DAMS, PLACES AND RESISTANCES: THE DISPLACEMENT PROCESS OF THE BARRA DE SANTANA JUCURUTU/RN COMMUNITY.
Oiticica Dam. Movement of People Affected by Dams. Symbolic Territories.
The arrival of a dam project is imbued with contents that are mixed in a peculiar socio-spatial context: the removal of a population from its place to fill the reservoir to be built. Within this scenario, the notions of territory, power, experience and place gain importance for the understanding of the bonds that were built by these people with their space and the strategies that are drawn, by the collective, in the struggle for rights. The objective of the present work is to discuss the construction of the Oiticica Dam and the dynamics of the struggles implemented by the community of Barra de Santana. In this attempt, the readings of Bonnemaison and Cambrezy (1996), Dardel (2015), Raffestin (1980) and Relph (1976) support the reading of the phenomenon through a geographical view. While the works of Germani (1982), Sigaud (1986, 1986) and Vainer & Araújo (1990) are important references to access the main contents that are relevant in the analysis of dam construction at the national level. What has already been studied about the processes of community resettlement shows the lack of commitment of those responsible for the works with human rights and environmental legislation. Therefore, it is not possible to face the injustices that have already been committed and those that are still trying to be imposed on communities as inherent elements of development projects. By managing to take control of the narrative for themselves, the residents of Barra de Santana fought for the necessary achievements for a more dignified resettlement and the certainty of having the destiny of their collective future in their own hands.