Neo-mercantilist Capitalism and Post-2008 Cleavages in Economic Decision-making Power in Brazil.

The 2008 subprime crisis led to a global wave of bailouts and other political-economic measures by governments. These moves were seen as the rise of a new statism. Emerging giants, such as Brazil, introduced new growth policies and reinforced state-crediting of corporations. This article briefly discusses key institutional, structural and ideological lineages and dilemmas in post-2008 statism and capitalism in Brazil. Neo-mercantilist capitalism is visible, for example, in the new ‘National Champions’ strategy aiming to create export-focused, leading global-sector corporations via mergers orchestrated by key politicians, capitalists and state financial institutions. Changes after a bailout–merger in the paper industry suggest that, after the 2008 financial crisis, in Brazil as elsewhere the use of public funds has had multiple and complex impacts, including the saving of corporations, the concentration of power in those best connected in the political economy, and further exacerbation of class-based inequalities in economic decision making. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]