Mulheres na defesa de territórios afetados pela mineração: trajetórias de vida em André do Mato Dentro

Abstract

This thesis subject is the monopoly of existence, which imposes a single thought, the monoculture of the mind, and the homogenization of differences in territories affected by mining. The objective is to understand how women resist mining in André do Mato Dentro, a subdistrict of Santa Barbara, Minas Gerais. Although several disciplines approach the matter, there is a still unexplored field in Law that deals with resistance to mining, especially associated with the gender category. Thus, this research is contributes to an interdisciplinary discussion. The main theoretical bases used were political ecology, ecofeminism, and the right to territory. Political ecology is concerned with the study of power relations between human beings, as well as the relationship with other beings and natural resources. Ecofeminism is a social movement and a theoretical current that proposes the articulation between ecology and feminism and has social and ecological justice as its horizon. This research tensions the concept of territory predominant in Law, and proposes, beyond the analysis of the physical aspect, the consideration of the dimensions of meaning attribution and the language of valuation. In order to understand the context of the territory in dispute, bibliographic research was carried out about the Iron Quadrangle, the Gandarela Mountains and the André do Mato Dentro subdistrict. In addition, empirical research was carried out, with virtual activities and face-to-face meetings, in which the technique of conversation was used for data collection, focusing on four women involved in the struggle for the defense of the André do Mato Dentro territory. The research sought to meet the validation criteria of critical engaged research, which are: authenticity, plausibility, criticality, reflexivity, mobilization of creativity and art, and social validation. To this end, knowledge was constructed dialogically and with a commitment to social change. After the conversations were held, the respective recordings were transcribed, and a conversation analysis was performed. The conclusion reached is that women resist mining through their existence and permanence in the territory, through agroecology, through teaching, through care, and through their participation in movements. Moreover, the knowledge produced with the women showed that they defend their collective right to the territory and the different possible ways of life. Therefore, the hypothesis that there are resistances and fissures to the hegemonic model was confirmed, as well as the female protagonism in these struggles.