Polos de desenvolvimento e polarização na Revista Brasileira de Geografia do Instituto Brasileiro de Geografia e Estatística (IBGE)

Abstract

This article aims to deepen the debate on the circulation of knowledge and intellectual reception by understanding the vicissitudes of the discussion regarding the phenomenon known as polarization and the theory of development poles at the Brazilian Institute of Geography and Statistics (IBGE), particularly through the analysis of the Brazilian Journal of Geography, one of its main publications. Thus, the objective is to identify the disseminated articles that have shaped the discussion on this subject in the field of geography. The topic of polarization gained more attention in the 1960s and 1970s, coinciding with the military governments in Brazil systematizing governmental policies on urban and regional planning. During the height of the Cold War, the diffusion of strategies and techniques for social and economic development played a crucial role, and in this case, it is noted that initially the IBGE was influenced by the interpretation of Michel Rochefort, who collaborated with this institution. With the rise of Speridião Faissol within the IBGE, a noticeable interpretative shift occurred regarding polarization and the theory of poles, adopting other methodologies and theoretical references more aligned with the geography discussed in the United States and England, although not completely breaking away from the research issues proposed by Rochefort. Therefore, the scrutiny of the articles published in the Journal... can delineate the arguments and nuances of the debate, which was an interesting moment for the IBGE in terms of scientific exchange with foreign institutions, but also posed risks to the field of Geography, as economists were increasingly urged to consider regional and urban planning.