As origens e a gênese do Plano Collor [The origins of the Collor Plan]

The blockage of financial asset liquidity in March 1990, known as the Collor Plan - one of the most drastic state interventions in the Brazilian economy ever -, originated in the debate over the failure of previous stabilization policies, especially the heterodox shocks of the Sarney government. This intervention was an attempt to tackle, at the same time, the three problems identified with the shocks: (i) the tendency for accelerated monetization and for an explosion in demand in moments of abrupt reduction of the inflation; (ii) the implications of high liquidity of financial assets and "indexed money" and (iii) the precarious financing of the public debt. The debate pointed to the possibility and even the need for non-conventional measures to be taken in relation to these three problems. The Collor Plan itself began to be formatted by the president-elect's advisors at the end of December 1989, after his victory in the runoff election. The final draft was probably strongly influenced by a document discussed by the advisors of PMDB party candidate Ulysses Guimarães, and later by advisors of PT party candidate Luís Inácio Lula da Silva, during the period between the general election and the runoff. In spite of the differences in their general economic strategies, these competing candidates failed to develop their own stabilization policies at a time of rapid price increases and risk of hyperinflation during the second half of 1989. The proposal to block liquidity originated in academic debate and was imposed upon the main presidential candidacies.