ABSTRACT
This article analyzes Francisco Dornelles’ term at the Ministry of Finance in 1985. In addition to filling the existing gap in historiography, it reconstructs the thinking and economic actions of Dornelles and Tancredo Neves. Both were conservatives, endorsing a “monetarist” diagnosis of the Brazilian crisis. This conservatism translated into a relative continuation of the austerity policy implemented by Delfim Netto. It is argued that Dornelles’ departure from the Ministry of Finance marks an important turning point in Brazil’s economic history. FGV-RJ and the “delfinist” faction of FEA-USP lose their hegemony over economic policy, creating space for other schools, such as Unicamp and PUC-Rio.
KEYWORDS:
Francisco Dornelles; Ministry of Finance; monetarism; heterodoxy