Territórios em conflito na região do cariri paraibano: uma análise na perspectiva dos direitos humanos

Abstract

The rural communities of Olho D'água do Padre, Caititu and Catonho are predominantly composed of family farmers who have historically lived and built their economic, cultural, social and symbolic relations in the territory belonging to the municipality of Sumé, in the Cariri micro-region of Paraíba, Brazil. As a result of the revision of the territorial limits which occurred in 2010, there were changes in the territorial planning of the municipalities of Sumé-PB and Serra Branca-PB, and the aforementioned communities became part of the administrative territory of Serra Branca-PB. This change occurred without the consent of these residents, without consulting them and, thereby, without them recognizing themselves as belonging to the municipality of Serra Branca. From then on, a territorial and identity conflict began that has lasted for seven years. Considering these statements, we aim to analyze the constituent elements of the territorial identity of these residents and their relationship with human rights. This is a qualitative research with an interdisciplinary approach to analyze the corpus in light of the critical theory; the primary source of data having been obtained from oral histories. The human rights perspective defended here is based on the understanding that it is not enough to have a confirmation of rights for the violation to take place, nor does the existence of these rights alone guarantee the effectiveness and fulfillment of such rights, which are materialized in the resistance and social struggles. We understand that when complex processes such as this occur, which affect local relations, disregard historically constituted knowledge, and deny identities, a symbolic deterritorialization is legitimized through social disintegration and the weakening of community relations. Thus, the reterritorialization means the search for a more dignified condition in rural areas, with access to basic health services, technical assistance, mobility, and especially with respect for territorial identity. The Brazilian legal system does not provide for popular consultation as an alternative to the resolution of intermunicipal territorial conflicts, which makes it difficult for the people involved in them to access basic goods for the exercise of their citizenship. We propose a public policy that values democratic and participatory principles in decisions on territorial conflicts, such as the one detailed here, by means of a discussion that includes the peoples directly affected by the territorial and identity conflicts over their territoriality process. Keywords: territorial conflict; territoriality; Sumé; Serra Branca; human rights; public policy.