Da expansão ao colapso: o papel do endividamento externo na economia brasileira do milagre econômico à crise da dívida externa

Abstract

This article reviews the literature on the crisis of Brazil’s financing model in the early 1980s, focusing on the process of external indebtedness through the balance of payments. The analysis seeks to understand how increasing dependence on foreign capital contributed to the economic crisis of the period. The reviewed studies indicate that Brazil’s external debt intensified from the late 1960s onward, within a context of global liquidity expansion, the growing financial hegemony of the United States, and the rise of the eurocurrency market. The adopted growth model, based on continuous capital inflows, led to structural imbalances in the external accounts, worsened by rising international interest rates and the global recession. The literature presents divergences regarding the effectiveness of debt nationalization and rollover strategies, and points to gaps concerning the social impacts of the crisis. It is concluded that the financing pattern adopted played a central role in deepening Brazil’s economic recession during the 1980s.