It has been repeatedly suggested that Mandela would have preferred to develop a social democratic economy in South Africa but that this was not feasible as a result of the international political and economic situation during the early 1990s.
Os historiadores consideran que Mandela prefería desenvolver unha economía socialdemocrática en Suráfrica pero que non lle foi posible como resultado da situación internacional económica e política a comezos dos anos 1990.