The enormous quantity of resources destined for the poorest countries, and the political “suggestions” that have often accompanied them, have not brought about the desired results. As the first part of the book illustrates, it has become evident that the problem of growth is complex and encompasses various complementary dimensions (economic, social, institutional, etc.). This implies not only a greater attention to the specificities of the context, but also the acceptance of the fact that no recipe of economic politics brings about results in a mechanical way. For an effective process of development to begin, it is necessary that people, associations, and local institutions not remain in a passive position, but that they be willing to mobilize in order to better their conditions of life.
Two different experiences of local development in Brazil are presented (“Associação dos Trabalhadores Sem Terra” of São Paulo and the recovery effort in the Ribeira Azul neighborhood of Salvador de Bahia), highlighting the characteristics that allowed them to succeed and identifying the main factors that the subjects themselves consider to be at the foundation of their hange. From the analysis, it is clear that, despite the strong differences of context in the two cases, the experiential process that “puts in motion” people and social groups, making them the protagonists of development in the reality in which they live, is nevertheless analogous.
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