Comunidade quilombola de Mituaçu, racismo ambiental e a reapropriação dos territórios de vida no Vale do Rio Gramame na Paraíba - PB

Abstract

This thesis develops a critical investigation into the phenomenon of environmental racism, using as its empirical object the case of pollution in the Gramame River, in the state of Paraíba, Brazil. The social inequalities and practices of exclusion and environmental injustice to which the communities of the Gramame River Valley are subjected reaffirm the logic of necropolitics applied to traditional territories and constitute systematic and multidimensional violations of fundamental rights guaranteed by the 1988 Federal Constitution. At the same time, the resistance of the affected communities emerges as an active process of territorial re- signification, self-determination and reappropriation of their life territories. This resistance confronts the logic of accumulation by dispossession and the environmental destruction promoted by capitalist projects, proposing sustainable alternatives to the imposed environmental devastation and establishing itself as a political act of (re)existence. Accordingly, the research analyzes how the communities of the Gramame River Valley, especially the quilombola community of Mituaçu, develop strategies of resistance, reappropriate their territories of life and reaffirm their identities. The thesis is guided by the central question: How does environmental racism manifest itself in the dynamics of territorial exclusion and denial of fundamental rights affecting traditional and vulnerable communities in the Gramame River Valley, and how do these groups construct strategies of resistance and territorial reappropriation? The general objective was to analyze the concrete manifestations of environmental racism based on an intersectional perspective, highlighting the relationship between environmental injustices, the violation of territorial rights and cultural preservation. The specific objectives were: (a) to present the theoretical and conceptual debate on environmental racism perpetrated against vulnerable and traditional communities; (b) to investigate the socio-environmental conflicts involving the Gramame River Basin and their influence on the territorial dynamics and structure of the quilombola community of Mituaçu (PB), as well as on its identity-building process as a quilombola community; (c) to analyze the defense of natural and cultural heritage as an expression of territorial resistance and the construction of environmental justice through a dialogue of knowledges; and (d) to assess the political participation of the subjects involved in the struggle for their fundamental rights and the actions of reparation in favor of the disproportionately affected population. Methodologically, a qualitative approach was adopted, consisting of a review of bibliographical and documentary sources, as well as field research that included semi-structured interviews, participant observation, photographic and audio records, and a field diary. The results show that the resistance of traditional communities in the Gramame Valley constitutes an active and continuous process of re-signifying struggles and defending their territories and ways of life, supported by a counter-hegemonic logic that confronts the current model of economic development and proposes alternatives based on environmental justice and the appreciation of cultural diversity.