The green Re-industrialisation of Brazil under PT Governments: Continuities and Changes

In January 2023, the newly elected Brazilian president, Mr Luis Inácio Lula da Silva, globally known as Lula, returned to power advocating for a disruptive change based on a developmental strategy that puts the green re-industrialisation at the centre of its policies. However, radical political change entails a shift in political paradigm, meaning a shift in the collection of a policy’s beliefs, goals, and solutions (Hall, 1993). The idea of development through industrialisation has been advocated in the Brazilian Workers’ Party (PT) discourse since its creation and has resurrected the industrial policy debate in Brazilian politics in the 2000s. However, it has never succeeded in changing Brazil’s developmental path towards reindustrialisation (Fonseca, 2014). Combining Hall’s work on policy paradigms change and social learning with the conceptualisation of Brazilian developmental strategy through PT governments, this paper explored to what extent the commitment to green re-industrialisation presents a real political paradigm change by the PT governments? A reflection on current events inevitably takes us to recollect the past. Therefore, this paper takes a historical approach by analysing the change and continuities of the PT-elected governmental programmes. This analysis exemplifies the argument: Brazil’s new green re-industrialisation agenda can potentially promote changes in political instruments. However, it is unlikely to encourage a sustainable paradigmatic shift within the Brazilian political agenda. Following a narrow win, Lula and his Party arrived at power within a political coalition, facing challenges in gathering the needed support in Congress to approve the proposed institutional changes.