[The sertão remediated: the clash between the elite of Goiás and sanitation thinking, 1910-1920].
In the early decades of the twentieth century, when health started becoming an issue on the political agenda, Arthur Neiva and Belisário Penna travelled to the sertão semi-arid region of Goiás state, Brazil, to diagnose the population's state of health, particularly highlighting the spread of Chagas disease and the decadence of the sertão. The political elite in the state reacted to the sanitarians' findings. This article observes the controversy played out in the pages of A Informação Goiana magazine. The publication supported the region's interests, because its leaders were sure that it was down to the people of Goiás to reveal the truth about the sertão, its people, and its potentialities.
Universidade Federal de Goiás, Faculdade de História, Universidade Federal de Goiás, Goiânia GO , Brasil, noefsandes@uol.com.br, Professor, Faculdade de História/Universidade Federal de Goiás. Av. Esperança, s. n., Campus Samambaia 74690-900 - Goiânia - GO - Brasil. noefsandes@uol.com.br.
Noé Freire
NF
Sandes
Universidade Federal do Tocantins, Departamento de História, Universidade Federal do Tocantins, Brasil, caixeta@uol.com.br, Professora, Departamento de História/Universidade Federal do Tocantins. caixeta@uol.com.br.
Vera Lúcia
VL
Caixeta
D001938:Brazil; D049673:History, 20th Century; D006801:Humans; D012423:Rural Health / Q000266:history*; D012499:Sanitation / Q000266:history*