This research will look at the economic, political, and social position of a traditional landowning elite in northeastern Brazil. The researcher will analyze the changes that have taken place within this group as a response to increasing industrialization, the concentration of money, and the development of regionalism in the market that are occuring in Brazil. Specifically the student will look at how the landowning elite has changed in its relationship to other groups in the region and in the nation as a whole. This research is very relevant to the situation in developing countries all over the world with special emphasis on South America. The researcher will be able to answer questions about how families and groups have strategies for resource investment and their use, and will look at the political implications, especially the impact of new democratic structures, on such strategies. This project will have implications for developmental projects by focusing on the groups that control regional resources.
