Economic Elites and Public Sector Size in Brazil and Mexico

Abstract

Although they share key economic and political characteristics, Brazil and Mexico differ greatly in the size of their public sectors. In terms of both revenues and spending, Brazil has among the largest public sectors in Latin America. In contrast, Mexico’s ranks in the middle of the region in both categories. These differences have persisted over many decades, despite significant changes in other aspects of the economic development model in both countries. This chapter argues that the contrast in public sector size between the two countries is largely due to historically constructed differences in the organization and ideology of economic elites. Major threats to private sector interests, especially during the 1930s, gave rise in Mexico to a network of formal and informal organizations dedicated to limiting state intervention in the economy. In Brazil, in contrast, a more business-friendly pattern of development meant that economic elites adopted neither the antistatist attitudes nor the organizational structures of their Mexican counterparts. Rather than resisting public sector expansion, they have focused on exploiting it for their own purposes.

Department(s)

Political Science and Philosophy

Document Type

Article

DOI

10.4324/9781032636764-4

Publication Date

1-1-2024

Journal Title

Political Economy of Elites in Latin America

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