This article aims the analysis of the relationship between State and the "retirantes" of the 1932 and 1942 dry seasons, during the government of the President Getúlio Vargas. The State actions tried to control this migrating population, which invades and plunders cities and food stores. This analysis can open such a useful window to see the mechanisms that constitute Vargas power and the "trabalhismo" in Brazil, as well as the relations between paternalistic and liberal models of politics.
drought; migrants; social control