Candidates need to foster municipal economic vocations

A topic frequently neglected in discussions about municipal elections is the responsibility that local public administrations should have to help create opportunities –for economic development and wealth generation for their residents.

There is almost always passivity in this regard, with the belief that these issues are more tied to the federal and state government spheres. City halls can and should be a central agent in defining, identifying and stimulating the economic vocation of each city, seeking to coordinate with all the important players in the municipality to create the conditions needed to generate income, wealth, and opportunities for work and progress for their inhabitants.

For example, the city of Rio de Janeiro has just hosted an event of extraordinary magnitude and global reach, stimulating the city's existing vocation as an international tourism hub. Thanks to its natural beauty and current infrastructure, it would be fully capable of becoming one of the world's main tourist magnets.

However, some obstacles stand in the way of this possibility. Security problems and poor environmental conditions, among other factors, hinder this positioning.

The city of São Paulo has been undergoing an important transition for decades, from an industrial hub to a service-oriented city. In this sense, what must be improved to enable and support this transition?

Investment in event-related corporate tourism and in financial activities, among others, can create favorable conditions to attract highly qualified people interested in cultural and sporting activities, restaurants, etc. This can certainly create a favorable environment for a modern and dynamic city.

Campinas is already the center of a vast and very important metropolitan region, with high-technology industries. But it can stimulate and strengthen actions to foster the creation of advanced startups, to complement the activities of large companies, universities and research centers.

In these specific cases, city halls can take important initiatives. All cities, regardless of their size, need to make this effort to awaken their economic vocations in a systematic and planned way.

Every city hall needs to create a concrete plan to define and enable the actions that will help generate income and revenue for the municipalities and thus develop a positive cycle of growth and expansion.

It would be important for the current candidates to generate and stimulate this debate, answering the following questions:

- What are the most important current economic activities in the city? What is the municipality's current economic “vocation” and strength?

- What are the simplest and most effective initiatives the city hall can take to generate more economic results for the city?

There is a growing outcry and need for improving efficiency in the use of municipal management resources – on the part of mayors, city councils and their respective local administrative machinery –, in order to better serve the population through a better offering of services and infrastructure.

This is certainly a pressing need, not least because little progress has been made in this direction. Candidates need to state more clearly how they will do what they say they will do, going beyond vague programs and generic goals.

They need to define the concrete actions that will be taken and the resources that will be used, as we emphasized in the column “Candidates need to talk more about how to do it”, published on August 2.

Solving or mitigating the city's “everyday” problems, such as health, transportation, education, leisure, infrastructure and public violence, is certainly very important. But candidates also need to think about the economic future of the municipalities, because that is where people work and earn income.

It is hoped that city halls can be leaders in bringing together, coordinating and articulating efforts to build a better economic and social future.