The political dimension of Brazilian port development: a content analysis of the 2013 new port law

Abstract

The Brazilian seaport infrastructure has witnessed significant changes in the cargo volumes and trade profile as a consequence of Brazilian economy participation in international trade during the 1990s and more in the 2000s. In the main ports, not only the volume of containerized cargo has presented double-digit growth but also the bulk cargo (dry and liquid) have broken records. The Brazilian port system has been through a legal transformation in the mid-1990s with the Port Reform Law 1993 (Act 8630) and the first landlord concessions were signed in years 1995/1997. Then, 20 years later, in 2012, another port reform law was proposed and in a record time fashion, it was passed as law (Act 12815) in the year 2013. This paper analyzes the process by which the Brazilian Port Reform law was passed in Congress, aiming to capture the political dimension of such changes. The study uses content analysis methodology to examine a series of public documents to explicit the motivations, the changes proposed and the final text passed in Congress. The results demonstrate that the port reform law, beyond its economical motivations, represented the political dimension of the port development in Brazil, and as such, it was under the influence of different groups of interest through their Congress Representatives who have disputed the law shape and content.