De flagelados da seca a soldados da borracha: sertanejos potiguares nos sertões amazônicos (1942-1946)

Abstract

Denominated as plagued by drought, the backlands population of Northeast Brazil became protagonists of certain events in the history of Brazil that elevated them to another category: that of rubber soldiers. As a result of Brazil's entry into World War II and the agreements signed between Brazil and the United States, the Northeasterners were summoned by the Vargas government to join the war effort in the Amazon rubber plantations. Thus, aiming to contribute to the war effort and to the settlement of the Amazon Valley, the Brazilian government promoted the displacement of thousands of people from the Northeast towards the Amazon. Therefore, in this work we seek to analyze how the participation of the sertanejos from Rio Grande do Norte in the Rubber Army took place and the political and social context in which this population found itself at the time of its insertion in this war effort. In addition, we sought to investigate how the Rubber Campaign developed in the state and the contribution of advertising in this process. Theoretical dialogues developed with Political and Social History, based on the contributions of José D'Assunção Barros (2005, 2012) and René Remond (2003). Some concepts were essential for the development of this work, such as the sertões, discussed by Durval Muniz de Albuquerque Jr. (2011, 2012, 2029) and Antonio Carlos Robert Moraes (2012), the propaganda, proposed by Maria Helena Rolim Capelato ( 2009), and those on politics and migration, based on the contributions of Isabel Cristina Martins Guillen (1999), Frederico de Castro Neves (2000, 2001), Maria Verônica Secreto (2007) and Francisco Pereira Costa (2015). Methodologically, we use the qualitative technique, involving techniques of documental observation of archives, press and bibliographic texts. The sources consulted, in turn, were the newspapers A Ordem, O Diário de Natal, O Acre, and documents referring to the administrative organization of the Special Service for Mobilization of Workers for the Amazon.