Estradas de ferro: tramas políticas, relações de poder e seus discursos no Ceará e região (1877-1923).

Abstract

The intention of this monographic work is to analyze the railway policies in the state of Ceará, from the point of view of the political plots and their discursive developments that surround the railway concessions. In this way, we will examine the transformations that these policies of railway implantation underwent in the transition period from Empire to Republic, emphasizing the way in which Ceará politicians claimed in the Senate and Chamber, the construction or extension of the railways in their state. Finally, we discussed the major engineering works carried out by the Inspection of Works Against Drought (IFOCS), in combating the effects of droughts in the Northeast, and what was the impact of these works in small municipalities in the interior of Ceará, especially those in the Central-South region. Thus, we come to the conclusion that State assets such as works, public offices, etc. were marked during the Empire and the First Republic by the private appropriation of political-economic agents, the railways in Ceará being no different, which had their construction projects influenced by the private interests of these power groups. That said, we realize that these practices are adapting to the different social moments that Brazil goes through in that period of change between the end of the Empire and the beginning of the Republic.