Flaviopédia Português
Brazil that Grows

Regional development: narrowing the gap between regions

leaving no region behind

Proposes prioritizing water works in the Northeast, completing the Baixio do Irecê expansion, making the Trem do Nordeste viable, completing the Transnordestina railway and supporting the bioeconomy in the North.

In the program: [p. 60, 61] · Translated by Flaviopédia from the official Portuguese text; the Portuguese quote is authoritative. Read the original in Portuguese

What the program says

Brazil will only be fully developed when it narrows the gap between its regions, and that requires a special effort where inequality is greatest: the North and the Northeast. Not through assistance, but through development, giving these regions the conditions to turn their vocation into wealth, jobs and a future. The Northeast is a region of hard-working people and enormous potential. For too long it was treated as a problem, when it was always a solution. The priority is water. It was the Bolsonaro government that brought the waters of the São Francisco to the sertão (the semi-arid backlands), completing the Northern Axis of the Transposição (the São Francisco river diversion project), and we will prioritize the remaining water works to bring water to more regions of the Northeast. But getting the water there is only the beginning: we will turn it into production. It was also under the Bolsonaro government that we structured and put into production the Baixio do Irecê, the largest irrigation perimeter in Latin America, which already turns water and fertile land into fruit growing, grain, jobs and income in the countryside, and we will complete its expansion to multiply this wealth across the sertão. We will make viable the “Trem do Nordeste” (“Northeast Train”), 1,400 km of tracks linking Salvador, Aracaju, Maceió, Recife, João Pessoa, Natal and Fortaleza, opening a route among beaches, historic cities and cultural hubs to boost tourism, production and the lives of the people who live there. And because producing is not enough, the output has to be moved: complete the Transnordestina railway and expand its scope so that Paraíba and Rio Grande do Norte are included. The Northeast is not only the past that endured, it is the future that is beginning. It has sun and wind to spare to be the country’s clean-energy capital, and it is this plentiful, competitive energy that will attract data centers and the new technology industry. It has rare earths, the raw material without which the 21st-century economy does not exist. The Northeast has everything it takes to offer northeasterners the chance to prosper in their own land, attracting investment, talent and opportunity. The North holds the country’s greatest natural heritage, and its future lies in turning the preserved forest into wealth. The bioeconomy is the way: generating income from the standing forest, with biotechnology, pharmaceuticals, cosmetics and new materials from biodiversity, sustainable management and adding value to what the Amazon produces, instead of cutting it down. This development respects those who live in the region: indigenous peoples and quilombola communities will have autonomy to decide on productive activities on their lands, and forest dwellers, riverside dwellers and forest-product gatherers will be treated as partners in development, not as an obstacle. The protection of the Amazon against crime and the sovereign presence of the State are detailed in the block on the environment. Developing the North is proving that preserving and prospering can go hand in hand. [p. 60, 61]

In plain language

  • The program proposes a special effort to narrow the gap between regions in the North and the Northeast, through development and not assistance, according to the text.
  • In the Northeast, the priority is water: the text cites the completion of the Northern Axis of the São Francisco river diversion and proposes prioritizing the remaining water works and completing the expansion of the Baixio do Irecê, an irrigation perimeter producing fruit and grain.
  • It provides for making the Trem do Nordeste viable, with 1,400 km of tracks between Salvador, Aracaju, Maceió, Recife, João Pessoa, Natal and Fortaleza, and completing the Transnordestina, extending it to Paraíba and Rio Grande do Norte. The text also cites the region’s sun, wind and rare earths as a basis for attracting data centers and the technology industry.
  • In the North, it points to the bioeconomy as the way: generating income from the standing forest, with biotechnology, pharmaceuticals, cosmetics, new materials, sustainable management and adding value to what the Amazon produces.
  • It provides for autonomy for indigenous peoples and quilombola communities to decide on productive activities on their lands, and for riverside dwellers, forest-product gatherers and forest dwellers to be treated as partners in development. The protection of the Amazon is referred to the block on the environment.

What is not in the program

  • It does not list which water works would be prioritized.
  • It presents no costs, funding sources or timelines for the Trem do Nordeste, the Transnordestina and the expansion of the Baixio do Irecê.
  • It does not detail which instruments would be used to attract data centers and the technology industry to the Northeast.
  • It does not say how the bioeconomy would be supported in the North or with what resources.
  • It does not define targets for measuring the narrowing of the gap between regions.