Conflitos étnicos na Amazônia Brasileira: processos de construção identitária em comunidades quilombolas de Alcântara

• Main Author: Patrícia Maria Portela Nunes
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Published: Universidad de los Andes 2015-08-01
• Series: Colombia Internacional
• Subjects: Ethnicity; ethnic rights; social conflict; State
• Online Access: http://colombiainternacional.uniandes.edu.co/view.php/9225/index.php?id=9225

This paper analyzes the processes of constructing identity which arise from political movements on the rights of the quilombola communities in Alcântara (Brazilian Amazon region). The article focuses on the social conflict in this area triggered by the expropriation of extensive areas of land by the state in the 1980s, to make way for a rocket launch facility. This complex situation leads us to believe that the act of officially recognizing these communities is permeated by authoritarian practices implemented by the State, which are in turn linked to arbitrary practices which are founded on business logic.