State of Alagoas
Brazil's smallest mainland state carries the Quilombo dos Palmares legacy—colonial sugar extraction created lasting underdevelopment that periodic droughts exacerbate through rural-urban migration.
Alagoas ranks among Brazil's smallest and poorest states—yet its constraints produced distinctive adaptations. The state's 2.8 million residents occupy 27,848 km² of coastal lowlands and semi-arid backlands (sertão), creating a dual economy: sugarcane monoculture dominates the humid coast while subsistence agriculture struggles inland.
Historical sugar wealth concentrated in coastal plantation zones created Brazil's most unequal land distribution. The Quilombo dos Palmares—the Americas' largest escaped slave settlement—endured here for nearly a century (1605-1694), its destruction cementing patterns of exclusion that persist in development indices. Alagoas consistently ranks last or near-last in Brazilian state HDI rankings.
The sertão's semi-arid climate produces episodic droughts that trigger rural-urban migration pulses. When rains fail, smallholders abandon farms for Maceió's coastal economy, creating population pressure on limited urban infrastructure. The 2023-2024 South American drought affected northeastern Brazil, though the Amazon bore the worst impacts.
Governor Rodrigo Cunha's administration (since 2023) focuses on industrial attraction and solar energy development. The state's abundant sunshine creates renewable potential, but infrastructure gaps limit deployment. Alagoas demonstrates how historical resource extraction (sugar) creates path-dependent underdevelopment: wealth flows outward while social capital accumulates elsewhere.