Projeto Nacional: O Dever da Esperança

How many books by Brazilian politicians have you read that had a real plan, with diagnosis, cause and proposal tied together? For me, this was the first. Projeto Nacional is one of my favourite books, and not because I'm rooting for him. It's because Ciro does something I value a lot. The book starts from the root cause. Deindustrialisation, interest rates, household debt, technological dependence: it all appears as a system, not as a list of loose problems.

The economic ideas line up closely with what I believe the country needs. The case for a development strategy driven by the productive sectors, with the state coordinating without smothering, makes sense to me. And the social agenda isn't there as decoration; it's woven into the plan.

A good government plan looks a lot like good system design: it defines boundaries, priorities and what it won't do. The book has that, which is why I think it's an excellent government plan. I admire Ciro a lot and see him as one of the best-prepared minds on political economy in Brazil's New Republic.

The book is much stronger on diagnosis and design than on political execution. How to build a majority in Congress, how to survive four years of pressure: that takes a back seat. The tone also gets too combative in places for anyone who comes in without some prior sympathy.

I recommend it to anyone who wants to discuss economics with real arguments, whether they agree or not.