Between boldness and homework: Fiscal policy in the Dilma Rousseff government (2011-2014): discourses, agents and institutions

Author(s)

Paulo José de Carvalho Moura

• Document type: Master's Dissertation
• Press: Araraquara. 2023-08-01.
• Institution: Universidade Estadual Paulista (Unesp). Faculdade de Ciências e Letras. Araraquara
• Defense date: 2022-02-14
• Advisor: Maria Aparecida Chaves Jardim

Abstract

This is a study that seeks to objectify, from the economic sociology, the relational sociology of Pierre Bourdieu and the pragmatic sociology of Luc Boltanski, the symbolic disputes around government actions in economic policy, focusing on fiscal policy, during the Dilma Rousseff's Government (2011-2016). To this end, we made use of several research protocols, used in dialogue with Pierre Bourdieu's theory, with emphasis on the lexicometric analysis of the speeches uttered by the "efficient individuals" (Bourdieu, 2016) of the Dilma's Government. In addition, in order to objectify the disputes surrounding fiscal policy, we analyzed the discursive strategy regarding the actions taken in the first term (2011-2014) and the justifications produced to legitimize the implementation of fiscal adjustments in the economic context of the second term (2015-2016). In the end, we show an oscillation in the discourses of the agents studied in relation to the positions taken regarding economic policy, the assessment of the so-called fiscal crisis and the solutions to it. In general, we argue that the positions alternated between the defense of the expansion of public spending and the defense of austerity policies, in line with the sociopolitical conjuncture and the state of the framework of forces in the field of power. (AU)

• FAPESP's process: 19/24480-8 - Between the boldness and the homework - Fiscal policy in Dilma Rousseff's government (2011-2014): speeches, agents and institutions
• Grantee: Paulo José de Carvalho Moura
• Support Opportunities: Scholarships in Brazil - Master