At the time of IBGE, the Brazilian statistical activity in three social-historical periods. The challenges of the present moment

Resumo

The Brazilian statistical activity at IBGE (Brazilian Institute of Geography and Statistics) time, according to a social-history approach, can be identified by three periods: around 1936 to around 1966, around 1966 to around 1996 and from that time on. Indeed, chronologies can be seductive, but it requires special care: considering as successive situations the ones which are many times simultaneous is a risky attitude. That is the case of the division here used and the explanation for the additional “around” before the years is in order to mitigate misunderstandings but it does not solve completely the problem as one mentioned time may come from a previous one. In other words, the chronological borders between periods tend to be nebulous.