Abstract
The article aims to provide a historical overview of the factors that induced or influenced early water and water and sanitation public policy in Brazil. The article starts from the assumption that the socioeconomic and political development of the country resulted not only from endogenous dynamics, but also from global power structures since the beginning of the colonial enterprise. For this purpose, the article follows the theoretical line of classic interpreters of Brazilian history, like Celso Furtado and Caio Prado Junior and their perspectives on the country`s peripheral position in the global economic system. The analytical effort led to the perception that early water and sanitation public policy was developed in accordance with European initiatives and interests in the area. Also, the water resources public policy emerged from the need to regulate the use of water, especially to prioritize the generation of electricity in a context of external crisis and administrative centralization.
Key words:
water and sanitation; water resources; public policy; historical perspective