Political-Discursive and Ideological action in the Creation of the Cáceres - Mato Grosso Export Processing Zone (EPZ)

Abstract

The article aims to analyze the political-discursive and ideological action involving the creation of the Export Processing Zone (EPZ) in the city of Cáceres, in the state of Mato Grosso, Brazil. To achieve this goal, the following procedures were adopted: a) Survey of the literature on the subject to build a conceptual and exploratory theoretical framework; b) Documentary analysis; and c) Field work, through which the researched phenomenon was addressed. In addition to observation, photographic records of the study area, interviews with key people and collection of extracts from printed newspapers relating to the period between 1988 and 2018 were carried out at the Municipal Public Archive of Cáceres, Mato Grosso. It was observed that there are political-discursive and ideological disagreements regarding the different political articulations of the state and its main local agents throughout the process of implementing the EPZ in Cáceres. In this political-discursive and ideological game, the political use of the media, particularly printed newspapers, became clear. It was found that segments of the regional and local political elite in Caceres, relying on certain scenarios, employed broad discursive strategies. In this way, they acted by aligning the discourse with developmentalist ideological interests, understanding the EPZ as the only effective instrument of industrial economic policy to promote local/regional development. Despite such assessment by the regional political and economic elite, the concrete fact is that the implementation of the EPZ did not take place and is still surrounded by many uncertainties.