Politics and fiscal reforms in recent Brazil

ABSTRACT This study focuses on the economic and political framework in which fiscal changes took place in Brazil in the past two decades, in the general context of the State reform. Emphasis is given to the Cardoso government’s reforms which are examined not only from a macroeconomic perspective but also from the viewpoint of democratic accountability. Without disregarding the role of critical conjunctures, the article also stresses the incremental nature of these reforms and indicates that successful ones take place gradually and that each step taken has influence on the path ahead.