Monteiro Lobato and the oil question in Brazil

Abstract

This article aims to analyze the trajectory of the business man and famous writer Monteiro Lobato. In particular, we review his contributions to the advance of the budding oil industry in Brazil. To this end, the research methodology combined document analysis and bibliographic review, recovering his works and writings on the subject. This discussion – which involves topics such as resource nationalism and national sovereignty – contributes to the understanding of the permanent conflict between, on the one hand, the interests of foreign companies and their respective home countries, and on the other, the countries on the periphery of the capitalist system that hold oil reserves.