Amazon riverside communities: territorial dynamics and social conflicts in the Madeira River Valley

Abstract

This article reflects on the territorial dynamics and traditional forms of using natural resources by riverside communities in the Madeira River Valley as agribusiness expands in southern Amazonas state, focusing on the ten-year period from 2013 to 2023. This qualitative research utilized the methodological assumptions of action research that seeks to understand reality based on the involvement and worldviews of the social subjects under study. The fieldwork was carried out in the riverside communities of Paraíso Grande, Paraisinho and Santa Rosa, located in the municipality of Humaitá (AM), region of the Middle Madeira River. Data was collected through workshops, open interviews, informal conversations and direct observations via participation in meetings of associations in these communities and other situations. Bibliographical and documentary surveys on government actions highlighted territorial management policies and processes intended to serve the interests of economic development agents through agricultural and forestry activities in this region of the Western Amazon, such as the proposed Abunã-Madeira Sustainable Development Zone. We conclude that public policies and enthusiasm from political agents express government priorities for advancing large-scale agricultural enterprises and other development projects in southern Amazonas that restrict access to land and natural resources, further aggravating land and territorial insecurity and threatening traditional ways of life for the people and communities of the Madeira River Valley.