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

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.

摘要：若泽·萨尔内（José Sarney）就任总统时所处的历史语境，是其执政初期弱势表现的核心成因之一。彼时正值巴西军政权衰落的历史关头，这位来自反对党阵营的当选总统，既遭遇民间社会的敌视，也遭到政界的冷漠以待。萨尔内深知既无法获得政治阶层的支持，也得不到巴西民众的拥护，遂试图以具备广泛民众影响力的经济政策作为获取执政合法性的核心路径。在克鲁扎多计划（Cruzado Plan）破产后，他转而将外债谈判作为主要政治旗帜，并借助高调的表态姿态，竭力争取其迫切需要的内部支持。