The citizens of the São Paulo state, Paulistas, never tire of saying that their state is Brazil’s economic powerhouse, and they produce a mountain of statistics to sustain the boast. The state’s forty million inhabitants represent about a quarter of Brazil’s total population, yet the state contributes forty percent of the federal tax revenues, and consumes sixty percent of the country’s industrial energy to produce two-thirds of its industrial output. A highly capitalized agricultural sector produces eighty percent of Brazil’s oranges, half of its sugar, forty percent of its chickens and eggs, and a fifth of its coffee. Yet while Paulistas crow that without their muscle Brazil’s economy would collapse, other Brazilians feel that São Paulo has developed at their expense. The state, it is argued, attracts capital away from the other regions, which are basically seen as sources of cheap labour and as guaranteed markets for São Paulo’s products.