The XXVI Latin American Chemistry Congress and the 27^th Annual Meeting of the Brazilian Chemical Society (XXVIClAQ/27^aRASBQ) will be organized by the Latin American Federation of Chemical Societies and by the Brazilian Chemical Society and will occur between May 30 and June 02, 2004 in the city of Salvador, Bahia.

Since its beginning in 1924, the Latin American Chemistry Congress has been held in Brazil twice, in 1937 and in 1984. Thus, this Congress in 2004 is the third apportunity that Brazilian chemists will have to welcome their chemist colleagues, members of the different chemical societies of Latin America.

On the occasion of the first Congress, in 1937, Brazil was encountered still under the influence of the constitutionalist revolution of 1930. In Chemistry, the most important events in that epoch was the creation of the School of Chemistry which, in 1937, was incorporated into the University of Brazil in Rio de Janeiro and the creation of the subsection of Chemical Sciences, which later become the Department of Chemistry of the recently founded University of São Paulo. These became the nucleus for graduate studies in Chemistry in Brazil.

At the time of the second Congress, in 1984, Brazil was in the midst of the "opening" of the military dictatorship and the slogan "direct elections NOW" could be heard. The Brazilian Chemical Society was already seven years old and graduate research was blooming throughout the country: 21 different graduate courses produced, 113 masters' while 11 different courses saw 36 doctorate theses being defended. The principal features of this period were (i) the Second National Plan for Graduate Studies, which proposed to consolidate a system for accompanying and evaluating the growing member of graduate programs throughout the country and (ii) the Plan for Support of Scientific and Technological Development (PADCT), which was one of the principal vectors for the exponential increase in the area of Chemistry in the 1990's.

The scene in 2004 is one of hope. Brazil is now a full-fledged democracy and the slogan now is "growth NOW!". Brazilian Chemistry has reached the level of consolidation. There are now 41 graduate programs distributed throughout the country, with approximately 400 masters' dissertations and 300 doctorate theses being defended each year (as of 2001). Scientific production also has increased. In 1984 approximately 800 articles were published per year. This has increased to more than 1900 articles in 2001. The Brazilian Chemistry Society (SBQ) has consolidated itself as one of the important forces within the country. Its Annual Meetings involve approximately 2500 participants who present, on average, 1800 posters based on new research results. The capacity of SBQ in publishing is also important. This involves co-editing a series of Text Books and publishing three scientific journals: The Journal of the Brazilian Chemical Society (in English) and Química Nova and Química Nova na Escola (both in Portuguese). These journals are among the most relevant of those published in Latin America.

It is within this picture that the Latin American Federation of Chemical Society and the Brazilian Chemical Society will join forces to organize the XXVI Latin American Chemical Congress and the 27^th Annual Meeting of the Brazilian Chemical Society (XXVI FLAQ-27^aRASBQ).

The program for this joint Congress will include 26 plenary lectures, 18 symposiums, 3 workshops, 13 short courses, book signings and three devoted to discussions of posters.

It is estimated that more than 2000 abstracts will be submitted for refereeing. All accepted abstracts will be presented as posters. Some will also be selected for presentation in the symposia which will have the format of coordinated sessions devoted to specific topics. The refereeing of all submitted abstracts will be carried out by ad-hoc referees well-versed in all areas of chemistry, coordinated by the Scientific Organizing Commission.

The Brazilian Chemical Society will continue to support the participation of undergraduate students who are members of SBQ with 100 grants for participation, to be distributed according to the scientific merit of the work to be presented, as evaluated by the Scientific Commission.

Registration and submission of abstracts, as for the recent annual meeting, will be carried out "on-line" through the home page of the XXVICLAQ/27^aRASBQ (www.sbqclaq.sbq.org.br). Payment will be by a pre-printed bill which may be paid at any bank or through Internet Banking until the specified date.

For the Brazilian Chemical Society it is a great honor to have its 27^th Annual Meeting together with the XXVI Latin American Chemistry Congress in order to facilitate as much as possible interactions between chemist colleagues and members of the different chemical societies of Latin America.