Year: 1997
Type: article
Abstract: In the 1980s, following the breakup of the international debt crisis, the theme that caught the attention of politicians and policy makers all over the world was structural adjustment, or, in more analytical terms, fiscal adjustment and marketoriented reforms.In the 1990s, although structural adjustment remains a major objective, the emphasis has changed to the reform of the state, and particularly to administrative reform.The central question now is how to rebuild the state-how to redefine a new state in a global world.This change of focus also occurred in Brazil.One of the major reforms to which the Cardoso administration is committed is the administrative reform.In the 1994 presidential campaign this was not an issue, yet the president decided to transform the old bureaucratic secretary of the presidency that managed civil service into a new Ministry of Federal Administration and State Reform.Chosen as minister, I proposed to add administrative reform to the constitutional reforms that had already been defined as a priority by the new government-the tax reform, the social security reform, and the elimination of state monopolies.The immediate reaction of civil servants, intellectuals, and the media was strongly negative.They reacted against change, to a reform that could be threatening.Yet, after a few months, supports popped up, coming from state governors, from mayors, businesspeople, the press-which changed its attitude-and finally from public opinion.Suddenly administrative reform had become a crucial reform, demanded not only internally but also by foreign investors and multilateral financial agencies.The constitutional amendment was widely debated and sent to Congress in August 1995.
Author: Luiz Carlos Bresser Pereira
Language: English
Field: Social Sciences
Domain: Social Sciences
Open Access status: bronze
OpenAlex ID: W2274548477