Furtado vs. Prebisch: A Latin American controversy

Abstract

The second half of the 1950s saw a conflict between Raúl Prebisch —the Executive Secretary of Economic Commission for Latin America and the Caribbean (eclac)— and Celso Furtado, who was one of the most respected economists in the institution. The conflict is little explored in the literature and, somehow, it has become taboo within the institution itself, since it motivated Furtado’s abandonment of eclac in 1957. By investigating two official documents they prepared to subsidize the Argentinian and the Mexican governments, the current study highlights the main differences regarding anti-inflation and external insertion policies and, taking a broader view, the role played by the State in leading the development process.