The Future is Coming. Economic Restructuring in the São Paulo Fringe: the Case of Diadema

This paper gives an analysis of a case of economic development and poses the questions of what local government could do to facilitate it. More specifically, through the analysis of the city of Diadema, located on the fringe of the São Paulo metropolitan region, Brazil, an attempt to shed light on the factors that determine the success of such a strategy is made. It is argued that, although local responses like the ones being developed in the fringe of the São Paulo metropolitan region are at least promising, they are by no means a substitute for an enabling macroeconomic environment. The article is structured along the following lines. First, a short introduction on the metropolitan region of São Paulo and its ongoing process of economic restructuring is given. This is followed by a short overview of the reasons that led to the decision of the municipal administration in Diadema to start with the elaboration of a local economic development agenda. Subsequently, a brief analysis of some of the data of the economic census in Diadema is presented, followed by a discussion of the Diadema City Forum and the recommendations it managed to work out for the local economic development agenda. On the basis of the process in Diadema, some conclusions are drawn on the factors that determine its relative success.