Big Debates of Development: Challenges and Opportunities of Brazil Memo to the Incoming Administration. Daniela Schermerhorn Daniela N T Schermerhorn is a Rotary Peace Fellow at the Duke-UNC Rotary Peace Center. She holds a master’s degree in international development policy with focus in peace and conflict resolution from the Sanford School of Public Policy, Duke University. She is a Brazilian Police Major with eighteen years of academic and practical experience in public security management interested in all factors damaging the social fabric and disrupting peace and development. This work was originally written for “Big Debates of Development”, a course taught by Economist Indermit Singh Gill, Ph.D. Professor of Practice of Public Policy and Director of the Duke Center for International Development (DCID), with support of professor Dean Storelli, Coordinator of Writing and Communication Services of the DCID. She would like to thank the professors for their time and guidance in the process of publishing this work. THE PROBLEM The last decades have shown great development followed by significant downfalls in Brazil. The current economic and political crises represent a great threat to government legitimacy and political stability. With the end of the commodity super-cycle in 2011 and a pervasive corruption scandal that resulted in the impeachment of the President and prosecution of many historical important political leaders, Brazil entered into a great recession in 2015, which is causing a reverse effect on development. The current administration is suffering from an overall existential crisis, lacking popular support to undertake necessary socio-economic reforms. The next political cycle, will face the same constraints plus new challenges. The decisions to be made will define whether or not Brazil will retake the path to inclusive growth and development and assume its rightful position as a great nation on the world scene.
POLICY CHALLENGE The next administration must walk the tightrope of regaining international trust by undertaking economic and institutional reforms, while ensuring the socio-economic rights of Brazilian citizens, rights that are an essential pillar to Brazil’s political stability, peace and securityxlvi. The main development challenges are (1) fiscal and monetary inefficiencies, (2) protracted structural constraints, and (3) globalization effects.
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