Gobernanza metropolitana en el contexto brasileño: reflexiones iniciales sobre las metrópolis emergentes a partir del caso de la Región Metropolitana del Cariri

Resumen

This article presents initial notes on emerging metropolises from the perspective of metropolitan governance in the Brazilian context, focusing on the specificities and challenges of institutional articulation. The study is part of Axis 3 – State, Planning, and Governments, within the Comparative Studies line of the National Institute of Science and Technology (INCT) LABPLAN, linking the case study presented here to the activities and objectives of the research network. Therefore, this article aims to explore how (institutional and non-institutional) arrangements and intermunicipal cooperation dynamics are configured in regions experiencing recent and still-consolidating metropolization processes. As a case study for this research, the Metropolitan Region of Cariri (MRC) is analyzed, located in the southernmost area of the state of Ceará, in Brazil’s Northeast Region. The qualitative research was conducted between April and May 2025 and included bibliographic review, document analysis (Integrated Urban Development Plan, state and municipal complementary laws), and semi-structured interviews carried out in loco with governmental actors (mayors and municipal secretaries) and non-governmental actors (representatives of the private sector and civil society) from the MRC. The initial results reveal the existence of an incipient metropolitan governance, characterized by institutional asymmetries, low coordination from the state entity, weak cooperation among municipal governments, and limited supralocal planning capacity. However, some punctual governance initiatives were identified, derived from collective actions among non-governmental actors in the management of the RMC (non-institutional arrangements). The reflections presented here seek to contribute to the debate on the possibilities and limits of metropolitan governance in contexts of emerging metropolization in contemporary Brazil.