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Brazil Science for Industrial Competitiveness
Science for Industrial Competitiveness
The World Bank (see
Glossary) approved a US$72 million sector loan in 1985 (with
another US$107 million to be provided by the Brazilian government)
to increase the country's competence in selected areas of science
and technology. The underlying assumption had been that the government
would maintain the historical levels of expenditures for the sector
as a whole. This expectation was not fulfilled, and the World Bank's
program, called the Program in Support of Scientific and Technological
Development (Programa de Apoio ao Desenvolvimento Científico
e Tecnológico--PADCT), became one of the few sources of support
for scientific research, although it did not contribute directly
to an improvement in Brazil's industrial competitiveness.
The brief Fernando
Collor de Mello presidency (1990-92) called for making science
and technology more directly relevant to industrial effectiveness,
in an economy that was being deregulated and subjected to international
competition. It was also a period of high inflation, economic depression,
and political crisis. The main initiatives and proposals, some dating
from the previous years, included the continuation of the World
Bank sector loan to science and technology; the transformation of
Finep into an agency concerned almost exclusively with loans for
the development of industrial technology; a sharp reduction in the
FNDCT's budget; the end of market protection for the Brazilian computer
industry; major reductions in the resources available to the CNPq,
which became restricted to the administration of fellowships; proposals
to create strong links between universities and the productive sector
through "technological parks" and other mechanisms of
university-industry cooperation; the closing down, phasing out,
or revising of large military projects, such as the Parallel Program
and the space program; and the privatization of most publicly owned
corporations.
Several measures related to the opening of Brazil's economy were
carried out and are still in effect. However, little progress was
made in turning the science and technology sector in new directions.
Economic depression limited industrial investments, while inflation
channeled available resources to the financial markets. The scientific
community viewed the Collor government with distrust.
The Itamar
Franco government (1992-94), which succeeded Collor de Mello
after his impeachment on corruption charges, was unable to overcome
the country's runaway inflation until mid-1994 and did not have
a chance to devise a science and technology policy. The minister
of science and technology, José Israel Vargas, an internationally
respected physicist with considerable credibility in Brazil, worked
to keep the issues of science and technology high on the government
agenda. He sought to pass legislation that would create incentives
for technology investments in industry and that would revive Brazil's
space program. In addition, he was committed to ensuring the bare
minimum of resources for the daily activities of the government's
main science and technology agencies. No long-term policy seemed
to exist, however.
Data as of April 1997
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