Product Description Latin America has been one of the more industrialized parts of the developing world since the 1930s. Brazil even figures among the leading industrial economies in the world, representing a textbook case of industrialization in Latin America. This book dea From the Back Cover Latin America has been one of the more industrialized parts of the developing world since the 1930s. Brazil even figures among the leading industrial economies in the world, representing a textbook case of industrialization in Latin America. This book deals with Brazilian industrialization and the role of domestic industrialists. It adds, however, a further dimension by focussing on the regional dimension of this process. Many studies on Brazilian industrialization in fact deal with the country's industrial 'core': the S o Paulo - Rio de Janeiro axis. Given the continental size of Brazil, the region studied in this book, namely the southern Brazilian state of Rio Grande do Sul, provides an interesting comparison. Rio Grande do Sul is a good exemple of the way in which the interplay between different economic activities, as well as between the economic and political sphere, shapes a particular regional pattern of industrialization. For the purpose of comparison, a second and famous case of regional industrialization is also included: the city of Medelln in Antioquia province, Colombia. Regional development, and the social and political forces involved, are receiving renewed interest in Latin America as well as in other parts of the world. Understanding the economic, social and political mechanisms of regional development contributes to the understanding of development in general. About the Author Kees Koonings was trained as an anthropologist and sociologist at Utrecht University where he is an assistant professor in Latin American Studies and Development Studies. His publications include on development theory, regional development in Latin America, militarism, and ethnicity.