SANTO ANTÔNIO HYDROELECTRIC POWER PLANT, DETERRITORIALIZATION AND TEMPORALITIES OF IMPACTS IN THE SANTA RITA-RO RESETTLEMENT

Abstract

The installation of Hydroelectric Power Plants (HPPs) in the Amazon causes profound socio-environmental impacts, directly affecting the organization, production, and survival of resettled communities. This study analyzes the process of deterritorialization experienced by families from the Joana D’Arc I, II, and III settlements, impacted by the construction of the Santo Antônio HPP in Porto Velho (RO) starting in 2008, and the consequent impacts on the territorial organization of the Santa Rita resettlement. The main objective was to analyze how this process of forced deterritorialization affected the territorial reorganization of families in the new location. The investigation focused on the characteristics of the formation of the Santa Rita resettlement, the productive activities developed by the resettled families before the expropriation compared to the current ones, and the compatibility of these activities with the natural conditions of the new territory, such as soil fertility. The theoretical framework was based on the concept of territory, allowing the identification of power relations established by different actors and disputes over space use, revealing conflicts inherent to the processes of deterritorialization and reterritorialization. Methodologically, the research combined a bibliographic and documentary review with fieldwork for data collection through questionnaires, followed by data tabulation, analysis, and systematization in the office. The results demonstrate that the implementation of the Santo Antônio HPP, through the appropriation of sections of the river and productive areas, triggered a significant change in the social, economic, and environmental organization of the resettled families. The study shows that the imposed transformations generated great difficulties in reestablishing the population’s livelihoods, even in a resettlement with a historically strong profile in upland agriculture like Santa Rita. It is concluded that the resettlement did not reproduce the previous conditions, severely impacting the productive capacity and identity reconstruction of the community in the new territory.