ADJUSTMENT POLICIES OR THE EROSION OF THE STATE IN BRAZIL

This analysis shows that the Brazilian State's decreased skill in and capacity for intervening (that is, the governability crisis) derive from the breakdown of interest networks and from the inadequacy of alternative structures (such as the party system) that accompany the government's process of retrenchment. Because the government is weak in the three governability factors - autonomy, concentration, mobilization - it can only incompletely and unsatisfactorily enforce economic liberalization and privatization measures, which are taken here as examples of analysis. Divided, the private sector is incapable of reacting. While the capacity of the State diminishes, this is not offset by any concomitant increase in the private sector's dynamism and competitive flexibilization. This erosion of the State is the manifestation of a process of retrenchment, allied to a net loss in State capacity for intervening, and can be understood as the non-feasibility of rebuilding interest networks. Given the State structure and the climate for sectoral mobilization, no type of working arrangement can be achieved.