Rio de Janeiro - The 1990s in Brazil was a decade characterized by privatizations and a shrinking of the state. A total of 133 state-run enterprises were privatized between 1997 and 2002, reports the government statistical bureau (IBGE) in its new survey, Public Finances.

According to Carlos Sobral, who coordinated the survey for the IBGE, "The privatizations [undertaken by the Collor and Cardoso administrations] caused a sharp reduction in the presence of state-run enterprises in Brazil's economy."

Agência Brasil
Reporter: Norma Nery
Translator: Allen Bennett
12/22/2004