ABSTRACT
Three major economic issues disturb the progress of the Brazilian economy: inequality, inflation, and debt. All three are serious, but international debt is rapidly becoming the most immediate and most ominous issue. Brazil's strategy for the "economic miracle" contemplated an extraordinarily rapid industrialization based upon inflows of foreign capital and technology, as well as upon forced domestic savings. Then came 1974 and the explosion in oil prices, accompanied by an explosion in capital goods prices that actually imposed a debt burden on Brazil equal to twice the petroleum bill. Although the Brazilian debt is large, it is fair to comment that the term of the loans is a greater problem than the absolute size. Analysis of the structure of Brazil's foreign debt leaves one much more optimistic about the prospects of Brazil than does simple recital of the debt figures. Similarly, analysis of the structure of the Brazilian economy leaves one impressed with Brazil's prospects.
