held in time deposits, previously at 10%.
On December 7 Cardoso established the Brazilian Intelligence Agency, a federal body with powers similar to those of the FBI. It was the nation’s first nonmilitary intelligence agency.