The action and thought of Fernão Bracher, a conservative with public spirit

Abstract

This paper reflects on the trajectory of Fernão Bracher in the light of
institutional advances in the Brazilian public administration since the re-democratization of
1985 onward. Descendant of a traditional family in São Paulo, Bracher will channel his
public spirit and his economic nationalism in three opportunities, notably during the postmilitary
regime period, when he governed the Central Bank of Brazil and later became, at the invitation of his friend and minister Luiz Carlos Bresser-Pereira, the Brazilian negotiator
of the external debt. Less theoretical than Bresser but as pragmatic as him, Bracher shared
his friend’s immense intellectual curiosity, having helped in the exchange of reflections
among the different economists involved with the theory of inertial inflation. A man of
action, in the private and public sectors, Bracher has a trajectory that highlights the
overcome of difficulties present in national economic policy.

JEL Classification: A10; E60; H63; H81; H83.