In order to reactivate economic growth, to face the current commercial war in the world economy and prevent the country from suffering the consequences of the inevitable explosion of the world debt, it´s need to replace the neoliberal economic model that has devastated the Brazilian economy since 1990 and, above all, , after 2014, by the national development model of selective opening of the Brazilian economy that should be put into practice based on the planning of the national economy that would ensure economic growth and the development of the country on a sustainable basis. Without the adoption of these measures, Brazil will move towards inevitable economic and social ruin with serious repercussions of a political nature.

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HOW TO REACTIVATE THE BRAZILIAN ECONOMY
Fernando Alcoforado*
Brazil has always lacked rational decisions in the economy by the government
throughout history. Brazil has always been characterized by the economic irrationality
of its governments from the colonial period to the Republican until 1929 when they
adopted the agro-export economic model dependent on external markets, when they
promoted the industrialization of the Country with a delay of 200 years in relation to the
1st Industrial Revolution in England, when they abandoned the national
developmentalist model adopted by Getúlio Vargas government in replacing it with the
model of capitalist development dependent on foreign capital and technology from the
Juscelino Kubitschek government to the Jose Sarney government and when they
adopted the neoliberal model with the subordination of the national economy to
globalized capitalism from the Fernando Collor government in 1990 until the present
moment. The rational decision of the government in the economy must be oriented
towards choosing the options that imply the greatest benefit to society, a fact that has
not been occurring throughout the history of Brazil. Sadly, the Bolsonaro administration
is irrational, too, because its focus has been on dealing with issues that have no
immediate effect on the Brazilian economy, such as Security Social reform which is
falsely placed as essential to balance the public accounts and reactivate the Brazilian
economy.
The Bolsonaro government does not act rationally because it does not adopt any
strategy that effectively contributes to: 1) promote the resumption of the country's
economic growth; 2) to face the ongoing trade war in the world economy; and 3) to take
measures to prevent the country from suffering the consequences of the inevitable
worldwide explosion of the world debt that could occur at any moment. The
government's number 1 priority should be to promote the resumption of economic
growth by reactivating the economy that has been in recession for four years and rapidly
reduce the public deficit and unemployment levels. Government's priority number 2
should be to reduce Brazil's dependence on exports by promoting the country's
development with an emphasis on the domestic market to minimize the effects of the
ongoing trade war of the world economy over Brazil. The government's priority number
3 would be to strengthen the Brazilian economy that could be affected by the ongoing
trade war in the world economy and by the inevitable explosion of world debt due to the
fact that Brazil has an economic system extremely weakened by the crisis that broke out
in 2014 and, also, for having adopted since 1990 the neoliberal economic model that
made it more vulnerable to the impacts of global economic crises.
In order to reactivate economic growth, to face the current commercial war in the world
economy and prevent the country from suffering the consequences of the inevitable
explosion of the world debt, we must replace the neoliberal economic model that has
devastated the Brazilian economy since 1990 and, above all, after 2014, by the national
developmentalist model of selective opening of the Brazilian economy whose economic
policy should have the characteristics described below:
1) Elaboration of a program of works on economic infrastructure (energy, transport and
communications) and social infrastructure (education, health, housing, basic sanitation
and environment)

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2) Implementation of public / private partnership in the execution of economic and
social infrastructure works
3) Elaboration of an industrial development program to substitute imports to meet the
domestic market and exports to reactivate the Brazilian economy
4) Elaboration of a program of scientific and technological development centered on the
industrial policy that encourages the development of industries that substitute imports
and export expansion
5) Raising public savings by increasing public revenues and reducing government costs
so that it has the resources to invest in economic and social infrastructure
6) Increase in public revenues by taxing large fortunes, dividends from individuals and
banks
7) Reduction of government costs by reducing public debt amortization costs,
elimination of superfluous expenses in all the powers of the Republic, and reduction of
public agencies and commissioned personnel
8) Immediate adoption of a public debt audit followed by renegotiation of the payment
of interest on the country's domestic public debt in order to reduce the burden and
raising public saving for investment
9) Drastic reduction of bank interest rates to encourage private investment in economic
and social infrastructure works, industry and the economy in general
In addition, the federal government should adopt the measures described below:
1) Selective import of raw materials and essential products from abroad to reduce the
country's foreign exchange expenditures
2) Adoption of the fixed exchange rate policy in place of the floating exchange rate in
force to protect the domestic industry and control inflation
3) Reintroduction of the market reserve in areas considered strategic for national
development
4) Nationalize privatized state enterprises considered strategic for national development
5) Increase in public and private savings in order to raise the investment rates of the
Brazilian economy
6) Realization of foreign investments, preferably in the export-oriented areas, and in
those in which domestic companies are unable to supply the domestic market
7) Maximization of Brazilian exports to expand the country's foreign exchange earnings
and boost the growth of the national economy
8) Control of the inflow and outflow of capital to avoid currency evasion and restrict the
access of speculative capital in the country in order to reduce Brazil's external
vulnerability
9) Concession of tax incentives to attract private investments in less developed regions
of Brazil

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10) Encouraging and strengthening research and development activities and the
country's education system
11) Reduction of social inequalities, including the adoption of programs that contribute
to the basic needs of the population in terms of food, clothing, housing, health services
and employment, and a better quality of life
This whole set of measures should be put into practice based on the planning of the
national economy that would ensure economic growth and the development of the
country on a sustainable basis. It is important to note that Brazil's largest economic
leverage continues to be the infrastructure sector. There is a need for Brazil to invest R$
2.5 trillion in infrastructure. According to the Institute of Logistics and Supply Chain,
the necessary investments in Brazil in ports (R$ 42.9 billion), railroads (R$ 130.8
billion) and highways (R$ 811.7 billion) total R$ 985.4 billion. Adding this value to the
investments required for waterways and river ports (R$ 10.9 billion), airports (R$ 9.3
billion), electric sector (R$ 293.9 billion), oil and gas (R$ 75.3 million, basic sanitation
(R$ 270 billion) and telecommunications (R$ 19.7 billion) totaled R$ 1,664.5 billion.
The education sector requires investments of R$ 83 billion per year, health R$ 54 billion
per year and the popular housing requires R$ 68 billion to eliminate the housing deficit.
Adding the total investment required in economic infrastructure (energy, transportation
and communications) and social infrastructure (education, health, sanitation and
housing) would total R$ 1,869.5 billion, that is, almost R$ 2 trillion. The economic and
social infrastructure program to be adopted in the short term should achieve these goals.
Instead of adopting the measures described above, the Bolsonaro government places the
Social Security reform as essential to reactivate the Brazilian economy, with the support
of big businessmen who hope to reduce their costs with their contribution to Social
Security and the bankers who hope to make money with the proposed capitalization of
Social Security. Without the adoption of the measures described above, Brazil will
move towards inevitable economic and social ruin with serious repercussions of a
political nature. In order to make the Bolsonaro government reverse its irrational
neoliberal economic policy, it is necessary that the Brazilian people mobilize through
their representatives in the Parliament and their Civil Society organizations to demand
the adoption of the measures described above in defense of economic progress of the
country and the well-being of the Brazilian population.
* Fernando Alcoforado, 79, holder of the CONFEA / CREA System Medal of Engineering Merit, member
of the Bahia Academy of Education, engineer and doctor in Territorial Planning and Regional
Development by the University of Barcelona, university professor and consultant in the areas of strategic
planning, business planning, regional planning and planning of energy systems, is the author of 14 books
addressing issues such as Globalization and Development, Brazilian Economy, Global Warming and
Climate Change, The Factors that Condition Economic and Social Development, Energy in the world and
The Great Scientific, Economic, and Social Revolutions that Changed the World.