Privatization strategies: Is Brazil moving in the wrong gear?

In the 1980s, marketization strategies gained momentum around the globe. Increasingly, the visible hand was being replaced by a revival of neoliberal growth strategies. Privatization was a response to state-owned enterprise, sluggish performance, and excessive intervention in sectors not requiring assistance. In many countries the state became the problem and not the solution for further gains in competitiveness and efficiency. Privatization strategies were implemented more aggressively in Latin America in the 1980s and early 1990s. In Brazil, the largest economy in Latin America, policymakers used erratic strategies from the early 1980s through the early 1990s. This article addresses the Brazilian privatization experience, paying heed to the dynamics of the different strategies pursued throughout the privatization programs and elaborating on the specific steps taken by the Brazilian policymakers. © 1995 John Wiley & Sons, Inc.