Irredentos do rio Arari: a luta camponesa pelo acordo de pesca e manejo do pirarucu na comunidade São João do Araçá, Itacoatiara - AM

Abstract

Fishing is a fundamental activity for the Amazonian peasantry, and is central to the populations of the floodplain areas. Fishing integrates knowledge that connects the local worldview and the world of work, delimiting territories where ecological knowledge governs the use and conservation of fishing resources. However, with the advance of technocratic projects for the development of the fishing industry in Brazil, various traditional territories have been exploited, generating scarcity and conflicts. In response, the Amazonian peasantry organized politically around the Movement in Defense of Fish, seeking alternatives to aquatic demarcation and denouncing the historical marginalization of rural populations. In Amazonas, the mobilizations began in the 1980s, in the Prelature of Itacoatiara, bringing together fishermen from the riverside communities of the middle Amazon River. The São João do Araçá Community, on the Arari River in Itacoatiara-AM, identified an opportunity in these meetings to demarcate traditional community fishing areas. The Arari River fishing agreement, approved in 2008 after twelve community meetings, is the result of popular mobilization which, from the outset, sought to transform areas of common use, often impacted by illegal fishing, into spaces aimed at conserving fish and wildlife diversity and preserving the fishing way of life and territorialities. Babaçu Lake was chosen by the community to host the sustainable pirarucu management project, with the aim of promoting the repopulation of this species, which is essential for artisanal fishermen. Therefore, the focus of this research was to understand the political and peasant organization in defining the fishing agreement and pirarucu management on the Arari River. To do this, we used the historical-dialectical method, with a qualitative-quantitative approach, by collecting primary data from the Association of Workers, Craftswomen and Family Farmers of the Lower Arari River (ASTA) and secondary data (specialized bibliography), as well as field activities to conduct interviews. Geographical classics on territory, the Amazon and peasantry were consulted, providing theoretical support for the analysis. The chapters were structured based on the narratives of the fishermen and community leaders interviewed. The Fishing Agreements go beyond the institutional perspective, responding to a historical movement of social exclusion experienced by peasant populations. On the Arari River, the movement in defense of fish has been active for around 50 years, defending the peasant territorialities that have historically marked the identity and way of life of these communities. Although the people's struggle has led to the institutionalization of the demarcation of the river basin, the residents still face the escalation of aquatic conflicts, resulting from pressure from sectors of the fishing industry on the state. This research contributes to understanding the social and political organization of riverside communities, highlighting the struggle for territorial rights and the preservation of the peasant way of life in the Amazon, as well as pointing to future challenges, such as the need to strengthen the management and protection of fishing resources in the face of external pressures.