For a long time the country has been determined to effectively plan its development.It willbe the day to review the old models and their shortcomings,to re-think old legacies deeplyingrained in the memories of the population,and rebuild consensus around ideas that arecapable of leading us to a new era of progress,serenity and prosperity.I think this moment hasarrived,when President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva took office.

To lay the groundwork for achieving a new historic period implies the duty and obligationof those who,as me,are committed to the mission of changing the course inherited from pre-vious governments and to put on the right tracks the project of a Nation that we yearn for,atthe brink of the twenty-first century.I must reaffirm that,to pursue our mission we must repu-diate and overcome what I believe is unanimously shared by all Brazilians,that is the unaccept-able social and regional inequalities that are present in our daily life and that pose an unbear-able burden on many Brazilians.Thus,leaving behind the burden of inequities represents themost important condition for change of history’s course.

In Brazil,the regional inequalities pose a serious hindrance to the Nation’s developmentprocess.The State in the Federation boasting the highest per capita GDP,for example,outsizesnine times the state with the lowest indicator.These differences in production capacity have adirect impact on the perspectives for quality of life of the populations that live in the pooreststates.Thus,inequalities in Brazil have a huge regional weight,discriminating individuals as totheir places of residence and work.

The Ministry for National Integration works under the assumption that the path towardreducing inequalities must accommodate the country’s extraordinary regional diversity.Thatmeans that the Brazilian regional problem may be addressed through a consistent exploita-tion of the endogenous development potentials of the country’s regions.

Among the planning and management actions undertaken by the federal government toaddress the issue of regional inequalities,some initiatives are being devised with a focus on theterritorial inequities.These actions range from rural development and irrigation to the promo-tion of local clusters,local systems of innovation and support to export-targeted ventures.These initiatives view regional inequalities under distinct but complementary perspectivesregarding the strategy of valorization of Brazilian regional diversity,unfolding dimensions thatwill serve as foundations for sustainable and empowering development.

This document is intended to be a modest contribution for the dialogue and seeks to pres-ent the new National Regional Development Policy – NPRD.It was formulated as a govern-ment policy,under the Ministry for National Integration,and is linked to the initiatives of estab-lishment of the new Regional Development Agencies (Sudam,Sudene and Sudeco),the re-ori-entation of the Constitutional Funds (FNO,FNE and FCO) and the Regional DevelopmentFunds (FDA and FDNE),the regional development plans and programs and other instrumentsand mechanisms for their implementation.

NPRD brings together a broad group of ideas that have been discussed and set forth byBrazilian regional development specialists.These ideas have not yet unfolded into concretemeasures.The challenge,therefore,is to forge public policies with the support of the con-stituent powers,the federate entities,and the social forces that are at the forefront of thisunique moment of Brazilian politics.

Indeed,with NPRD the regional issues achieve priority treatment in the Brazilian State’sagenda,generating innovative and consistent proposals,seeking to contribute to the debateon the new concept of development yearned by the nation,both empowering and sustain-able,leading to the establishment of a fair society.

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