A relação cidade e rio na Amazônia: mudanças e permanências em Vitória do Xingu/PA face à construção da UHE Belo Monte

Abstract

This research has as central theme of analysis the changes and permanences in the city-river relationship in the Brazilian Amazon, presenting as locus of study the city of Vitória do Xingu, located on the right bank of the Tucuruí river, near its outlet with the Xingu river, in the Intermediate Geographic Region of Altamira, in southwest of Pará State. Its relevance is related to the analysis of the set of transformations through which the region has passed in recent years due to the installation of the mega-project of construction of the Belo Monte hydroelectric power plant (HPP) in the municipal territory, expressing a new temporality in the (social) production of space. The main question that the research seeks to answer is: what changes and permanences does the city of Vitória do Xingu point out in the relationship with the river due to the construction of the Belo Monte HPP? The argument supported as a hypothesis is that within the intra-urban space of Vitória do Xingu changes and permanences exist in the relationship of the city with the river, whether through the use and appropriation of spaces, socio-spatial and everyday practices, economic activities or the symbolic and material bond established by the different subjects. Through the research (field records in the central spaces of the research, application of forms with local subjects, as well as cartographic mapping and spatial representations of the study area), it was found that the city of Vitória do Xingu exhibits a marked dynamics, condensed in a relatively short space, undergoing changes with an intensity in a very fast time. At the same time it presents dynamics linked to a past temporality, evidencing strong permanences in the city-river relationship, such as the port function performed by the city, besides being a reference space for the experiences and experiences of the subjects, which signal practices and symbolism linked to the use of the river.