This presentation, in charge of Mr. Nicolás Grinberg and organised by CONACYT/FLACSO, will analyse the trajectory of Brazilian society between the times of populist developmentalism and the emergence of neo-developmentalism. Challenging mainstream accounts, it will be argued that the various policy regimes consolidating and disappearing throughout the period have been forms of realisation of the autonomously regulated process of capital accumulation on a global scale. More concretely, it will be claimed that Brazilian capitalism has developed under a specific form which sprung from its particular original subsumption in the international division of labour as producer of primary commodities; capital has accumulated there through the recovery of a portion of the abundant local ground-rent. This specific form of capital accumulation has come about through specific developmental patterns and state policies and political processes. Through the analysis of the historical development of the Brazilian process of capital accumulation, the presentation will show the inherent unity amongst the various policy regimes.