Soiled by Oil Scandal, Brazil’s Model Is Primed for Makeover

Oil was to be the elixir of Brazil’s dreams to build a formidable economy, promote industrial development and fund a more generous welfare state even as it attracted billions in private global investment.

Instead, crisis and disappointment in the oil sector are beckoning Brazil’s leadership to move -- if grudgingly -- toward more deregulated industries and to temper the government’s hand in using state-run companies to forge broader economic policy.