Monetary Policy During the Transition to a Floating Exchange Rate:
Brazil's Recent Experience
The financial crisis that erupted in Asia in 1997 quickly spread to other developing regions, as international investors panicked and pulled their capital out. In this article, the governor of Brazil's central bank outlines the steps Brazil took to avert financial disaster when inflows of private foreign capital suddenly dried up.
The background to Brazil's financial crisis in early 1999 included both fiscal and balance of payments weaknesses: in mid-1998, Brazil's consolidated fiscal position was showing a primary deficit as the government's expenditures, excluding interest payments, exceeded its income. The bulk of the government's domestic debt—which amounted to 40 percent of GDP—consisted of short-term financing. The current account deficit was approaching 5 percent of GDP, even as the economy was sliding into recession. Then, as often happens to vulnerable countries, an economic crisis erupted: after Russia defaulted on its debt in August, capital flows to Brazil came to a halt
These events forced Brazil to float the real and led to a panic in January 1999. In February, the real plummeted to 2.15 to the dollar, from 1.20 at the beginning of the year. The situation was ominous: Brazil could soon have found itself in all kinds of trouble. A panicky reaction to the devaluation could have created serious imbalances, fueling inflation while driving the economy into a deep recession. The threat of inflation was particularly relevant, given Brazil's history; observers predicted inflation rates ranging from 30 percent to 80 percent. Forecasts for GDP growth in 1999 ranged from -3 percent to -6 percent.