Da ilha de São José ao reassentamento Coletivo Baixão: alterações nos modos de vida dos ribeirinhos após a implantação da UHE/Estreito - (MA), em 2012

Abstract

The Brazilian energy matrix is surpassed by the hydraulic regime of the rivers. The construction of the reservoirs causes negative effects to the natural and social environment. The changes brought about by the construction of the power plants alter the panorama of the cities, affecting the economies of the regions and the way of life of the populations affected, and the construction of the enterprises is propagated by the State as the basic axis of foment to the progress and the development of the country. The municipalities absorb the problems caused by the construction of megaprojects while the energy benefits are distributed to several Brazilian regions. In 2010, in view of the implementation of the Estreito Hydroelectric Power Plant - (UHEE), the inhabitants of the island of São José, formerly located in Babaçulândia (TO), were deterritorialized because of the formation of the hydroelectric reservoir, which waters covered the island. As a form of compensation, due to the territorial loss, part of the residents, equivalent to 26 families, were installed in the Baixão Collective Rural Resettlement. The objective of this work is to understand the territorial change of the rural community of the island of São José, in the municipality of Babaçulândia (TO), reached by the UHEE and to identify changes in the ways of life after seven years of de-re-territorialization in the resettlement Collective Baixão. The research is a qualitative approach. The script of interviews containing closed and open questions was applied to the collaborators from November to December 2017 and dealt with: family characteristics and history of the interviewee; housing conditions in the previous and current moment; relation to the territory; relationship with residents; costumes and traditions; evaluation in relation to the construction of the dam; action of the city hall after deterritorialization; leisure options and indemnification of the thirteen families surveyed. In order to carry out the research with safety, the project was submitted to the Committee of Ethics in Research with Human Beings (CEP), where it received the opinion substantiated with the appropriate authorization. We used data generation tools focused on oral history, observation, field notebook, photographs and informal speech. The relocation of the riverbank to the resettlement led to a euphoric situation due to the promises made by the municipal managers who would invest in the municipality, as well as the families affected, that receive financial compensation (royalties) and the commitment of the entrepreneurship to generate new jobs and financial prosperity due to mitigation measures and indemnities. The affected population is in a dysphoric state due to the contrast found in the new territory, sandy and rocky land, lack of drinking and current water, lack of group leisure, the disruption of neighborhood ties and lack of financial opportunities. The deterritorialization of the group from their lands caused social and cultural disorder to the riverside, because they were connected to the territory more than merely for housing and physical subsistence, but for reasons of affective and symbolic order. In their lives they had their own customs and knowledge, habits, traditions and the subsistence culture was propitiating and fomenting the local economy. Each community is unique in its time and space, and it is up to the hydroelectric project to adequately treat the diverse faces that its constructions provide.