Socio-environmental Hazards Drive Internal Migration In Brazil
The number of internally displaced people worldwide reached a total of 71 million and 100 thousand people by the end of 2022, according to a survey by the Internal Displacement Monitoring Center (IDMC), a partner of the UN Agency for Migration (IOM). That number represents a 20% increase from 2021, with natural disasters playing a crucial role in the data growth. In the Americas, Brazil stands out as the country with the highest number of internal migrants, with more than 708,000 displaced in the first months of this year.
Internal displacement is also known by the name of internal migration and refers to the movement of people within the borders of a given country. According to Márcio Henrique Pereira Ponzilacqua, professor at USP’s Faculty of Law of Ribeirão Preto (FDRP), despite socio-environmental disasters being the main cause of this migration, it is not the only one. “The other causes that originate this migration are, mainly, violence, especially agrarian violence. This is a serious problem that runs through the history of our country.”
According to research carried out in 2021 by the Pastoral Land Commission (CPT), the number of murders in conflicts in the countryside grew by 75%, going from 20 to 35 deaths computed. In addition to the already known attacks against indigenous peoples and quilombolas, the research also reports the violence experienced by family farming families in conflicts in the countryside.
state problem
For Ponzilaqua, the growth in the number of internal displacements is a serious problem and must be faced. “It is up to the state, in its various dimensions, to offer public policies that prevent or reduce the suffering of the population.”
Although most internal displacements are caused by socio-environmental disasters, that is, events that cannot be stopped, this does not exempt the state from creating public policies to reduce the impact of these intercurrences on the population’s life. “With the technological level we have today, it is possible to map the risk zones of potential disasters and create preventive public policies. Of course, it is not always possible to prevent these disasters from happening, but in these cases, the State has an obligation to relocate those affected as quickly as possible.”
A problem for everyone
It is a fact that those most affected by internal migration are the displaced themselves, however, they are not the only ones affected. According to Ponzilacqua, “every time a large population moves from one location to another, this overloads the structures, or lack thereof, at the destination”.
According to the report published by IDMC, only the rains in January in the state of Minas Gerais and in May in Pernambuco motivated, respectively, about 107 and 133 thousand displacements. However, despite the high number, the report clarifies that of the more than 700,000 people affected in the country, only 44,000 had not returned to their place of origin by the end of last year.