Marta Zorzal e Silva
Marta Zorzal e Silva is Associate Professor for Political Studies at the Centro de Ciências Humanas e Naturais of the Universidade Federal do Espirito Santo, Brazil. During her stay at the University of Basel, she will pursue research for her project which elaborates on previous work concerning the creation, development and consolidation of the Brazilian Multinational Companhia do Vale do Rio Doce and inquires into how the company’s experience of dealing with authoritarian regimes in Brazil influences the manner in which it works in Africa. Over the past few years, the company has been making progress on the African continent. It has acquired considerable mining rights in such countries as Angola, Mozambique and Gabon. Given the precarious political setting of these countries it is of interest to find out the extent to which the company’s strategies draw from its own experience of dealing with authoritarian regimes in Brazil and how this may affect the larger developmental goals of securing democracy in Africa.