In this first overview of the Brazilian republican state based on extensive primary source material, Steven Topik demonstrates that well before the disruption of the export economy in 1929, the Brazilian state was one of the most interventionist in Latin America. This study counters the previous general belief that before 1930 Brazil was dominated by an export oligarchy comprised of European and North American capitalists and that only later did the state become prominent in the country’s economic development. Topik examines the state’s performance during the First Republic (1889–1930) in four sectors—finance, the coffee trade, railroads, and industry. By looking at the controversies in these areas, he explains how domestic interclass and international struggles shaped policy and notes the degree to which the state acted relatively independently of civil society. Topik’s primary concern is the actions of state officials and whether their decisions reflected the demands of the ruling class. He shows that conflicting interests of fractions of the ruling class and foreign investors gradually led to far greater state participation than any of the participants originally desired, and that the structure of the economy and of society—not the intentions of the actors—best explains the state’s economic presence.

Brazil has one of the world’s fastest growing economies and a fascinating history underpinning its evolution. This book presents an analysis of the state’s role in monetary policy, from the latter days of Portuguese rule, to the present day. Based on a variety of unknown archival sources, this study offers an alternative explanation for the rise and fall of Brazilian currencies. Monetary statecraft is a theory that accounts for the open ended, autonomous character of politics, the complex, recursive phases of public policy, and political development in the traditional sense of social inclusion. Unfortunately, there are few precedents for this type of analysis. This book fills this gap by tracing how Brazilian policy makers and observers have sought, experimented with, and reflected on a variety of forms and solutions for monetary policy since 1808. This book will be of interest to economists, financial historians and those interested in the history and economy of Brazil.