The birth of the drought industry

Imperial and provincial response to the great drought in northeast Brazil, 1877-1880

Authors

  • Roger L. Cunniff California State University, San Diego

DOI:

https://doi.org/10.36517/rcs.v6i1%20e%202.59946

Keywords:

drought industry

Abstract

Over the last century, Brazil's Northeast interior has developed an image of pervasive misery, social banditry and religious fanaticism, all related in some way to the periodic droughts which afflict the region. The building of this image accompanied the work of three generations of Northeastern poli-ticians to extract from the governments of the Empire and the Republic a political definition of the drought region and a guarantee of federal funds to combat the drought problem.

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Author Biography

Roger L. Cunniff, California State University, San Diego

Over the last century, Brazil's Northeast interior has developed an image of pervasive misery, social banditry and religious fanaticism, all related in some way to the periodic droughts which afflict the region. The building of this image accompanied the work of three generations of Northeastern politicians to extract from the governments of the Empire and the Republic a political definition of the drought region and a guarantee of federal funds to combat the drought problem. Although multi-dimensional regional planning has in recent decades eroded the emphasis on droughts, they remain in the popular mind the Northeast's most characteristic element, and they continue to receive ritual attention in the literature on the region.

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Published

2020-06-30

Issue

Vol. 6 No. 1 e 2 (1975): Revista de Ciências Sociais

Section

Articles