When contractors become promoters: a look at the articulations between real estate and infrastructure production in the city of Sao Paulo in the 21st century

In the period of recent intensification of real estate production in Brazil, the largest national contractor companies augmented their role in real estate production. As autonomous developers, these companies increased investments and profit in space production, tightening the relationship between real estate and infrastructure. This article aims to understand the performance of the contractors in the real estate production and their articulations with the production of infrastructure, using the Sao Paulo case for analysis. In this metropolis, this action has a decisive impact on the processes of urban restructuring, particularly in the Operaciones Urbanas Consorciadas. The process of expansion and collapse of these companies is central to the interpretation of the disputes at stake in the scenario of economic and political crisis, articulating with perceptible dynamics in several countries of Latin America that points towards a radicalization of neoliberalism and financial dominance.