The dilemma of tannin production on the Brazil - Paraguay border

Abstract

The exploration of quebracho for the production of tannin in the far south of Mato Grosso, in the first half of the 20th century, mãorepresented a form of incorporation of this Brazilian and Paraguayan frontier to the
economic context of the world market. It was, however, a marginal insertion subordinating this and other activities of the economy of Mato Grosso to the impositions of a singular context and a historical dilemma: the integration of an area rich in natural resources which, though, remained isolated face to its environmental limitations, subject to water of the swamps and demanding in terms of transportation, people and capitals. The production of tannin in Corumbá and Porto Murtinho faced many others impediments, including the strong concurrence of Argentinian groups installed in Paraguay and interferences of state policies.