The Superintendency for the Development of the Northeast (), or Sudene () for short, is a Brazilian governmental agency created in 1959, during the government of President

Juscelino Kubitschek Juscelino Kubitschek de Oliveira (; 12 September 1902 – 22 August 1976), also known by his initials JK, was a Brazilian politician who served as the 21st president of Brazil from 1956 to 1961. Kubitschek's government plan, dubbed "50 years i ...

(1956–1961), to stimulate economic growth in the northeastern region of Brazil, one of the poorest of the country, that faces chronic droughts and has a

semi-arid A semi-arid climate, semi-desert climate, or steppe climate is a aridity, dry climate sub-type. It is located on regions that receive precipitation below Evapotranspiration#Potential evapotranspiration, potential evapotranspiration, but not as l ...

climate. Sudene was created by suggestion of economist

Celso Furtado Celso Monteiro Furtado (July 26, 1920 – November 20, 2004) was a Brazilian economist and one of the most distinguished intellectuals of the 20th century. His work focuses on development and underdevelopment and on the persistence of poverty in ...

, one of the leading intellectuals of Brazil, who was the agency's first director.

Premise

Furtado's premise was that the semi-arid climate of the Northeast was an environmental reality against which it would be very unproductive to fight – despite governmental action to take water to that region – and that state poverty reduction programs should thus aim at using the existing natural advantages of the area – namely, its availability of labor – and promote industrialization instead of the region's traditional economic focus, which was on agriculture and livestock.

Actions

The agency's first steps were to speed up the construction of

hydroelectric Hydroelectricity, or hydroelectric power, is Electricity generation, electricity generated from hydropower (water power). Hydropower supplies 15% of the world's electricity, almost 4,210 TWh in 2023, which is more than all other Renewable energ ...

dams in the

São Francisco River The São Francisco River (, ) is a large Rivers of Brazil, river in Brazil. With a length of , it is the longest river that runs entirely in Brazilian territory, and the fourth longest in South America and overall in Brazil (after the Amazon R ...

, followed by governmental incentives for the creation of heavy industry projects, such as the

Camaçari Camaçari is a city in Bahia, Brazil. It is located at . It is part of the Salvador, Bahia, Salvador Metropolitan Region (''Região Metropolitana de Salvador''), being the industrial city of the metropolis. Camaçari covers , and had an estimate ...

Petrochemical Complex, in the state of

Bahia Bahia () is one of the 26 Federative units of Brazil, states of Brazil, located in the Northeast Region, Brazil, Northeast Region of the country. It is the fourth-largest Brazilian state by population (after São Paulo (state), São Paulo, Mina ...

, and the industrial district of Aratu, in the metropolitan area of

Salvador Salvador, meaning "salvation" (or "saviour") in Catalan, Spanish, and Portuguese may refer to: * Salvador (name) Arts, entertainment, and media Music *Salvador (band), a Christian band that plays both English and Spanish music ** ''Salvador'' ( ...

. Sudene is also responsible for the formation of intermediary products industries: fertilizers production in the state of

Sergipe Sergipe (), officially State of Sergipe, is a States of Brazil, state of Brazil. Located in the Northeast Region, Brazil, Northeast Region along the Atlantic Ocean, Atlantic coast of the country, Sergipe is the smallest state in Brazil by geogra ...

and a chemicals complex in Salgema, state of

Alagoas Alagoas () is one of the 27 federative units of Brazil and is situated in the eastern part of the Northeast Region, Brazil, Northeast Region. It borders: Pernambuco (N and NW); Sergipe (S); Bahia (SW); and the Atlantic Ocean (E). Its capital is ...

. In the state of

Pernambuco Pernambuco ( , , ) is a States of Brazil, state of Brazil located in the Northeast Region, Brazil, Northeast region of the country. With an estimated population of 9.5 million people as of 2024, it is the List of Brazilian states by population, ...

, investments concentrated on the metropolitan area of the city of

Recife Recife ( , ) is the Federative units of Brazil, state capital of Pernambuco, Brazil, on the northeastern Atlantic Ocean, Atlantic coast of South America. It is the largest urban area within both the North Region, Brazil, North and the Northeast R ...

, with durable goods industries being created in the cities of Jaboatão, Cabo and Paulista. In the state of

Ceará Ceará (, ) is one of the 26 states of Brazil, located in the Northeast Region, Brazil, northeastern part of the country, on the Atlantic Ocean, Atlantic coast. It is the List of Brazilian states by population, eighth-largest Brazilian State by ...

, a new perspective was adopted: Sudene's incentives helped form a textiles industrial area, around the capital of the state,

Fortaleza Fortaleza ( ; ; ) is the state capital of Ceará, located in Northeast Region, Brazil, Northeastern Brazil. It is Brazil's 4th largest city—Fortaleza surpassed Salvador, Bahia, Salvador in 2022 census with a population of slightly over 2.4 mi ...

. In 1999, Sudene was involved in corruption scandals which led President

Fernando Henrique Cardoso Fernando Henrique Cardoso (; born 18 June 1931), also known by his initials FHC (), is a Brazilian sociologist, professor, and politician who served as the 34th president of Brazil from 1 January 1995 to 1 January 2003. He was the first Brazi ...

(1994–2002) to decree its dissolution. In 2002, however, the agency was recreated with the name of Adene - Agency for the Development of the Northeast.

References

The process of industrialization in Recife, Brazil - https://doi.org/10.1007%2FBF00845198

External links

Sudene in HistorianetAdene's official website
{{authority control Government agencies of Brazil 1959 establishments in Brazil