This book attempts to further understanding of the relationships that have emerged between local government (LG) and local organisations (LO) in the implementation of local development programmes at municipal level in Brazil. It focuses specifically on the north-east of Para state in the Brazilian Amazonia. The work explores to what extent partnership is an effective strategy for local development in areas of historical conflict between local government and family-based, small-scale producers. In doing so, the book deals with (1) the historical context in which partnerships between LG and LO have been built; (2) the function and structure of the LO that represent local people; (3) the circumstances that mark partnership as a site of pluralistic power conflict.