A dependency-theory sociologist presided over Brazil’s neoliberal privatization

Evidence

In 1994 and 1998 Lula lost (fair and square) to Fernando Henrique Cardoso (or FHC, as everyone calls him). FHC is a genteel academic, the kind of guy who speaks French and wears tweed and is anything but a reactionary. As a sociologist, he worked within the field of “dependency theory,” which operated from an understanding that rich countries exploit poor countries. But as president he oversaw a wave of privatizations and the institutionalization of macroeconomic policies that left Brazil’s assorted neoliberal think tanks (in the country since the early 1980s) with little to complain about. — Vincent Bevins, If We Burn, 141

Categorization

• XREF: Connects to broader pattern of left-leaning intellectuals implementing market reforms, mirrors FHC with others elsewhere. — connects to: Neoliberalism is activated from below by social actors, not merely imposed from above — Max Haiven, Cultures of Financialization, 530

Broader Connections

• Neoliberalism is activated from below by social actors, not merely imposed from above #qualifies (0.72) — Max Haiven, Cultures of Financialization, 530