The industrial foundations of domestic battleship building

How should an industrializing South American nation in the early 1900s build the capacity to construct battleships?

Start with steel and metallurgy, then build the energy, infrastructure, education, research, and skilled labor systems that naval construction depends on.

Steelmaking and metallurgy would provide the foundation for domestic battleship construction, including weapons and the ships themselves. The next decisions concern infrastructure and the fuel the fleet will use. Education must supply skilled construction workers as well as designers, researchers, and scientists, which requires universities alongside apprenticeships. Building battleships would therefore require changes across the economy.