WINNER OF THE 2013 JABUTI AWARD - ECONOMICS, ADMINISTRATION, AND BUSINESS Category Introduced by delightful fables, Belíndia 2.0, by Edmar Bacha—one of the founders of the Real Plan—traces Brazil's economic trajectory since the days of price instability and discusses contemporary and challenging issues for a new country. The Belíndia fable, written in 1974, served well in the fight against the dictatorship, but today the country's enormous progress justifies a "Belíndia 2.0." The text appears in the opening chapter of the new book to recall the growing social inequality fueled by Brazil's "economic miracle" and its legacy. "Back in 1974, under the military regime, there was an intense debate about the country's income distribution. The 1970 census revealed not only that it was highly concentrated, but also that this concentration had worsened between 1960 and 1970. (...) the richest 10% appropriated no less than 72% of the increase in total income between 1960 and 1970!" Bacha explains. Redemocratized Brazil enjoys a period of stability and growth with improved income distribution. However, in several aspects of public policy, it continues to exhibit characteristics of an underdeveloped country. To overcome these limitations, this work masterfully develops new rules consistent with a changing world, believing that Brazil now has the opportunity not only to fully develop but also to contribute to sound economic and political choices in other parts of the world. Complementing the stabilization that began in the 1990s, there are proposals to resolve the economy's current challenges: the resumption of growth and the convergence of interest rates to international standards. Solving these issues will allow Brazil to advance in the challenge of redesigning social policies, which are no longer limited to eliminating extreme poverty and providing basic health and education services, but require attention to the demands of the new middle class for more efficient and higher-quality public services. Belíndia 2.0 also provides an understanding of the opportunities and challenges that rising commodity prices, combined with the discovery of pre-salt oil, pose for Brazil. Is this "reprimarization of exports" a return to the past or, on the contrary, a harbinger of a new growth pattern? There is no doubt that if good policies are adopted, natural resources can become a blessing, given the examples of the United States, Sweden, Norway, and Australia.
