LET THE IMMIGRANTS COME! – POLITICAL CRISIS AND IMMIGRATION ISSUE IN MINAS GERAIS AND RIO DE JANEIRO AT THE DAWN OF THE REPUBLIC

Abstract

It was discussed how the climate of political instability, incited by the crop crisis and the political rise of São Paulo, mobilized speeches by Rio de Janeiro and Minas Gerais authorities in the late 1800s. In order to promote immigration and enhance the “gifts” present in their federative units, the arguments adopted took on a geopolitical tone when intertwining politics, territory and nature. In this game of representations, foreign immigration becomes an important weapon used to rescue the political prestige of the respective states and promote their economic development. At first, it was emphasized the political role of migrations in the beginning of the Republic in order to highlight their spatial effects. In this sense, it was problematized how Minas Gerais and Rio de Janeiro forged spatial representations via regional and local discourse with the intention of attracting foreign immigrants. In the end, it was underlined, in a comparative way, the main territorial strategies of the Minas Gerais and Rio de Janeiro elites to overcome the alleged crisis in their respective states.