Paulo Nogueira

Conseqüências de uma decisão unilateral para a dívida externa: notas baseadas na experiência recente do Brasil

This paper discusses a number of issues arising from the unilateral suspension of exiernal debt seroice with special reference to the recent experience of Brasil. It begins by briefly examining some of the factors that may lead a country to default and by arguing that a suspension of payments may be instrumental in protecting the leoel of a countrys foreign exchange reserves, as well as in creating the necessary conditions for a lasting solution to the debt servicing problems that have emerged in the 1980s. It goes on to outline a stratezy for unilateral debt securitization and to discuss the possible eftects of unilateral actions on the pari of a debtor country such as Brazil. This paper also discusses the reasons that make massive creditor refalation unlikely and some of the measures that a defaulting debtor may take in order to reâuce the risk of disruption associated with unilateral action.