ABSTRACT

This chapter provides an outline of the evolution of Brazil's housing policy up to 1986. It look at the kinds of changes that occurred since the beginning of the twentieth century and estimate the extent to which these changes shaped the pattern of change to come, particularly the creation of the National Housing Bank (BNH). The chapter highlights the essential political nature of the planning process in Brazil, in contrast to the rational-comprehensive or 'technocratic' model which is often assumed to predominate. The initial role of the BNH was to solve housing problems in Brazil. In Brazil, the process of industrialization occurred over a relatively brief span of time. The housing finance system collects resources from two sources: Guaranteed Employment Fund—which is the compulsory social security fund of all registered workers, and Sistema Brasileiro de Poupanca e Emprestimo— which collects private, voluntary savings.