Territorial development policies in Brazil: the Ribeira Valley case (SP)

Abstract This article seeks to identify the challenges and the prospects of the Nacional Program for Sustainable Development of Rural Territories and of the Citizenship Territories Program, using a case study method of research in the Ribeira Valley. Initially there was a strengthening of local civil society organizations through the mobilization and participatory elaboration of the territorial plan. In the next stage, however, the relationship between social and government actors failed to materialize, reflecting the fragility of the institutional structure of these territorial policies. The scenario is repeated on a national scale, due to the loss of relevance that the territorial development approach has had within the government agenda.