Autonomy and development: The notion of “development” of the Plateau Munduruku (Santarém/PA) in contrast to the advance of agribusiness

Abstract

The Indigenous Land (IL) of the Plateau Munduruku (Munduruku do Planalto) territory is located 42 km (about 26.1 mi) from the city area of Santarém (state of Pará, Brazil), in the region identified as the “Santareno Plateau”. In that region, the agribusiness expansion/invasion process, alongside the monoculture of grains (corn and soy), has generated considerable geo-epistemic conflicts. This paper aims to understand the process of self-demarcation of the Munduruku Plateau (IL) and provide the debate which way the concept of “development” is experienced by the society of the Açaizal village (the closest IL to the Curuá-Una highway, the main access to that territory). Furthermore, presents into debate on the contradiction of the agribusiness developmental discourse in Santarém. This research privileges a qualitative approach, which executed two fieldworks: the first occurred in December 2019, inside the villages of Ipaupixuna and Açaizal; the second materialized in February 2020, in Açaizal village. The data were obtained through photographic records in addition to open and semi-structured interviews with the Chiefs and Leaders of the mentioned areas. To develop an appropriate discussion in this investigation, authors from geography as well as other areas of knowledge were chosen. As a result of the expansion/invasion of agribusiness in San­tarém, the original/traditional peoples are vulnerable due to invisibility and neglect of the State. This analysis reveals the self-demarcation of Munduruku’s IL Plateau as a manifestation of existence/resistance, as well as the achievements of autonomy, and the influence of Indigenous organizations to struggle in the political sphere, moreover, the understanding that development also means living within IL. Studies like this disclose the worrying reduction of rights and the disrespect for the lives of the original/traditional peoples of the Amazon; the existence/resistance of these peoples, on the other hand, allows us to realize through the geographical gaze the different perspectives that clash for the same space.  

Keywords: Munduruku; Self-demarcation; Agribusiness; Autonomy; R-existence; Development.