Conclusions—The Half-Full and Half-Empty Glass of Brazilian Democracy

Abstract

Generations of Brazilians, but particularly the ones that were born in the 1950s and 1960s, have been led to believe that they had the privilege of living in “the country of the future.” With its vast territory, natural resources, and economic potential, its people were led to believe that Brazil had a guaranteed place as one of the world’s leading developed countries. This dream was nourished not only by the third championship of the FIFA world cup won in Mexico in 1970, largely used by the military as a government successful achievement, but also by the vigorous “economic miracle” (1968–1973), when Brazil managed to have a GDP growth averaged more than 11 percent annually, faster than countries like Japan and South Korea.