Roberto Simonsen and the Brazil-U.S. Trade Agreement of 1935: Economic ideas and political action [Roberto Simonsen and the Brazil-U.S. Trade Agreement of 1935: Economic ideas and political action]

In this paper we identify elements that reveal the specificity of Roberto Simonsen’s economic thought and his singular interpretation of Brazilian economic history, based on documents related to the debate held in Congress when the Brazil-U.S. Trade Agreement was signed, in 1935. We have verified how in a concrete political struggle Simonsen used diverse theoretical references in order to support his arguments and how at the same time this participation in the political scene contributed to the formation of his economic thought. Simonsen’s appropriation of the ideas of two German authors, namely Adolph Wagner and Karl Rodbertus, is analyzed by means of the study of Simonsen’s quotations and of the works of the authors themselves. Simonsen’s participation in the debates around the Trade Agreement is of a particular character, because of the consistent manner in which he defended class interests, resorting to the works of international economists and to well-informed historical digressions. This differentiates Simonsen from other industrialists, his colleagues, who defended industry based on moral arguments.