In Brazil, as in most countries, government strategies have sought to encourage economic growth so as to reduce unemployment and maintain price stability as a deterrent to distributive conflict and rigid inflation, a historically difficult problem to solve in this country. Within this context, the fundamental objective of this article is to discuss the macroeconomic performance of the Brazilian economy during the period between the military dictatorship and the new republic, particularly in relation to inflation, economic growth and unemployment. The main conclusion is that Brazil urgently needs to improve its current economic performance. The federal government must therefore foster public and private investment so that all sectors of the economy may break with the current recession. It must also strengthen mechanisms to control inflation and reduce the risk factor and uncertainty for investors so that they are encouraged to hire labor. This will reduce unemployment and improve the outreach of social protection systems for low-income families. More expressly, it will generate opportunities for the improvement and specialization of certain productive activities so that the country is able to create skilled labor, thereby increasing income and stimulating consumption amongst these future workers