Os Atingidos de Belo Monte: experiências de sofrimento e agravos à saúde no contexto de um megaprojeto hidroelétrico na Amazônia brasileira

Palavras-chave: This thesis consists of a sociological study from the case of Belo MonteHydroelectric Power Plant, under construction in the State of Pará, in the BrazilianAmazon. The aim of this study was to dedicate a look at the issue of health from theperspective of the people affected by hydroelectric megaproject. The work begins with apresentation of the history of the Xingu River dam projects in the mid-1970s From thefirst studies of the watershed of the Xingu to the early work of Belo Monte it took aboutthirty years and during this period, many controversies and disputes involving thepopulations concerned, politicians, intellectuals, artists, scientists, activists and socialmovements. It is also discussed in this thesis the Brazilian model of economicdevelopment, to understand how is the option for the construction of large infrastructureprojects, such as the case of Belo Monte. From this first approach to megaproject, then Igive emphasis to the perspective of populations affected by Belo Monte. Therefore, it wasnecessary, firstly, to know the universe of affected populations, composed of urban, ruralpopulations, coastal communities and indigenous people. Through the empirical workdone in Brasilia / DF and Altamira / PA, it was possible to know and recognize thediversity of these populations and thus identify some important issues that were notsubject to discussion with the government and the entrepreneur. It's what Boaventura deSousa Santos (2006) calls invisibilities. Using the theoretical framework of Southepistemologies (Santos, 2002) allowed the recognition of these invisibilities, allowed tosee how changes in the environment and ways of life of the populations affected by BeloMonte affect the health and quality of life of that people. It is from this lens that isdedicated to looking at the health of the populations, and the questioning of this issue iscarried out in this thesis having as protagonists the affected populations themselves. Thusit was identified as one of the relevant issues arising from the construction of the BeloMonte Hydroelectric Plant the relationship between the suffering experienced by theaffected populations and the emergence of health problems. The diffuse suffering is aconcept developed by Valla (2001) which will be discussed in this thesis since it is foundas a result of Belo Monte. This is because it was not planned or discussed as a possibility,or the Environmental Impact Study (EIA), or in their respective Environmental ImpactReport (RIMA). It was also not perceived as a worthy position of attention by the supervisory body responsible for the design of the licenses that allowed Belo Monte isbuilt, the Ibama. Also, the relationship between suffering and health problems of theaffected population was not the target of public policies in the field of public health. Thus,this work aims to contribute to the discussion on the health of populations affected byBelo Monte mega-project, from the recognition of the people affected as having relevantknowledge.

A presente tese consiste em um estudo sociológico a partir do caso da Usina Hidroelétrica Belo Monte, em construção no Estado do Pará, na Amazônia brasileira. O objetivo deste estudo foi dedicar um olhar para a questão da saúde a partir da perspectiva das populações atingidas pelo megaprojeto hidroelétrico. O trabalho inicia com uma apresentação do histórico dos projetos de barramento do rio Xingu, em meados dos anos 1970. Dos primeiros estudos da bacia hidrográfica do Xingu até o início da obra de Belo Monte passaram-se aproximadamente trinta anos e, durante esse período, muitas polémicas e disputas envolveram as populações atingidas, políticos, intelectuais, artistas, cientistas, ativistas e movimentos sociais. Também é discutido nesta tese o modelo de desenvolvimento económico brasileiro, para se compreender como se dá a opção pela construção de grandes projetos de infraestrutura, como é o caso de Belo Monte. A partir dessa primeira abordagem ao megaprojeto, passo a dar ênfase à perspectiva das populações atingidas por Belo Monte. Para tanto, foi necessário, primeiramente, conhecer melhor o universo de populações atingidas, compostas por populações urbanas, rurais, comunidades ribeirinhas e indígenas. Através do trabalho empírico realizado em Brasília/DF e Altamira/PA, foi possível conhecer e reconhecer a diversidade dessas populações e, assim identificar algumas questões importantes que não foram objeto de debate com o poder público e o empreendedor. É o que Boaventura de Sousa Santos (2006) chama de produções de não existência, ou invisibilidades. A utilização da matriz teórica das epistemologias do Sul (Santos, 2002) permitiu o reconhecimento dessas invisibilidades, isto é, permitiu ver como as alterações no ambiente e nos modos de vidas das populações atingidas por Belo Monte afetam a saúde e a qualidade de vida destas. É a partir dessa lente que se dedica o olhar para a saúde das populações atingidas, e a problematização dessa questão é realizada nesta tese tendo como protagonistas as próprias populações atingidas. Assim foi identificado como um dos problemas relevantes decorrentes da construção da Usina Hidroelétrica Belo Monte a relação entre o sofrimento sentido pelas populações atingidas e o surgimento de agravos à saúde. O sofrimento difuso é um conceito desenvolvido por Valla (2001) que será discutido nesta tese na medida em que é constatado como uma consequência de Belo Monte invisibilizada. Isto porque não foi previsto ou discutido como uma possibilidade, nem no Estudo de Impacto Ambiental (EIA), nem no seu respectivo Relatório de Impacto Ambiental (Rima). Também não foi percebido como uma situação merecedora de atenção por parte do órgão fiscalizador responsável pela conceção das licenças que permitiram Belo Monte ser construída, o Ibama. Ainda, a relação entre o sofrimento e os agravos à saúde das populações atingidas não foi alvo de políticas públicas na área da saúde pública. Dessa forma, pretende este trabalho contribuir para a discussão sobre a saúde das populações atingidas pelo megaprojeto Belo Monte, a partir do reconhecimento das populações atingidas como detentoras e produtoras de conhecimento relevante. ~This thesis consists of a sociological study from the case of Belo Monte Hydroelectric Power Plant, under construction in the State of Pará, in the Brazilian Amazon. The aim of this study was to dedicate a look at the issue of health from the perspective of the people affected by hydroelectric megaproject. The work begins with a presentation of the history of the Xingu River dam projects in the mid-1970s From the first studies of the watershed of the Xingu to the early work of Belo Monte it took about thirty years and during this period, many controversies and disputes involving the populations concerned, politicians, intellectuals, artists, scientists, activists and social movements. It is also discussed in this thesis the Brazilian model of economic development, to understand how is the option for the construction of large infrastructure projects, such as the case of Belo Monte. From this first approach to megaproject, then I give emphasis to the perspective of populations affected by Belo Monte. Therefore, it was necessary, firstly, to know the universe of affected populations, composed of urban, rural populations, coastal communities and indigenous people. Through the empirical work done in Brasilia / DF and Altamira / PA, it was possible to know and recognize the diversity of these populations and thus identify some important issues that were not subject to discussion with the government and the entrepreneur. It's what Boaventura de Sousa Santos (2006) calls invisibilities. Using the theoretical framework of South epistemologies (Santos, 2002) allowed the recognition of these invisibilities, allowed to see how changes in the environment and ways of life of the populations affected by Belo Monte affect the health and quality of life of that people. It is from this lens that is dedicated to looking at the health of the populations, and the questioning of this issue is carried out in this thesis having as protagonists the affected populations themselves. Thus it was identified as one of the relevant issues arising from the construction of the Belo Monte Hydroelectric Plant the relationship between the suffering experienced by the affected populations and the emergence of health problems. The diffuse suffering is a concept developed by Valla (2001) which will be discussed in this thesis since it is found as a result of Belo Monte. This is because it was not planned or discussed as a possibility, or the Environmental Impact Study (EIA), or in their respective Environmental Impact Report (RIMA). It was also not perceived as a worthy position of attention by the supervisory body responsible for the design of the licenses that allowed Belo Monte is built, the Ibama. Also, the relationship between suffering and health problems of the affected population was not the target of public policies in the field of public health. Thus, this work aims to contribute to the discussion on the health of populations affected by Belo Monte mega-project, from the recognition of the people affected as having relevant knowledge.

Área científica: Ciências Sociais