[citation needed] He was one of the supporters of the creation the BNDES (at the time BNDE – National Bank for Economic Development), a public authority whose function was to supply emerging industries with low-interest and long-term credits.

[citation needed] After Vargas's suicide, Campos served as economic advisor to his elected successor, president Juscelino Kubitschek.

[4] During the 1950s and early 1960s, Campos presented himself as a promoter of "pragmatic, democratic nationalism," as when he tried, as Brazilian ambassador in Washington, to reach an understanding between the John F. Kennedy administration and the left-leaning João Goulart government.

[3] Roberto Campos sided with the military regime installed by the 1964 coup, which was greatly backed by Jorge Flores, a business partner of his.

[5] The first military president, Marshall Castelo Branco, appointed Campos as his Minister of Planning – and chief economic policy maker, jointly with the Finance Minister Octavio Gouvea de Bulhões – in which capacity he enacted various pro-business and pro-foreign capital – as well as anti-organized-labour – reforms that aimed to modernize the Brazilian economy in a liberal sense.

[6] During the late 1960s and 1970s, he disagreed with the increasing amount of state intervention in the economy included in the process of authoritarian modernization achieved by later military administrations and remained at the sidelines, working mostly as an adviser in private enterprise.