Metallurgical development in the Carajas area: a case study of the evolution of environmental policy formation in Brazil

摘要

This article contends that although the environmental policy formation process in Brazil has been opened to new actors since the democratic transition, social sectors with clientelistic ties to the state still tend to dominate some policy arenas. Toillustrate this argument, the article examines the evolution of policy formation in the case of metallurgical development in the Grande Carajas area in eastern Amazonia (Brazil) from an advocacy coalition perspective. The study maps out the roles of themain actors in the dominant and minority advocacy coalitions in this policy subsystem and their role in shaping the policies affecting this issue. Research shows that despite efforts of the minority coalition to politicize the issue and introduce some proenvironment policy reforms, actors in the main coalition have been able to dominate the policy formation process and stall meaningful reform. The results have been detrimental to environmental conservation ill the region.