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Discourse: Brasilia constructed for sovereignty, equal development
There are many things a country can do to maintain its sovereignty. For Brazil, it was to build a new capital city in 1960 about 1,000 kilometers northwest of Rio de Janeiro, which had been the capital for centuries. The Jakarta Post’s Apriza Pinandita talked with Brazilian Ambassador to Indonesia Rubem Antonio Correa Barbosa about the country’s experience relocating the capital.
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Brazilian Ambassador to Indonesia Rubem Antônio Corrêa Barbosa (JP/Anton Hermansyah)
T
em>There are many things a country can do to maintain its sovereignty. For Brazil, it was to build a new capital city in 1960 about 1,000 kilometers northwest of Rio de Janeiro, which had been the capital for centuries. The Jakarta Post’s Apriza Pinandita talked with Brazilian Ambassador to Indonesia Rubem Antonio Correa Barbosa about the country’s experience relocating the capital. Below are excerpts from the interview:
Question: What was the reason behind the move?
Answer: Brazil has a long coastline and, historically, most of the population is settled along the shores. It was important that we should occupy the interior of the country -- the western part where it was very much uninhabited. The whole idea was that if we could establish a capital in the very center of the country, it could work as a sort of engine to move, demographically, Brazilians toward occupying more of the territory that we have.
We thought that we could not develop the country in a more equal way if Brazilians were not residing in those areas. It was a sort of starting point to assume the responsibility of making Brazilians present all over the country.
How was the process? Was it difficult?
