Neo-developmental Misery: FIESP in the 2016 Brazilian Coup d’État

This article analyses the historical and structural dynamics of Brazil’s white-settler industrial bourgeoisie and its roots, focusing on the Federação das Indústrias do Estado de São Paulo (FIESP), and its role in shaping neoliberal policies and undermining neo-developmentalist projects. It argues that Brazil’s capitalist development is rooted in colonial and neocolonial frameworks, characterized by racial hierarchies, dependency on foreign capital, and the dominance of a white-settler elite. The study analyses the Workers’ Party (PT) governments (2003–2016), which attempted to reconcile social inclusion with industrial growth but were constrained by FIESP and its alignment with global monopoly capital. Drawing on FIESP’s publications and historical data, the research demonstrates how the Federation advocated for neoliberal reforms, foreign investment, and state retrenchment, particularly during crises such as the 2016 parliamentary coup against President Dilma Rousseff. This event marked a deliberate shift towards consolidating financialized capitalism and prioritizing elite interests over developmentalist agendas. The analysis highlights contradictions within Brazilian capitalism, including the bourgeoisie’s reliance on transnational capital, the marginalization of workers, and the failure of neo-developmentalism to address core-periphery inequalities. The study contributes to debates on the limits of reformist industrial policies in peripheral economies dominated by financialized global capital.