Brazil

The Initiative for Policy Dialogue (IPD) was initially invited to Brazil in April of 2003 by the Council for Economic and Social Development. The Council, which consists of representatives from government, academia, business, trade unions, and non-governmental organizations, was created by President Luiz Ignacio Lula da Silva as a forum for inclusive policy debate. IPD was asked to look closely at the trade-offs associated with different policy options.  In order to gather all of the necessary information, a series of meetings were held with senior government officials, members of parliament, academics, and representatives from the business community.