Researcher ORCID Identifier

https://orcid.org/0000-0002-5042-7649

Graduation Year

2021

Date of Submission

5-2021

Document Type

Campus Only Senior Thesis

Award

Best Senior Thesis in International Relations

Degree Name

Bachelor of Arts

Department

International Relations

Reader 1

William Ascher

Rights Information

2021 Andrea Medina

Abstract

In the Northeast of Brazil, internal migration is significant for development in terms of the numbers of people moving and their poverty reduction potential and well-being outcomes. Two of the main drivers of migration in this region are poverty and climate conditions. The Northeast, Brazil’s poorest region, is plagued by drought and climate change. Migration from the Northeast possesses both advantages and disadvantages for the people of this region. Key benefits are remittances, skill acquisition brought back home, and the immediate opportunity to escape threatening conditions like water scarcity. Yet, migration presents severe problems. Discrimination in other parts of Brazil is documented by examining negative stereotypes revealed across several media. Other challenges are the hollowing out of families remaining in the Northeast and limited productivity. Climate change, which over the past decade has negatively impacted agriculture —a primary source of subsistence for many Northeasterners—is worsening the already precarious nature of drought.

Nevertheless, agriculture is not as doomed for the Northeast. Smarter agriculture technologies have begun to be implemented in Northeastern agricultural states with visible success when paired with proper funding and technical support. Economic diversification can be promoted by investing in clusters embedded in an international supply chain or establishing new, profitable clusters altogether (e.g., textile clusters). Strengthening social programs like Bolsa Familia, with specific targeting on potential migrants, would also help.

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