A Cooperação descentralizada e a política para a fronteira no Brasil: o caso da cidades-gêmeas de Ponta Porã e Pedro Juan Caballero

Abstract

This work studies the subnational entities behaviour in the border region. We analyse the potentialities and the strategic positions of these entities in the politico-administrative decentralization process, linked to the international cooperation agenda setting. Subnational entities have a relevant role in the development of international cooperation actions, not only by their local connections, but also because of their increasing participation in global and in regional integration affairs. In addition, by their important multi-level articulation potential, through networks and international institutions. The case-studies are the municipalities located in the Brazilian border zone, focusing on the experience of the twin-cities of Ponta Porã (Brazil) and Pedro Juan Caballero (Paraguay), situated in the central arch, in accordance with the official Brazilian typology to the border region. As a method, this research reconstructed the narratives on institutions and the guiding principles of decentralized cooperation in the border environment, paying special attention to the symbolic regime developed in that region, taking into account the interaction of different actors. In the last decades due to progress of public policies for the border, the twin cities received special attention, especially in the setting of regional integration and decentralized cooperation activities in the border area. Nevertheless, the sense of state attention to the Brazilian border strip changes, setting it as a good area for cooperation and encouraging public policy actions.