Economist Luiz Gonzaga Belluzzo opened this Wednesday (18) the conference cycle “The Brazilian Crisis” discussing how transformations in the global economy directly reflect on the Brazilian scenario of stagnation, deindustrialization and the rise of financial capital. Organized by the Rectory and the Institute of Advanced Studies (IdEA) at Unicamp, the monthly event will bring big names from the Brazilian scene, of different shades and with different worldviews, for lectures with the aim of diagnosing the crises that afflict the country.
During the opening table, the rector of Unicamp, Marcelo Knobel, highlighted the importance of the University stimulating debate on national problems and seeking solutions. “We are at a time when we need to diagnose, comment and discuss the different crises we are going through – which, unfortunately, seem eternal – and propose possible solutions.”
Knobel and Carlos Vogt, president of IdEA's Scientific and Cultural Council, recalled at the opening of Unicamp's tradition of organizing major events to reflect on the political, economic, social and cultural scenarios for more than three decades, as “Brazil 21st Century”, carried out in 1988 and 1989, and “Brazil: Political Memory”, in 1987, bringing together testimonies from political protagonists in the period of redemocratization, under the coordination of journalist Paulo Markun. Former president of the Padre Anchieta Foundation (2007-2010) and experienced journalism professional who currently divides his time between Portugal and Brazil, Markun will be the mediator of the cycle “A Crise Brasileira”.
“The theme of the meeting and the cycle's discussions are more timely than ever, given the great crisis that casts a dark pall over intelligence and our democratic institutions, which is generating continuous darkness. This is an action that is coordinated with increasingly evident obscurantist objectives”, said Vogt, who is a poet and linguist, former dean of Unicamp (1990-1994) and one of the organizers of the cycle.
Brazil and the global economy
Providing a historical overview of the main events in the world economy in recent decades was Luiz Gonzaga Belluzzo's preamble to discuss the crisis that is currently shaking Brazil. In a good-humored way, the economist criticized analysts who make their observations on national issues as if the country were completely detached from external events and adversities.
“There is no crisis without transformation, that's why my presentation is called 'Global Economic Transformations, Crisis and (Recovery?)'. When I listen to the debates about the situation of the Brazilian economy, I have the impression that Brazil is on the planet Neptune, because there is no reference, for example, to the country's insertion in the international economy and how it has been affected, in the last 40 years, for the conduct of economic policy”, criticized Belluzzo, who is a retired professor at the Unicamp Institute of Economics and former special secretary of the Ministry of Finance (1985-1987). For him, the changes in the international scenario were very profound, especially after the external debt crisis in the 1980s, which had a direct impact on Brazil's economy.
The conference showed how structural transformations in the economy and the global financial system, combined with the phenomena of “financialization” and deindustrialization, have changed the profile of large economies, such as the United States, which have lost comparative advantages in the contemporary industrial scenario. According to the speaker, in 1980, China's manufactured exports were equivalent to those of Brazil, just over 1%. Currently, the Asian giant is responsible for 15% of global sales of industrialized products and North Americans hold just 8%.
“There has been an increase in the role of the stock of financial wealth in relation to the real company, which is the phenomenon that we are observing today in a very serious way. This, in fact, does nothing more than correspond to the natural tendencies of the capitalist economy when it is left to its own strength. If you let the animal out, it will follow its instincts,” he said. With this use of analogy, he didactically explained that, in the post-war period, the “animal” was placed in a cage, with a view to generating employment and income and increasing productivity. “But, at the end of the 1970s, they released the animal and it is doing its thing, following its nature.”
In the specific case of Brazil, the IE professor, who was also state secretary of Science, Technology and Economic Development of São Paulo (1988-1990), was emphatic in showing that this problem of structural conformation of the global economy also produced its negative impacts , such as the reduction in the weight of industrial production in relation to the Gross Domestic Product (GDP). Belluzzo expressed his disapproval of economic analysts who do not consider essential points when giving their opinion on the Brazilian crisis and claim that the solution is restricted to pension and tax reforms and cutting government spending. “Brazil today only survives, it only survives, because it has US$378 billion in reserves.”
“The biggest blockage we have is consolidated in the spending ceiling. It's one of the most unbelievable things I've seen in my life. The economy and economic policy are immobilized. And the spending cap affects everyone, including us at the university. This is absurd, because everyone knows that, in a situation of depression or recession that we are in, with low inflation and falling interest rates, we have to articulate ways of spending”, said the economist.
Next events
Four more conferences in the cycle “The Brazilian Crisis” are already scheduled for the coming months: the philosopher João Carlos Salles (“University”, on October 9th), the educator Mozart Neves Ramos (“Education”, on October 23rd), diplomat Rubens Ricupero (“International Relations”, on November 6) and indigenous leader and environmentalist Ailton Krenak (“The Indigenous Question”, on November 27). Other themes, such as culture, health, violence, democracy and public security, are planned for next year.
Registration for the lecture with philosopher João Carlos Salles, who is president of the National Association of Directors of Federal Higher Education Institutions (Andifes) and rector of the Federal University of Bahia (UFBA), is now open and can be made at IDEA website.
Also hear on Rádio Unicamp how the lecture by economist Luiz Gonzaga Belluzzo.
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Conference cycle will bring experts to discuss “The Brazilian Crisis”
Philosopher João Carlos Salles gives a conference on "The University Crisis"