From anonymity to protagonism: the trajectory of industrialists Gustavo Paiva and Delmiro Gouveia in Alagoas

This article investigated the contribution of industrialists Gustavo Paiva and Delmiro Gouveia to the implementation of workers' residential centers at the “Cachoeira” and “Progresso” factories in Rio Largo-AL and “Pedra”, in the former Água Branca-AL. This analysis was carried out through the study of the professional trajectory of the industrialists, understanding the inspirations and models followed, analyzing the labor relations existing in the factories during the period of the industrialists' management, and finally, understanding the importance of the industrialists' figures for the current cities of Rio Largo-AL and Delmiro Gouveia-AL. The research was based on bibliographic, iconographic and audiovisual sources with surveys and systematization of information obtained through research in local archives and virtual portals of journals from scientific institutions; in addition to visiting the cities of Rio Largo-AL and Delmiro Gouveia-AL. In this way, we sought, in addition to enriching the bibliography of Alagoas through the recovery of the history of the implementation of the old manufacturing centers, to establish a relationship between the two industrialists that actually consists of their notable trajectories, following their own way of acting, as pioneers, businessmen and benefactors of the Brazilian northeast, who devoted themselves to the region's socioeconomic progress and important legacies for the history of Brazil.