Author Description

The social policies of non-democratic regimes is a much neglected area in the literature on the Third World. In this study, Dr Shidlo looks at the role of public housing in Sao Paulo in relation to the system of patron-clientage politics that exists in Brazil's military state. Dr Shidlo suggests that the selective provision of subsidized housing has been used to buy urban political support and to relieve social pressures. He describes the evolution of Brazil's housing finance system from 1880 to the post-military era and explores the role of the Brazilian National Housing Bank (established in 1964) and developments after its disbandment. Dr Shidlo also considers the consumption of social resources by the urban middle sectors, using as a case study a socio-economic analysis of the population of Itaquera, Sao Paulo's most recent and most politically influential housing development. He discusses future social policy strategies for nondemocratic regimes and evaluates the process of re-democratization and its implications for social policies in Third World nations.