INDUSTRIALIZAÇÃO DESINDUSTRIALIZAÇÃO : UM ESTUDO DE CASO DO MUNICÍPIO DE CUBATÃO

Abstract

This study aims to analyze the process of industrialization and deindustrialization in Brazil, using the municipality of Cubatão (SP) as a case study. The overall objective is to understand how cycles of industrial expansion and contraction occurred in the country and how these macroeconomic movements were reflected in the reality of Cubatão. To this end, the following specific objectives are defined: 1. to present the historical evolution of industrialization in Brazil and São Paulo; 2. to identify the factors that drove the development of the Cubatão industrial hub; 3. to examine the causes of local industrial decline; and 4. to discuss the socioeconomic impacts resulting from this process. Cubatão, initially an important national petrochemical hub, experienced intense industrial expansion between the 1950s and 1980s, driven by import substitution policies, state investments, and the attraction of multinational companies. From the 1990s onwards, however, the municipality underwent a rapid process of industrial decline, due to factors such as trade liberalization, privatization, high interest rates, dependence on imported inputs, and changes in global value chains. Using a qualitative approach based on documentary analysis, the study investigates the macro- and microeconomic determinants of this decline, highlighting the productive transformations, local socioeconomic impacts, and the way in which national phenomena materialize in the Cubatense territory. The results point to a significant loss of industrial dynamism, reduced employment, and the replacement of areas previously occupied by factories with port and service activities, confirming the trend of structural deindustrialization in the municipality.