Industrialização de Minas Gerais: uma análise regional da indústria manufatureira e fabril entre os anos de 1907 e 1954

Abstract

The debate on the industrialization of Minas Gerais gained relevance in the twentieth century, but there were few studies that demonstrated the industrial characteristics of the time. In order to contribute to the history of the manufacturing industry in Minas, the present study aims to demonstrate the process of regional and industrial development in the first half of the 20th century through the historical characteristics of the state, regional analysis of the industrial profile and articulations policies involved in the region's economic evolution and modernization. It was sought to identify which were the main companies of the time and the connection with the political elite of the region, through the historical analyzes of the entrepreneurs, summaries of the main plans, projects and creation of institutions that contributed to both the regional modernization in Minas Gerais and to the industrial development. It is based on the hypothesis that, mainly from the 1930s onwards, the regional development of Minas Gerais assessed from the perspective of industrialization was modified due to political discourses from the perspective of the increase of the steel sector in Minas Gerais and the positive consequences of this sector for the others. sectors of the economy. In view of this argument, it was possible to capture in this work that, despite the fact that there was an increase in the industrial production of the steel industry, throughout the 20th century the industrial profile of Minas Gerais was predominantly agroindustrial, that is, a transformation industry focused on consumer goods not durable, even the 1954 data demonstrated how strong the food industry in the state is. In addition, in this work it was possible to verify the statement contained in the literature that, in fact, there was a change of position between the Zona da Mata and Centro regions and that, in addition, the manufacturing industry in Minas was marked by the double concentration industrial: concentration in specific regions and concentration in specific products / sectors. During the three years analyzed for the manufacturing industry in 1907, 1937 and 1954, regional changes in the industry were observed, as well as an increase in the capital employed and territorial expansion, and in these same years they led the industrial branches of spinning and weaving, dairy / butters / cheeses and metallurgy.