ABSTRACT
This article examines the historical roots of what it considers one of the main debate on Brazil’s identity within the framework of economic thought: would the country have a natural agricultural vocation, endowed with comparative advantages, or should it invest in structural diversification and industrialize? It is argued that this is an issue already present in the independence process, and debates already existed in Portugal since the 18th century. The debates held in the Constituent Assembly of 1823 regarding the granting or not of tax benefits to iron factories are analyzed. On the one hand, the “agrarists” defended agricultural primacy, while the “industrialists” argued in favor of state action in stimulating manufacturing or industrial activity. It seeks to demonstrate, therefore, the existence of different conceptions for the economic future of the country that echo through the 200 years of independent life.
Keywords:
Independence of Brazil; Constituent Assembly of 1823; agrarism; industrialism; Brazilian economic thought