A constru o da Linha Sul da Estrada de Ferro S o Paulo - Rio Grande (1908-1910): m o de obra e migra es The construction of the Southern Railway from S o Paulo to Rio Grande (1908-1910): labor and migrations

Entre os anos de 1908 e 1910, a constru o da Linha Sul da Estrada de Ferro S o Paulo - Rio Grande (EFSPRG) movimentou a regi o que hoje corresponde ao meio oeste catarinense. Na época esta zona era disputada entre Paraná e Santa Catarina, e reconhecida como território contestado entre os estados. Os trabalhos de constru o da ferrovia exigiram um grande esfor o humano e financeiro, tendo envolvido milhares de trabalhadores. Os operários menos qualificados, responsáveis pelas tarefas mais pesadas e conhecidos como "turmeiros", formaram um contingente de cerca de 8 mil homens. Durante minha pesquisa, a documenta o apontou uma presen a significativa de imigrantes entre estes trabalhadores. Muitos destes trabalhavam na constru o apenas de forma sazonal. Nos períodos de entressafra nas col nias, migravam para a regi o da constru o da ferrovia a fim de obter ganhos extras. Estas migra es teriam, inclusive, prejudicado o estabelecimento de algumas col nias no estado do Paraná, mas ainda n o receberam a devida aten o da historiografia. Neste trabalho pretendo analisar com detalhe esta migra o. Between the years of 1908 and 1910, the construction of the Southern Railway from S o Paulo to Rio Grande (EFSPRG) stimulated the region that nowadays corresponds to the Catarinense middle-west. At that time this area was disputed between Parana and Santa Catarina, and it was recognised as a contested territory between the states. The labor construction demanded a huge human and financial effort and involved thousands of workers. The least qualified members of staff were responsible for heavier tasks and they were known as "turmeiros", who constituted a contingent of about 8 thousand men. Throughout this research, the documentation indicated a significant presence of immigrants amongst these workers. Lots of them used to work in construction only as a seasonal mean. In periods of colonial intercropping, they migrated to the railway construction region aiming to obtain extra earnings. These migrations would have, inclusive, damaged the establishment of some colonies in the state of Parana, which have not received the due historiography attention yet. In this work, I intend to analyze in details this migration.