A revised and updated edition of the Jabuti Prize winner, * Brazilian Saga: A People's Long Struggle for Their Currency *, by Miriam Leitão, is a definitive book on the country's recent economic history, from hyperinflation to various economic plans.
Cumulative inflation in the fifteen years preceding the Real Plan was 13.3 trillion percent. The country had five currencies between 1986 and 1994, which meant price instability, indexations, freezes, savings confiscations, and general insecurity. During this period, Brazilians endured attacks on their rights as citizens, faced lines, worked nights, lost income, assets, and, in many cases, their physical and emotional health. But they also fought back and believed as often as necessary.
But, years later, younger generations have no idea what the hyperinflation period was like—and remembering it is crucial. Míriam Leitão provides this enormous service to the country by recording for posterity the saga of the struggle and victory against inflation and reconstructing the facts with great skill and ease.
Mixing economic analysis with individual stories of Brazilians, Brazilian Saga shows how the pursuit of monetary stability became a fundamental element in the construction of a national character. "Within government offices and family living rooms, a great story unfolded. Millions of people participated in this collective construction that had no extras. They were all central pieces of a great saga," writes the author.
Miriam draws on her vast journalistic experience combined with unparalleled sensitivity to tell this story in this essential book. In this revised and updated edition, the author adds a new chapter on the threat of the return of the specter of runaway inflation and its consequences for the country's economy.
