Nationalization campaign
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The so-called nationalization campaign (Portuguese: Campanha de nacionalização), was the set of measures taken by the Brazilian government during the Estado Novo of Getúlio Vargas to reduce the influence of foreign immigrant communities in the country and force their integration with the Brazilian population.
Some immigrant groups were considered more apt to be integrated; others were considered incapable due to factors such as their native language, their religion and their profession.
Since the 19th century, groups of immigrants began to arrive in Brazil encouraged by the imperial State. The first attempts to establish immigrant colonies took place in Bahia (1818) and Rio de Janeiro (1819), but were not successful. As early as 1824, the imperial government founded the first German colony in São Leopoldo. The immigration policy undertaken in this period foresaw the occupation of land by forming small properties.[1]
Until the end of the 1930s, effective policies had not yet been instituted to integrate foreigners residing in the country. Before that period, sporadic and temporary actions were promoted, as during the First World War, when intervention measures in the press and in schools of German origin were carried out. These operations took place with the goal of modifying "the school curricula, with the bilingual teaching requirement and the introduction of the subjects of history and geography of Brazil, in addition to the Portuguese language". However, these actions, by themselves, were not able to promote concrete changes in the school organization of foreign colonies.[2]
During the Estado Novo, an intense campaign against culturally distinct behaviors was carried out in Brazil. Among the goals of the period was to consolidate the profile of what the government deemed the "ideal Brazilian": white, Catholic, of Portuguese descent and a good worker. To reach the considered perfect model of nationality, it was necessary to "nationalize" the entire population residing in Brazil. Thus, in addition to investments in civic education for Brazilians, special measures were taken in regards to immigrant communities, which should break fully with their culture of origin and "become Brazilian" as quickly as possible.[3]
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