The mirage of national fuel: trees, sugar and the ground construction of alternative fuels in the First Government Vargas

Abstract

As a solution to the sugar overproduction crisis, a balance factor in the trade balance, the exploitation of environmental resources and military strategy, alternative fuels illustrate many speeches in the first Vargas Government. This article aims to analyze the role played by the promotion of policies to produce alternative fuels in Brazil. In view of that, we focus the analysis on ideas, on the flow of technology, and in the tensions generated by the increased use of these alternative fuels. The forestry and scientific agriculture became privileged locus of speeches in favor of the rational use of forests and soil. As a result, we aims to discuss the academic, technical, statesmen, and farmers ideas in the construction of what is called "national fuels". On the subject, agricultural magazines, forest and sugar laws, the technical work of the “Ministério da Agricultura, Indústria e Comércio” (Ministry of Agriculture, Industry, and Commerce) and, the “Instituto do Açúcar e do Álcool” (Sugar and Alcohol Institute) were of crucial importance. The approach to the strengthening of alternative fuels policy allows to understand the obsessive attitude toward energy self-sufficiency in a larger movement of sugar crisis, predatory agriculture and devastation of the forest heritage.

Keywords:
alternative fuels; forest heritage; sugar