Entre idas e vindas na tessitura da migração: o circuito espacial da economia urbana dos mascates de confecções de Cajazeiras e sua interação espacial costurada com os estados de Pará e do Maranhão.

Abstract

Brazil went through successive periods of modernization, which began during the colonial period. In the meantime, the country's economy was characterized as a primary exporter, aimed at serving the interests of the metropolis. Over time, the country stopped being a producer of primary export products and became an economy aimed at serving the industrial and service sectors. Despite this evident economic advance, existing inequalities between regions and social classes continued to be preserved. In this way, the economic situation changed, but inequalities and differences in opportunities prevailed. As a result, a territorial division of labor emerges, characterized by irregular employment and income. These disparities triggered the creation or conservation of two circuits of the urban economy. To adapt to these differences, informal activities and migrations began to emerge in search of employment and better living conditions, as is the case of itinerant peddlers in the municipality of Cajazeiras-PB. Therefore, this research aims to analyze the spatial itinerary of the economic activity carried out, as a migratory phenomenon, by itinerant peddlers in the municipality of Cajazeiras-PB, when traveling to sell clothing in the states of Pará and Maranhão. To this end, this research presents two methodological dimensions, one qualitative and the other quantitative, of a sampling nature, with semi-structured interviews aimed at itinerant peddlers who are team leaders. The interviews, in line with the literature review, made it possible to identify that the activity carried out by itinerant peddlers belongs to the lower circuit of the economy, as their characteristics coincide with those of this circuit. Furthermore, the research with the subjects targeted by the research, together with information collected in secondary data, showed that in the municipalities of Pará and Maranhão where itinerant peddlers carry out their work, there is a shortage in the clothing sector, revealing that modernization can attract workers for both growing and declining economic regions. Many of these municipalities also have a greater concentration of population in the lower classes, therefore having low consumption potential due to poverty. This information, combined with the fact that, in the municipality of Cajazeiras, the clothing sector is among the most competitive, forms a “two-way street” for us to understand that in the aforementioned municipality this activity would not gain such strength and why itinerant peddlers migrating to such distant states to meet the demands of those who were not equally covered by the forces of modernization. Therefore, we noticed that there is a mutual benefit between the parties, as the peddlers reported that customers buy them based on the price, quality of the merchandise, deadline and because they have a default name in official credit institutions. These are the explanations for the existence of this economic activity.