A Amazônia no pós-guerra e a construção da Rodovia Belém-Brasília

Abstract

This work aims at reviewing state policies for the Amazon region after World War II, which culminated in the construction of the Belém-Brasília motorway, one of the biggest state interventions in the region. The intention here is problematizing the history of the region, intertwined with the national and international context, against the emergence of the notion of development as emblem of industrialised countries. In name of development, various public policies were formulated, such as the building of roads to put an end to an alleged “historical isolation”. Such an idea reinforced the current image of the Amazon: a scarcely populated and diseased region, characterised by wilderness and, mainly, an obstacle to progress. This representation of the Amazon region is not a novelty: on the contrary, it is based on the adaptation of old myths and constructions to this new period of development. Initially, we will trace an outline of state interventions and political debates involving the Amazon in the Second Republic (1946-1964). Later one, the focus will shift on the construction of the Belém-Brasília motorway, one of the main accomplishments of Kubitschek’s government.

Keywords

• amazon
• belém-brasília
• development
• power
• state intervention