Jakarta, CNBC Indonesia – Head of the Archipelago Capital Authority (IKN), Bambang Susantono and his deputy Dhony Rahajoe officially resigned from their positions, Monday (3/6/2024). News of this setback then raises questions regarding the IKN project. Not a few parties link it to the development process and future of the Jakarta replacement project.
The capital city development project in a country is nothing new. Before the IKN, many countries had moved their capital cities, so there are many lessons to be learned. One of those lessons can be seen in the case of the development of Brazil's new capital, Brasilia in the 1960s.
At that time, Brazil's old capital, Rio de Janeiro, was already experiencing various problems. Since becoming the capital in 1783, Rio has become overcrowded. Preston E. James and Speridiao Fassol in “The Problem of Brazil's Capital City” (1956) said that every day Rio is always filled with traffic jams.
The area is also crowded. New construction can no longer be started. Socio-economic inequality is increasingly widening, not only within the city but outside the city. The strength of Rio makes inland and coastal areas left behind. Based on this problem, the government intends to move the capital to reduce the burden on Rio and solve the problem.
The main figure driving this project is the President Juscelino Kubitschek de Oliveira (served 1956-1961). In presentation A Concise History of Brazil (2014), Kubitschek is known as an ambitious figure. He wants to create modernization of the country, along with political stability and economic growth.
All of this was done in the “Fifty Years in Five” program. As the name suggests, the program sought to make Brazil more modern over the next 50 years, but all of this had to be done during Kubitschek's five-year term. In short, he wanted to build many 'lighthouse' projects during his presidency. One of them was a new capital city.
Kubitschek thought that he was the one who had the political will to carry out this idea. Moreover, previous leaders had not dared to move the capital even though the constitution had approved it. Since then, the ambitious project to move the capital city began with a period of just five years.
In implementation, the government wants the capital to be in the center of the country geographically. The aim is to stimulate economic growth in other regions. As a result, a location in the interior of the Brazilian jungle was chosen, which was named Brasilia.
The expectation was that Brasilia would become a modern and green city. No more slums and traffic jams. In addition, there would be no more socio-economic inequality. In September 1956, the construction of this ambitious project began.
However, due to the rush, the project was full of challenges. When the project began, Brazil's economy was in decline. The state budget was not enough to fund Brasilia. In this condition, According to Jared Kelly in “The City Sprouted: The Rise of Brasilia” (2020), many parties asked Kubitschek to restrain this ambition. Because, if it continues, an economic crisis will come.
However, Kubitschek did not care. He continued the project. The method relied on foreign loans and savings in various sectors. As a result, during construction, the flow of funding to the regions decreased, which caused economic growth and development in the Brazilian city to stagnate. Instead of being resolved, the problems increased.
Apart from that, when it was inaugurated in 1960, Brasilia was immediately hit by problems. The Brazilian government has failed to achieve equality there. Because, settlements were built only for officials and rich people. Meanwhile, lower middle class people still have no housing.
People without money have to commute and live on the outskirts of Brasilia. It is these city outskirts that give rise to slum settlements. At this point, the ideals of the modern city of Brasilia were not realized. In fact, the government is said to have only moved slum areas from Rio de Janeiro to Brasilia.
Researcher Jared Kelly said, learning from the case of Brasilia, the construction of a new capital city is actually not the best option to realize fair development and problem solving. The construction of a new capital city could happen. As long as it is not rushed and requires careful planning.
In the end, Brasilia's dream of becoming a modern and green capital failed to materialize.
(mfa/mfa)