The positivist State in northern RS: The issue of land ownership and the foundation of the settlement of Erechim (1890/1910)

Abstract

The article discusses the role of the state in the regulation of land property in northern Rio Grande do Sul between 1890 and 1910, particularly the relationship between the state’s mediation and the encouragement of immigration in the foundation of the settlement of Erechim. It is well-known that according to the basis of Rio Grande do Sul’s government during that period, i.e. positivism, order was a precondition for progress. Thus, the inclusion of Rio Grande do Sul in the logic of capitalist production depended on the norms of access to land, which was seen as a way to modernize and develop rural areas. The article analyzes how the intricate policy for the creation of that settlement was implemented, the subjects who benefited and those who were excluded from it, the actions that allowed the mediation of colonization companies and the private appropriation of land. 

Key words: state, ownership of land, settlement of Erechim, immigration.