ABSTRACT
The history of Amazonian development to date can best be characterized as one of growth without development. None of the Amazon countries can be said to be Amazonian in functional orientation. Brazil and Peru, with the highest proportions of their territory in the Amazon Basin, have paid attention to these vast areas. The Amazonian territories in all these countries have lagged behind in the development of educational, infrastructural, and other services. Growth-oriented regional development planning policies of the late 1960s and early 1970s did not bring about structural change in Amazonian development. Development policy has responded to the underdevelopment of the Amazon chiefly by the provision of subsidies to encourage investment in large projects, especially cattle ranches and mining. Policymakers in Latin American countries usually mention that Amazon development is necessary to provide an escape valve for the numerous disenfranchised populations along the coast or on the highlands.
