Territorial configuration of Brazil's pathway roads: from the state's active role to concessions

Abstract

From Getúlio Vargas to the military dictatorship, Brazil breaks the so-called “economic archipelago”, and the implementation of a national road network represents one of the basic pillars for the territorial dynamics that would be undertaken in the socioeconomic woof of the whole country. This article intends to analyze this process, evidencing some variables of the current period responsible for the project that places Brazil in the direction of the pathway roads. It is concluded, through an analysis that interweaves the historical conjuncture with the public policies undertaken, that the Brazilian State underwent three distinct stages in relation to the construction and maintenance of the national road network after the 1930s, in the process of transformation of the pattern agro-exporter in urban-industrial. First, it played an active role, with the creation of specific agencies for the project and as the main source of financing. From the 1990s, however, he relinquished his leadership in planning and executing public policies, delegating much of these activities to concessionaires. And finally, with the Growth Acceleration Program (PAC), it tries to take back the rein of investments and public policies related to the road modal.