RÉQUIEM PARA AS PEQUENAS LOCALIDADES? REFLEXÕES E PANORAMA DE MUNICÍPIOS DEMOGRAFICAMENTE PEQUENOS

Abstract

The municipality has existed since Antiquity. Following the path of this story allows us to perceive the fluctuations regarding its political treatment over time, between periods of autonomy and its capture as a mere administrative mechanism. In Brazil, there were few moments when municipalities achieved greater autonomy, with the Federal Constitution of 1988 being the most expressive of them. However, after three decades, the Constitutional Amendments, complementary regulations and new law proposals demonstrate again a political retraction. In this article, we consider this reality articulated with regional dynamics apprehended in small localities in the current period, with loss of centrality and demographic decline, which demand the deliberation of territorial policies. However, what is observed is the opposite. The text presents reflections on the reality of small towns, of municipalities as local institutions and data that will allow a reflection on their reality, without losing sight of their social dimension. Part of the data and results presented, taking as a more specific reference the territorial profile of the State of Paraná, aims to deconstruct narratives that lead to the depreciative treatment of these small localities that tend to be increasingly invisible by political and economic dynamics.