ABSTRACT
This chapter discusses the role played by the Corporatist Chamber in defining the public policies of the Estado Novo in Portugal, taking into account the interests that it represented and the competencies that were attributed to it. It presents a brief overview of the space that was occupied by the Corporatist Chamber in the architecture of political power, explaining the procedures involved in the preparation of its pareceres (reports). In order to illustrate the importance of the Corporatist Chamber and to assess its interference in the design of the Estado Novo's public policies, the chapter focuses on a qualitative look at the main economic and financial reports that were prepared and issued in the first two decades of the authoritarian regime. The organs of political power displayed the hybridism of the regime's initial phase, with corporatist representation being confined to a lateral body, in detriment to its enjoying the status of an apparent liberal representation.
