ABSTRACT
This introduction presents an overview of the key concepts discussed in the subsequent chapters of this book. The book provides an integral study of Brazilian decisionmaking and its impact on the elections of November 15, 1986. It discusses the theoretical aspects of creditor-debtor relationships and domestic growth. The book examines Brazil's control of its national resources by international companies and their local associates particularly in the informatics industry. It deals with analysis by Brazil's former Minister of State Planning Joao Sayad of the stabilization plan of February 28, 1986, which marked Brazil's first program to fight hyperinflation while it sought to stabilize price levels and reestablish a relative price system within the country. The book addresses the social pact between business and labor in Brazilian society. It concludes that a broad sweeping change in Brazilian society will be necessary to hold together a heterogeneous society with different economic interests.
