The current North Fluminense region

socioeconomic dynamics and development

Abstract

This article examines the socioeconomic history and, particularly, the current socioeconomic situation of the Northern Fluminense region (RNF, in portuguese). Such history is demarcated by two facts: extreme social inequity and systematic economic instability. Particularly when it comes to the last development cycle, it is based on the significant oil and gas business and, more recently, on the activities taking place in the so-called Açu Port Complex. Despite the abundance of resources earned by municipal entities due to revenues arising from oil activities (royalties and special participations), given the nature of the aforementioned businesses, none of the two problems above was or have been faced. Likewise, despite the massive resources used in the aforementioned complex, also due to its nature, and, in this case, typical of enclave economies, it did not contribute to overcome the noted inequities – despite the fact that these large investment projects (GPI) present greater economic stabilities. Therefore, after an examination of the limitations of both GPI, as well as of some expressions of the so-called social inequalities and poverty in the space under examination, the article formulates an outline of a new development project combining the strengthening of the internal market and greater long-term economic stability in order to overcome the obstacles inherent to ongoing business and investments in the RNF. Finally, the article claims the combination of the previous binomial with public policies at a regional level that also aim to simultaneously combine social inclusion and the democratization of political arenas.