Lula's Development Council

Brazil's recently created Council for Economic and Social Development was designed to enhance democratic governance and socioeconomic development via consultation and dialogue with civil society actors. In its first years of operation, it served to articulate the interests and preferences of political and economic elites, institutionalizing dialogue and in the process enhancing support for policy reform, improving governance, and driving forward democratization. Its substantive achievements were limited, however, by its bias in favor of business and the more developed South, its dependence on the executive, the government's minority status in Congress, and the lack of interest of political elites. As a result, the future of this neo-corporatist institution remains unclear.