Migrantes brasileiros no distrito de Santa Rita, departamento de Alto Paraná, Paraguai: memórias, representações e territorialização.

Abstract

In this thesis, I analyze memories, representations and relations of Brazilian migrants who settled in the municipality of Santa Rita, located in the Department of Alto Paraná, eastern region of Paraguay, during the process of a recent colonization that began in the 1970s. My goal is to analyze the (re)constructions of memories and representations among Brazilian migrants in Santa Rita, aiming to understand how they are established, organized, integrated in Paraguayan society and constitute ties of belonging and continuity. From this perspective, I contextualize this migration process; I gather and analyze memories of migrants; identify and analyze forms of organization of Brazilian migrants; I observe and describe representations that characterize the social relations that were established; and show how these migrants constitute bonds of collectivity. This is an interdisciplinary research, combining theories, methods and methodologies, based on the concepts of memories, representations, borders, territories, networks. With bibliographical revision, supported by books, articles and institutional documents that deal with the formation of the Paraguayan Oriental region and that allowed me to comprehend the context of the migration of Brazilians to Paraguay lies. The fieldwork was carried out between February and July 2015 in Santa Rita, with participant observation and semi-structured interviews, which allowed me to approach and observe that reality, the relations that were established, and the (re)contruction of memories, representations, and identities. All sources and data have been grasped within the understanding that memories are constantly (re)constructed and that representations are definitions of what one seeks to link to the one’s image, involving material and symbolic dimensions. I consider that the historic context, and the historical relations have influenced relations between Brazilians and Paraguayans in the studied region; and the colonization process occurred through fixity and motion that were established thorough several networks, which reterritorialized the region forming a new social field, which is directly related to the transnational agribusiness. After these considerations, I conclude that frames of memories convey an image of pioneers to the Brazilian migrants, and at the same time (re) construct memories that support sense of belonging and continuity among these subjects; and that Brazilian migrants transformed the space of settlement based on their references and interests, with adaptations to Paraguayan references, constituting a new territoriality in the region.