Cezar Augusto Miranda Guedes

Desenvolvimento territorial sustentável e desafios postos por megaempreendimentos: o caso do município de Itaguaí - RJ

This article aims to study the role of local authorities and civil society in building territorial sustainability in the implementation processes of mega-projects in the town of Itaguai-RJ. Therefore, it describes the impact of changes brought about by large enterprises in the territory under study. It examines the role of local governments when it comes to mitigating the undesirable effects and giving a boost to those aspects of growth that help to improve living conditions and the sustainability of the town. As a result there is a lack of instruments for dealing with technical and political interests and strategies of the central government and capital involved, especially regarding the ability to monitor actions involving issues such as discrepancies between the duration of mandates for mayors and maintained long-term planning by firms. The study also found a shortage of trained local organizers to promote actions in support of governance, participatory social management, social and territorial cohesion, sustainability, inclusion and the economic well being of the territory in question.

Programa de assistência técnica para o desenvolvimento de pequenas propriedades leiteiras em Valença-RJ e região Sul Fluminense

La cadena de produccion de leche ha experimentado grandes transformaciones en la decada de 1990, debido al final de la regulacion del sector, la integracion comercial regional, la internacionalizacion del capital, lo que implica la expansion de la participacion de transnacionales de la industria lechera, entre otras. Estos factores han expuesto, en particular, los bajos niveles de eficiencia tecnica y calidad de esta cadena, demostrando la necesidad de acciones para mejora e integracion de sus enlaces. Esta investigacion analiza la condicion de abandono en que las organizaciones familiares productoras de leche se encuentran en Brasil, debido a la falta de asistencia tecnica rural en la historia reciente del pais y, por lo tanto, el dilema que enfrenta el pequeno agricultor en busca del extensionismo rural, delante del colapso del extensionismo publico y el costoso sistema privado de extension. La investigacion de campo se realizo en Valenca, Rio de Janeiro, Brasil, y en la region sur fluminense y discute la viabilidad de un programa de asistencia tecnica y gestion creado por la Empresa Brasilena de Investigacion Agropecuaria (EMBRAPA, seccion Sudeste) y practicado por el Servicio Nacional de Aprendizaje Rural (SENAR, Rio de Janeiro), una organizacion paraestatal mantenida por recursos financieros, materiales y personales de aporte privado en la region de Rio de Janeiro. Los resultados destacan la necesidad de un sistema de alianzas que genere beneficios y formacion de una red local para el desarrollo de la region.The milk production chain has undergone major transformations in the 1990s, due to end of regulation in the sector, regional trade integration, capital internationalization, implying the expansion of transnational participation in the dairy industry, among others. These factors have exposed, particularly, the low technical efficiency and quality levels in this chain, demonstrating the need for actions to improve and interconnect its links. This research analyzes the abandonment condition that milk producing family organizations have faced in Brazil, given the lack of rural technical assistance in the recent history of the country and, therefore, the dilemma faced by the small farmer who seeks rural outreach, before the collapse of public outreach actions and the expensive private outreach system. Field research was conducted in Valenca, Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, and the southern Fluminense region and it discusses the feasibility of a technical assistance and management program created by the Brazilian Agricultural Research Corporation (EMBRAPA, Southeast section) and practiced by the Brazilian National Rural Training Service (SENAR, Rio de Janeiro), a parastatal organization maintained through financial, material, and human resources obtained by private contribution from the Rio de Janeiro region. The results highlight the need for a system of partnerships that generates benefits and creates a local network for developing the region.

Portuguese Investment in Brazil — the Challenges of an Iberian Logic

Since the 1980s, the world economy has undergone a process of institutional change characterized by systematic financial deregulation and a wave of privatizations. The globalization of trade, finance and production has thus gathered momentum, side by side with the expansion of transnational and multinational enterprises, which have reached a tremendous financial weight, increasing international liquidity and intensifying the search for short-term profits (Scherer, 1999). With regard to Latin America, the fact that — unlike the situation in the past-trade and investment have ‘drifted apart’ and become increasingly independent of one another is also worthy of notice.