The trajectory of the West, as we understand it today, once established in antiquity, whether in the polis or in the civitas—or in the fusion of both these inaugural forms—will emerge from the interconnection between city, philosophy, and politics. This framework, which will experience a unique religious-institutional interference in the Middle Ages—when communes harbored populations—will shape in the 18th century the influence of decisive contours for future times, notably, stemming from the legacies of the famous Bourgeois Revolutions, which sealed the fate of the contemporary West. In the 19th century—the Century of Ideologies—the groundwork will be laid so that, in the following century, two so-called world wars would paradigmatically determine Democracy as the exemplary form of government. Thus, from this framework, the territory began to be structured and administered, evidently, based on the peculiarities of the formation of each nation-state—particularly regarding the colonial issue, which, more than to a certain extent, shapes the current world.
BENDIX, Reinhard. Construção nacional e cidadania. Tradução de Mary Amazonas Leite de Barros. São Paulo: Edusp, 2019. (Clássicos, 5).
The flexibility in delineating "regions" makes their study inherently challenging from the outset. The formal, official perspective of their definition should aim at establishing a foundation for the development, particularly, of a Structuring Regional Plan, in order to enable economies of various kinds, through the imposition of an administrative rationality that would certainly be beneficial to budget administration and the implementation of Public and Social Policies, as well as to the quality of life of the population affected. In our particular case, we cannot fail to consider, regarding this Line, due to the permanent role it plays, a point already mentioned above, namely, the specificities of our Federalism, which, as a rule, distorts, if not renders unfeasible, such a perspective.
GIL, Fernando (Coord.). Região. Lisboa: Imprensa Nacional; Casa da Moeda, 1986. (Enciclopédia Einaudi, 8).
HALL, Peter. Cidades do amanhã – uma história intelectual do planejamento e do projeto urbanos no século XX. Tradução Pérola de Carvalho et alii. São Paulo: Perspectiva, 2016.
The accelerated process of urbanization that Brazil underwent from the mid-1960s onwards necessitated that the three institutionalized levels of power reconfigure their administrative structures so that they could at least attempt to address the consequent worsening of the deficiencies we built, even with some zeal. Ironically, it will be in '69, at the beginning of the military regime—which, let's not forget, had created, as early as '64, the National Housing Bank (BNH)—that a Constitutional Amendment, which effectively constitutes a new Constitution, will foresee the formation of Metropolitan Regions, however, in a picturesque manner, as this new entity had (and still has) no deliberative power, not so much due to the power of our States, but mainly because of the almost total possibility of Local/Municipal Power having primacy regarding determinations related to "land use", based on a Master Plan, almost always generic, mandatory, since the 1988 Constitution, for cities with more than twenty thousand inhabitants.
The urban dimension involves the formation of coalitions of political and economic actors seeking to influence the direction of urban policies, directly shaping the configuration and expansion of cities. Thus, the study of urban regimes aims to understand the formation of these coalitions, whether pro-market or pro-civil society, in their short-term influences on local government actions and their long-term ability to alter the structure of urban configuration in metropolises. These actions are also guided by economic, political, and social factors on multiple scales, such as municipal, state, regional, national, and international. Among the political actors capable of shaping them and, therefore, capable of generating more inclusive or more segregated cities, we can mention: construction companies, financial capital, bureaucrats, municipalities, political parties, social movements, collective actions, and religious leaders. Thus, analyzing the correlation of forces in public space—as well as in the "backrooms" of politics—can reveal the characteristics and nuances of urban policies implemented at the local and regional levels, enabling a sharper understanding of the limits and potentialities of their reach and effectiveness.
DEÁK, Csaba; SCHIFFER, Sueli Ramos (org.). O processo de urbanização no Brasil. São Paulo: Edusp, 1999.
STONE, Clarence. Reflections on Regime Politics: From Governing Coalition to Urban Political Order. In: Urban AffairsReview 2015, Vol. 51(1) 101–137.
SUBIRATS, Joan. Explorando el espacio público como bien común. Debates conceptuales y de gobierno en la ciudad fragmentada. En: Ramírez, P. (coord.) La reinvención del espacio en ciudad fragmentada. México: UNAM, 2016.
While urban land administration suffers from various and diffuse interferences, in the rural world, we coexist with the primordial and therefore permanent presence of latifundia, which determines both the hindrance of productive land use possibilities and the miserable conditions that have always shaped the lives of our rural workers. As mentioned earlier, we have never carried out an effective Agrarian Reform, which increasingly constitutes a colossal affront to the public administration of our territory, proportionate even to its area. This situation is largely explained by the, let's say, influence of the "landowners" in the political environment, formerly indirectly through proxies, and now actively, with the occupation of key positions in the Executive and Legislative branches, particularly, and with not-so-discreet support from the Judiciary.
CASTILHO, Alceu Luís. O partido da terra – como os políticos conquistam o território brasileiro. São Paulo: Contexto, 2012.
MORAES, Reginaldo C.; ÁRABE, Carlos Henrique Goulart; PAULA E SILVA, Maitá de. As cidades cercam os campos: estudos sobre projeto nacional e desenvolvimento agrário na era da economia globalizada. São Paulo: Unesp; Brasília: MDA/NEAD, 2008.
Encouraged by the acceleration of international flows accompanying the post-Cold War neoliberal expansion, extensive global commercial and cultural ties have been created and developed, occurring not only at the federal level but also at the state and municipal levels. This trend of international engagement by non-central governments, understood as a direct consequence of the model of complex interdependence that dominated the study of International Relations during the first decade of the 21st century, however, has recently begun to face strong political opposition, primarily stemming from governments and leaders with authoritarian tendencies. These leaders, by stimulating nationalism and strongly repudiating transnational interactions, seek to capitalize on the dissatisfaction of large segments of society excluded from the economic prosperity promoted by the global financial speculation, aiming to promote power-centralizing projects based on regional identities. This sets up a clear and paradoxical opposition of interests within the state: on one side, the intense dependence on international trade defines the practical reality of public policies essential to the well-being of the population (such as, for example, combating the COVID-19 pandemic), and on the other side, centripetal forces seeking isolation in ideological "bunkers" and open conflict with the global community. How will this dilemma regarding regional public policies be resolved?
CHRYSSOGELOS, Angelos. State transformation and populism: From the internationalized to the neo-sovereign state ? Politics, 2020, vol 40, Political Studies Association.
FARREL, Henry; NEWMAN, Abraham. Will the Coronavirus End Globalization as We Know It ? In: Foreign Affairs, 16 mar 2020.
FRASER, Nancy. Progressive neoliberalism versus reactionary populism: a Hobson's choice. In: GEISELBERGER, Heinrich. (Ed.) The Great Regression. Cambridge: Polity, 2017.
VAROUFAKIS, Yanis. Crash: 2008 and its legacy. In: VAROUFAKIS, Yanis et al. Modern Political Economics: Making Sense of the Post-2008 World. New York: Routledge, 2011.