Central-West Region as a Phenomenon of Regional Development in Brazil

The Central-West region of Brazil emerged in the second half of the 20th century, when Brasilia, built on previously empty land, became the country's capital. Its economic specialization has been driven by the development of the Cerrado savannas and the expansion of an agro-industrial complex, a process comparable to agricultural colonization campaigns in the United States, Argentina, the Russian Empire and the Soviet Union. While parts of the region have since lost their characteristics of frontier (pioneer zone) and now function as peripheral areas related to the South and Southeast, the agrarian colonization frontier continues to advance into the Amazon and the Northeast.