MercoPress. South Atlantic News Agency

Delfim Netto: architect of modern Brazilian economy has died

Economy minister from 1967 to 1974, under his helm the Brazilian economy expanded at an average annual rate of 10%, still the fastest on record.

Antonio Delfim Netto, a former Brazilian finance, agriculture and planning minister, plus advisor of several presidents, both under military and elected regimes, considered one of the architects of the transformation of the country's economy has died in Sao Paulo.

Delfim Netto was a most influential voice in Brazilian economics for a half-century, died early Monday in Sao Paulo at the age of 96. He had been hospitalized due to health complications, but no specific cause of death was provided, according to GloboNews.

As finance minister from 1967 to 1974, Mr. Delfim Netto served as the economic czar of the military regime that ruled the country for more than two decades. Under his command, the Brazilian economy expanded at an average annual rate of 10%, still the fastest on record.

He also acted as agriculture and planning minister in the final years of the military dictatorship that held power from 1964 to 1985, helping negotiate the restructuring of Brazil’s foreign debt. Mr. Delfim Netto later served as an elected official in Brazil’s Congress.

Despite strong links to the military regime, his vast experience in different governments turned Mr. Delfim Netto into an informal economic adviser to several presidents, including leftist leader Lula da Silva, who oversaw Brazil’s fastest period of growth in the post-dictatorship period during his first presidency, from 2003 to 2010.

The former minister routinely received phone calls from the presidential palace during difficult times, or when new policies were being prepared. He also commented frequently on economic matters through newspaper columns and interviews. As agriculture and planning minister he converted Brazil into a global agrculture super power.

Lula, who returned to the presidency last year, acknowledged his shifting views of Mr. Delfim Netto in a statement issued after his death.

“For 30 years, I criticized Delfim Netto,” Lula said. “During my campaign in 2006, I publicly apologized because he was one of the greatest defenders of the development and social inclusion policies that I implemented during my first two terms in office. When a political opponent is intelligent, he makes us work to be more intelligent and competent.”

Finance Minister Fernando Haddad said in a statement that Delfim Netto “deserves respect for having dedicated himself to Brazilian economic progress.”

Luiz Carlos Trabuco Cappi, the chairman of Banco Bradesco SA, hailed Delfim Netto for taking “Brazil to another level, with a diversified economy based on infrastructure and modernity.”