“Tem que mover uma ação”: mobilização, participação e resistência indígena no processo de licenciamento ambiental da usina hidrelétrica Belo Monte

Abstract

In this thesis, I analyze the mobilization, participation and resistance of the indigenous peoples of the Middle Xingu in the course of the implantation process of the Belo Monte Hydroelectric Plant (HPP), located on the Xingu River, in the municipalities of Altamira, Vitória do Xingu and Brasil Novo, in the state of Pará. I discuss the political action and the resistance of the indigenous peoples to the actions for the implantation of the plant, with the purpose of understanding: how do indigenous peoples act and react in the face of damages and losses to their territories and ways of life, caused by the implantation of Belo Monte HPP? How do they act to deal with violations and violence? What rights are enunciated and claimed in your political struggle? For the development of the thesis, I used qualitative research methods, such as participant observation and interviews, through fieldwork in Altamira/PA, Brasília/DF and in indigenous lands, between July 2015 and February 2017. In the first chapter, I address the historical trajectories of the indigenous peoples of the Middle Xingu, in an attempt to understand the specificities of the different social and historical situations experienced by them. In the second chapter, I examine the political and legal context in which the hydroelectric project on the Xingu River, which gave rise to the Belo Monte HPP, was created, and explore the project's chronology and history. In the third chapter, I discuss the implementation of the Belo Monte HPP, focusing on the environmental licensing of the project and the (im) possibility of participation of indigenous peoples, having as main sources the documents of the process of the indigenous component of environmental licensing, which is being processed at Funai, and that build a state narrative about the implantation of the hydroelectric plant. Finally, in the last chapter, using the narratives of Juruna/Yudjá and Arara people from Volta Grande do Xingu as main sources, I analyze the mobilization and strategies of struggle and resistance of indigenous peoples in the course of the environmental licensing process of the project, whether to do recognize the losses suffered, to “negotiate” with the Brazilian State and Norte Energia the mitigation and compensation measures for impacts, to pressure for the implementation of other measures established as conditions for environmental licenses or to demand actions that guarantee the improvement of their conditions of life, even if not provided for in environmental licenses.