The displacement of parts of the population from one point of Brazil to another has been a constant since the colonial period. Inhabitants of rural areas heading to cities, workers temporarily moving from one place to another in search of temporary work, and entire families leaving the Northeast region to escape droughts are the most common aspects of internal migration in the Brazil.
The industrialization of the Southeast Region was a powerful attraction for the inhabitants of the Northeast, periodically devastated by droughts. When the European immigration flow decreased due to the 1914-1918 war, the number of Northeastern migrants who went to the Southeast, mainly to São Paulo, increased. The economic problems that gave rise to this type of internal migration, as well as the social problems that resulted from it, were not limited to the First Republic; on the contrary, they extend until today.
Brazilian immigration was intense during the Old Republic. The abolition of slavery, which took place shortly before the proclamation of the republican regime, favored the arrival of foreigners. In 1891 alone, more than 200,000 immigrants came to Brazil.
During the government of Epitácio Pessoa, certain restrictive measures were adopted on immigration, with the aim of better selecting immigrants. From 1930 onwards, restrictive measures were accentuated due to the unemployment rate caused by the 1929 crisis. This considerably reduced the number of foreigners coming to Brazil.
Brazil Republic - history of Brazil - Brazil School