brazil...

Brazil’s National Campaign for Full Employment was born out of the initiative of a group of economists and social scientists in 2000 with the aim to develop and suggest to Brazilian policy makers alternative economic policies to those of the Washington Consensus. The common understanding among members of the Campaign is that the necessary macroeconomic changes for Full Employment will not result from purely theoretical debate, but rather, from massive popular mobilization. Mobilization is underway as you read this note, with a substantial number of signatures being collected already (at least 1.5 million) for a popular initiative, the “Full Employment” Law (act), to be presented to the Brazilian Congress. Back in 2001 the Campaign was presented at the World Social Forum in Porto Alegre and two years later, in 2003, the Congressional Front for Full Employment was created with 80 congressmen and 43 senators subscribing to the Front. The same year the website desempregozero.org.br was created as an outlet for academic work on the theme of Full Employment policies and other relevant material for the Campaign. Finally, in 2007 several events were held to celebrate the official inauguration of the Campaign in Rio de Janeiro (September 20), Belo Horizonte (October 18) and Sao Paulo (November 28). The Campaign has received immediate support from trade unions and other professional associations, individual legislators and other politicians. The National Coordinating Committee is made up of representatives of the several civic entities that have joined the Campaign. At this moment, events are being organized by the New Central Syndicate Union of Workers. Other trade unions are being contacted as well as the Students’ National Union, and the expectation and aspiration of the campaign is that by the beginning of next year all major trade unions will be part of the Coordinating Committee.