Banca de DEFESA: FRANCISCO LEANDRO DUARTE PINHEIRO

Uma banca de DEFESA de DOUTORADO foi cadastrada pelo programa.
STUDENT : FRANCISCO LEANDRO DUARTE PINHEIRO
DATE: 20/08/2025
TIME: 14:00
LOCAL: Online - Google Meet
TITLE:

Blocked lives: the Baixo Açu Projecto and the production of uncertainty in the Açu Valley, RN (1972-1983).

KEY WORDS:

Vale do Açu; Baixo Açu Project; Armando Ribeiro Gonçalves Dam; agricultural modernization.

PAGES: 449
BIG AREA: Ciências Humanas
AREA: História
SUMMARY:

This thesis investigates the debate surrounding the implementation of the Baixo Açu Project (PBA) between 1972 and 1983, a period during which the project was conceived, discussed, and partially executed. The analysis focuses on the Vale do Açu, in the state of Rio Grande do Norte, Brazil, which throughout the 20th century became the target of public irrigation policies, alternately aligned with drought mitigation strategies and regional development agendas. None of these initiatives, however, had as much impact as the PBA, which called for the construction of a reservoir capable of storing 2.4 billion cubic meters of water — the Armando Ribeiro Gonçalves Dam. Conceived under the aegis of Brazil’s military dictatorship and supported by a technocratic discourse, the project aimed to modernize local agriculture and, allegedly, redeem the region from its “backwardness” — while imposing on local populations the territorial, economic, and environmental costs of the so-called “irrigation revolution.” The town of São Rafael (RN) represents the most dramatic case of this process, with its urban core entirely submerged by the dam’s reservoir. The main objective of this research, therefore, is to examine how this state-led initiative was publicly presented and how it affected communities in the Vale do Açu. On one hand, we find the official narrative, shaped by a redemptive ideology of progress; on the other, the fears voiced by local populations in response to the promises made by the National Department of Works Against Drought (Dnocs), the federal agency responsible for executing the project. Adopting a content analysis approach, the research draws upon heterogeneous testimonies, including technical documents produced by Dnocs and Sudene, articles from the regional press, parliamentary speeches, and oral testimonies of displaced residents. This articulation of perspectives and discursive forms allows for a critical comparison between the developmentalist rhetoric — grounded in the promise of progress as redemption — and the fears, resistance, and negotiation strategies mobilized by affected communities. The thesis demonstrates that, even before its implementation, the PBA functioned as a state instrument of territorial control that produced a rupture in the relationships of space and belonging in the Vale do Açu. 

COMMITTEE MEMBERS:
Interna - 3216927 - FABIULA SEVILHA DE SOUZA
Externo à Instituição - GILMAR ARRUDA - UEL
Externa à Instituição - JOVELINA SILVA SANTOS - UERN
Interno - 1088824 - RAIMUNDO NONATO ARAUJO DA ROCHA
Presidente - 1149437 - RAIMUNDO PEREIRA ALENCAR ARRAIS