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In order to examine the implementation of New Public Management (NPM) principles in Brazil, it is necessary to go back to the origins of the Brazilian state. The historical approach shows that NPM principles were put into practice mainly between 1995 and 2000, during the presidency of Fernando Henrique Cardoso, a period of wide privatization of public services, the setting up of regulatory agencies and an evaluation system, the development of electronic administration, etc. This reform program was not as successful as it could have been, in particular because it was not supported by governmental structure. Nonetheless, what it did achieve was to trigger debate on the necessity of reforming the state apparatus.