by PublicaABCP
Translated and reviewed by Matheus Lucas Hebling
In his book Ideas, Bureaucracy, and Industrialization in Brazil and Argentina, published in 2023, Renato Perissinotto, professor at the Federal University of Paraná and former president of ABCP, provides a comparative analysis of the industrial developments in both countries following the 1929 economic crisis. The book seeks to explore the reasons why Argentina—despite having a more powerful agro-export economy than Brazil at the time—lagged behind in the industrialization process.
Perissinotto employs historical comparison to elucidate the similarities and differences between these two South American nations. To examine the topic, he draws upon an extensive body of literature and data produced by other social scientists. His study is further enriched by interviews with bureaucrats from Brazil’s developmentalist state, conducted by the Center for Research and Documentation of Contemporary History of Brazil (CPDOC), as well as interviews with Argentine state leaders, available in the Oral History Archive of Torcuato di Tella University.
“Brazil not only industrialized and achieved higher industrial output over the analyzed period but also developed a qualitatively superior industrial base,” notes the author. By re-evaluating traditional explanations of economic development through a comparative lens, Perissinotto argues that many commonly cited factors—such as political instability—fail to fully account for the observed divergences. Both Brazil and Argentina experienced periods of instability, yet only Brazil managed to make substantial progress toward industrialization.
The decisive factor explaining this divergence, according to Perissinotto, was the economic ideology of the political and state elites in each country, along with their ability to formulate and implement their political projects. In 1930, both Brazil and Argentina underwent coups d’état. “In Brazil, the coup represented the rise of a group with a radically different vision of the nation—one that was industrialized and urbanized. In Argentina, by contrast, it marked a return to power for an old agrarian oligarchy, albeit with some aspirations for change,” Perissinotto explains.
The book extends its comparative analysis of industrialization to other countries, taking into account different historical contexts and elements. The selected countries include Nigeria, Zaire, the Philippines, India, South Korea, Taiwan, and Japan. The study demonstrates that in none of these cases was industrialization driven by the industrial bourgeoisie; rather, it resulted from planned state intervention.
In some cases, such as Nigeria, the political movement lacked the capacity to implement a modernization project. The book concludes that beyond the mere intent of a modernizing elite, the political ability to construct a developmentalist coalition is essential for the industrialization process.
About the Author
Renato Perissinotto earned his Ph.D. in Social Sciences from the State University of Campinas in 1997. He is a full professor at the Federal University of Paraná and served as President of the Brazilian Political Science Association (ABCP) from 2016 to 2018. He is co-editor of the Revista de Sociologia e Política (A1) and co-coordinator of the Research Center for Political Sociology (UFPR). Additionally, he is a professor in the Graduate Program in Political Science at UFPR.
Publication Details
Title: Ideas, Bureaucracy, and Industrialization in Brazil and Argentina
Author: Renato Perissinotto
Publisher: Eduerj
Publication Year: 2023
ISBN: 9788575116098
Where to Purchase: Eduerj
Original text (pt-BR)
