The Unicamp University Council (Consu) unanimously approved, this Tuesday morning (27), the granting of the title of professor emeritus to economist Luiz Gonzaga de Mello Belluzzo.
Graduated in Law and Social Sciences from USP, Belluzzo played an important role in the beginning of the process of installing the Institute of Economics (IE) at Unicamp.
Regarded as one of the One of the best heterodox economists in Brazil, Belluzzo is remembered for being one of those responsible for articulating the budgetary autonomy of the three state universities in São Paulo – a mechanism that guaranteed regular investments and provided support for the development of the institutions. Belluzzo was the secretary of the then Ministry of Science and Technology of the State of São Paulo, when the autonomy decree was published in 1989.
The proposal to grant the title was presented by IE and approved by the congregation on May 4th of this year. It had the approval of the special commission, formed by economists Luciano Coutinho (president), Eros Grau and Leda Paulani.
In his speech at Consu, professor Luciano Coutinho said that the commission identified four main reasons for approving the award of the honorary title to Belluzzo. The first, he said, was Belluzzo's intense contribution as a political economist and thinker in the tradition of political economy and his theories regarding the development of contemporary capitalism.
“Based on the contributions of great thinkers, Professor Belluzzo synthesized, with admirable ability, an analysis that is especially relevant for understanding the various facets, instability, limitations, mutations and transformations in contemporary capitalism and its trends – such as the high concentration of wealth, income, exclusion and the intensification of certain contradictions on a geopolitical level – which is what we have seen very markedly in recent times”, he argued.
The president of the special commission also recalled the role played by Belluzzo in macroeconomic analysis and contemporary macroeconomic policies. According to Coutinho, “the clarity of these contributions is useful in the discussion of macroeconomic policies, especially those relating to the issue of the evolution of credit, capital markets, currencies, exchange rates, especially in developed economies, with their consequences in emerging economies ”, he pointed out.
The third important pillar, continued the economist, was Belluzzo's relevant participation in the public debate on modern societies. For his colleague, Belluzzo's reflections go beyond the strictly economic sphere. “Professor Belluzzo has great erudition. He had an enviable background in Humanities and Social Sciences. He had a bachelor's degree in Law, Sociology and a postgraduate degree in Economics, based on the special courses that Cepal offered in Brazil in the 80s”, he pointed out.
"Furthermore, the professor makes deep forays into the spheres of Philosophy, History, Sociology, Politics and even Psychoanalysis, which allows him the ability to reflect on society, with great astuteness, and a very great capacity for identification. of the various social and political pathologies of recent decades”, said Coutinho.
Professional training
Another highlight of the president of the special commission was Belluzzo's important contribution to the training of economists and professionals with outstanding academic performance. He recalls that the honoree is responsible for dozens of publications in international journals, which earned him recognition in the international biographical dictionary of notable heterodox economists. “He has the privilege of being among the 100 most notable international heterodox economists,” he celebrated.
Tribute does justice to history
IE director André Biancarelli said that the tribute does justice to Belluzzo's story. “He was one of the people responsible for creating the Institute of Economics, understanding the challenge of setting up a critical, alternative course, with a progressive bias, at the most difficult time of the military dictatorship in Brazil, with a group of economists under the age of 40. in season. It was a remarkable academic and intellectual work and a political achievement of great scope and courage. In addition to being a bold, successful and influential intellectual project”, highlighted the director.
Significant academic production
Dean Antonio Meirelles recalled that Belluzzo's academic production is quite significant in areas such as political economy and monetary and financial economics. “I would say that he is one of the main theorists in the analysis of contemporary capitalism. He is inspired in a very creative way by great masters,” he defined.
“His books on these topics are enriching, and I recommend them to everyone. Another important aspect is the role he has always played in the economic and political debate in our country”, continued the dean. Meirelles also said that he was proud of the representation of the special commission that evaluated the title for the economist. “It is a source of pride to have a commission with such academic and institutional prominence,” he commented.
The dean of University Development, Fernando Sarti, recalled Belluzzo's fundamental role in the process that culminated in the financial autonomy of São Paulo's universities. “I have no doubt that the quality of São Paulo's state universities is fundamentally due to our financial autonomy, and all of us here know the importance of Professor Belluzzo's participation in this fight”, stated the pro-rector.
political career
Luiz Gonzaga Belluzzo was Secretary of Economic Policy at the Ministry of Finance (1985-1987) during the government of José Sarney and, from 1988 to 1990, he was Secretary of Science and Technology of the State of São Paulo during the administration of former governor Orestes Quércia . He was a personal economics consultant to former president Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva. He founded Facamp (Faculdades de Campinas), together with economists João Manuel Cardoso de Mello, Liana Aureliano and Eduardo da Rocha Azevedo. He also received the Juca Pato Intellectual of the Year Award in 2005.
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Watch the program Direto da Fonte with Luiz Gonzaga Belluzzo:
