Interview with Guilherme Bez Marques, Manager of the Department for International Economics (Santa Catarina's Foreign Affairs Office)

What does the State of Santa Catarina do in terms of cooperation, what are the policies, what has the International Affairs Office been doing and what you have achieved so far?

Actually, the International Affairs Office has some departments and one of those departments is International Cooperation. The International Cooperation Department has been working on many projects. One of the main achievements of the Department has been the Bolshoi School, which is the only school outside of Russia that is established here in Santa Catarina, in Joinville. We have a cooperation between our Government school for training of public personnel in Santa Catarina and ENA (École Nationale d'Administration), which is a public school in France. Also, Santa Catarina has been trying to build a few bridges between other countries including Italy, France, the United States, etc. So we are trying to build those bridges in many areas such as healthcare, public safety, or education.

Which area are you trying to focus on?

I think we are mostly trying to push the field of education. We have already had many cooperation projects between universities in Santa Catarina and foreign universities, but education is an area we can always be trying to push and improve.

What has been the major challenge facing the Department of International Cooperation?

I think that selling or exposing Santa Catarina abroad is one of our main challenges. Actually, the image that people have of Brazil doesn’t bring Santa Catarina to the prime spot. Thus, we have to show Santa Catarina, explain what Santa Catarina is, explain its diversity, and this is one of our main challenges.

What would you like to achieve in 2-3 years time? What sort of cooperation would you like to establish?

It is important for me to say that Santa Catarina is ready to receive people from abroad, be it within the public or private sectors. The Government has built an infrastructure with the State (with the Secretary of International Affairs) and we are now ready to receive anyone.

In the area of cooperation we are of course trying to achieve goals such as cooperation in the fields of healthcare, education and the public sector. Those are the goals of the Department of International Cooperation for the next years.

What would be your message to the international community?

We are trying to invite people to Santa Catarina; to come here, explore the State, and realize its potential.

A good example is the Bolshoi case which occurred during the term of the last Government. It was the Secretary of International Affairs Roberto Colin, a Brazilian diplomat, who had lived in Russia for many years. He talked to Bolshoi about the possibility to come to Santa Catarina and that was how Bolshoi was persuaded to establish themselves in Santa Catarina.

Why is it good for Bolshoi to be in Santa Catarina?

Santa Catarina has a strong culture and it is very visible around the world. It definitely is very good for Bolshoi to be in Santa Catarina. This place is an ideal location for enterprises - private or public. Santa Catarina has a good quality of life, strong culture and high standards of education.

Why wouldn’t or shouldn’t companies cooperate with Sao Paulo? What speciality does Santa Catarina have?

The diversity of Santa Catarina is really important. Santa Catarina experienced a colonization from all around the world and mainly from Europe - especially from Germany and Italy. The colonization makes the people feel at home in Santa Catarina.

Could you mention a couple of examples of investments done in Santa Catarina?

We are talking about BMW nowadays, but there have been many other investments made in Santa Catarina. I guess one of those main investments is the one made by General Motors. General Motors invested around R$ 1 MM in 2 factories, one of them being a motor factory. We had investments from Azimut, an Italian company. We had also an investment from Brunswick Corporation, an American company. So we had worldwide investments in Santa Catarina.

Regarding the case of Bolshoi, Bolshoi tried to open a school in Europe, they also tried it in the US and then they were proposed to come to Brazil and they were amazed in the end by the commitment of our people to make it work, to make it real.

Here in Santa Catarina, we are trying to make everything work. If people want something, they will achieve it. We are looking for a better place to live, a better place to work and a better place for our children.