A heavily subsidized symbol of national pride, the Volta Redonda mill embodied the import substitution industrial policies that prevailed in Latin American economies from World War II until the Latin American debt crisis in the 1980s. Since its 1993 privatization, however, the mill — now known as the Presidente Vargas Steelworks — has transcended its "dirigiste" origins to become one of the world's most efficient steel production facilities - due to this large production of steel and minerals, the city is globally nicknamed "Cidade do Aço" (literal Portuguese for "City of Steel").