@article{oai:nagoya.repo.nii.ac.jp:00012175, author = {SANTOS, Diogo de Almeida Viana dos}, journal = {国際開発研究フォーラム, Forum of International Development Studies}, month = {Mar}, note = {This article examines authoritarian means of policy-making in Brazil expressed by presidential decrees. In the 1990s, the Brazilian economy suffered a hyperinflationary process that required budgetary reform. Presidential decrees (Provisional Measures) were a fundamental tool to regain control on the budget. Authoritarian regimes have to resort to performance to obtain legitimacy. Democracies, on the other hand, have other sources of support, such as governmental procedure and popular election. By a case study of Brazilian policy-making, the author argues that not complying with procedural rules of democracy and of presidential decree power could produce legitimacy, with a positive impact on democratization. The immediate reduction of inflation and the new fiscal balance archived by the Real plan have permitted the continuity of democratization, while the economic stability alleviated the pressure on the president and the democratizing regime as a whole. However, the use of provisional measures to implement policy in Brazil has posed a threat to checks-and-balance and representation. At the same time that Provisional Measures are a distortion and a threat to democratic representative mechanisms, they can also bring legitimacy to the regime.}, pages = {139--161}, title = {Provisional Measures as a Legislative Tool for Achieving Policy Efficiency and Obtaining Regime Legitimacy in 1990s Brazil}, volume = {39}, year = {2010} }