The term "grief" usually refers to a feeling of disgust, repulsion, or intense aversion towards something. When used in the context of "dying of grief" after an expropriation, it can suggest an extremely negative emotional state or even an affliction so intense that it contributes to the deterioration of the affected person's physical or emotional health.
Farmers from the V District of São João da Barra, Since the morning of April 19, 2017, around 100 farmers from the Açu region in the municipality of São João da Barra-RJ, have been fighting to take back their land, which was confiscated by the Sergio Cabral government and Eike Batista’s EBX Group during the camp organized by Asprim in 2017. Pablo Vergara ©.
___ Resumo
The project “Açu dos desgostos” is a multimedia narrative documentary highlighting the socio-environmental impacts of Brazil’s largest private port, the Port of Açu. The construction of the Port of Açu mega-enterprise left 400 small-scale farmers without their land, which was unjustly confiscated by the former billionaire Eike Batista, who later negotiated it with the private equity fund “EIG Global Partners” represented by Prumo Logística. The farmers received no compensation from the state. This led to unprecedented violence in the region. In addition, the environmental impact generated by the port destroyed regional ecosystems known as the “Restinga”, salinized arable land and accelerated coastal erosion processes. The restructuring of the port following the global financial crisis led to a reconsideration of its operations. Today, the port has turned its attention to the oil and gas sector and energy production, mainly through gas-fired thermal power stations, far from its initial project, a sizeable industrial-port complex envisioned by former tycoon Eike Batista.
Communities of small farmers have been organizing since the port was built in 2012, starting with the occupation of confiscated land. In the photo, the camp was organized in 2017, where around 300 farmers gathered to draw the attention of the public authorities. Pablo Vergara © 2017.
The international crises of the capitalist rental markets (2008) impacted Brazil in mid-2014-2016, which changed the nature of the project. The current objective is to transform the port of Açu into the largest gas-fired thermoelectric park in Latin America, with a production capacity of 3 GW of power.
The two thermal power plants will generate enough energy to supply 14 million homes, equivalent to the residential consumption of Rio de Janeiro, Minas Gerais, and Espírito Santo. The problems with the new production “turnaround” are human rights, which the big corporations have once again violated since the high-voltage power lines were built on land that was confiscated from small farmers and has still not been adequately compensated, which is still a political-legal dispute with no litigious resolution. The high-voltage power lines also pass through areas of coastal vegetation and local flora and fauna, increasing the region’s environmental conflict. Lastly, the emission of gases produced by the thermoelectric park accelerates climate change in the area, according to the farmers, who report acid rain on their plantations, as well as radical changes in temperature due to the greenhouse effect.
___ Introdução
The “Açu dos Desgostos” project is a multimedia narrative documentary highlighting the socio-environmental impacts of Brazil’s largest private port, the Port of Açu. Initially, the Port of Açu (2008) was designed as a sizeable industrial-port complex (CIPA), including the world’s longest mining pipeline (328 km) for extracting minerals, along with various offshore ventures in the oil and gas industry, as well as steel and metallurgical companies that would be built on the site. The initial project, which promised a lot of progress in the region, quickly ran out of steam, and the accelerated changes in international markets brought several adjustments to the production processes, which were initially focused on extracting commodities and supporting the oil and gas industry. The initial project had to reconfigure its operations at the Port of Açu in several stages, and today focuses on a new stage of thermal energy, supporting the offshore oil and liquefied natural gas (LNG) operations of national and international companies off the coast of São João da Barra, in the north of Rio de Janeiro, Brazil.
The project covers logistical support for Brazil’s most extensive stretch of pre-salt oil reserves. As the largest private, deep-water industrial port in Latin America, the Port of Açu also receives 26 million tons of iron ore per year through a mining pipeline of more than 328 km that is part of Anglo-American’s mining operation in the state of Minas Gerais, which is then loaded onto ships and shipped to Asia.
___ Impactos
The construction of the Port of Açu mega-enterprise, which left 400 small-scale farmers without their land, was unjustly expropriated without compensation from the state. This has led to unprecedented violence in the region. In addition, the environmental impact generated by the port has destroyed regional ecosystems known as the “Restinga”, salinized arable land and accelerated coastal erosion processes, a region of recent coastal sediments.</b> (Sofiatti, 2024).
The small farmers organized by ASPRIM (Association of Rural and Property Owners of São João da Barra) have, over time, organized actions of resistance and mobilizing their communities against injustices.
The construction of the Port of Açu mega-enterprise, which left 400 small-scale farmers without their land, was unjustly expropriated without receiving compensation from the state. This has led to unprecedented violence in the region. In addition, the environmental impact generated by the port has destroyed regional ecosystems known as the "Restinga", salinized arable land and accelerated processes of coastal erosion, a region of recent coastal sediments.
Since the morning of April 19, 2017, around 100 farmers from the Açu region, in the municipality of São João da Barra-RJ, have been fighting to take back their land, which was expropriated by the Sérgio Cabral government and Eike Batista's EBX Group. Under the responsibility of the Industrial Development Company of Rio de Janeiro (CODIN), the land was taken from the farmers through an expropriation act and handed over to the LLX company, which was interested in setting up an industrial district in the area surrounding the Port of Açu. Through a precarious agreement and derisory payments, CODIN authorized Eike's company to enter and take possession of the land.
(Source: Blog do Marcos Pędłowski, https://blogdopedlowski.com/tag/asprim/) Associate Professor at the Universidade Estadual do Norte Fluminense in Campos dos Goytacazes, RJ, working in the Postgraduate Programs in Social Policies and Ecology and Natural Resources. External Collaborating Researcher at the Center for Ecology, Evolution and Environmental Change at the University of Lisbon.
Metodologia
The following research was structured based on an understanding of the conflict and its various aspects. First, we identified the theme of the expropriations and the displacement that took place on the 7,036 hectares expropriated. Gradually, these areas were appropriated in order to understand the genesis of the conflict. To do this, it is first necessary to understand the land conflict. Secondly, we focus our attention on two elements that were consequences of the implementation of the Port of Açu Industrial Complex: the large infrastructure built, which includes the extraction of soil from the seabed for the advancement of the port’s central quay with an extension of 12 km inland, and the process of dredging the soil from the seabed, which is then deposited inland. This marine sand residue was placed on agricultural land, directly impacting the water table and water sources, so we investigated two phenomena that were consequences of this impact: soil salinization through the deposit of large tons of removed maritime soil placed in landfills on the mainland and the mega-construction of port infrastructure, such as breakwaters, solid structures that modify the hydro sedimentation of the sea and alter the hydrodynamics of marine currents, causing the acceleration of the erosion phenomenon, present along the entire coast of the Port of Açu, with the greatest impact on nearby localities. Finally, we identified the severe environmental impacts caused by the degradation of natural biomes, environmental reserves, lagoons, springs and streams, modifying the region’s flora and fauna and impacting the restinga.
A restinga is a coastal geographical formation, common in tropical and subtropical areas, characterized by a narrow strip of sandy or clayey land, often covered by dune vegetation, located between the mainland and the sea. It can extend from the edge of the beach to several hundred meters inland, depending on local conditions. Restingas play important roles in protecting the coast from erosion, in maintaining marine and terrestrial biodiversity, and as transition areas between marine and terrestrial ecosystems.
The locality of Barra do Açu is affected by the coastal advance caused by the intervention of port infrastructures, the Breakwater, a concrete and stone structure that enters the sea, modifying coastal hydro-sedimentation. 2023, Pablo Vergara ©.
This considerable environmental impact from the implementation of major logistics and port engineering works has restricted and securitized access to the territory’s main lagoons, such as Iquipari Lagoon, the main artisanal fishing spot, where after the construction of the port access is controlled and displaced from the local community, watched over by drone and monitored by private securitization companies. As a consequence of the environmental impacts, we captured the emission of methane gases, capturing images with OGI (Optical Geothermal Imaging) cameras recording the gas emissions from the UTE GNA1 plant and the construction of UTE GNA 2. According to official information, the methane gas emission reports have not been controlled by the public authorities since 2005.
Plant UTE 1 GNA 1 and UTE 2 GNA 2, implemented in the Port of Açu. 2024. Photograph from the documentary Açu dos desgostos, Saulo Nicolai ©.
In its methodology for presenting the socio-environmental conflict, the Açu dos desgosto Project presents four axes: 1. expropriation 2. Salinization, 3. Erosion 4. Environmental impact uses Audiovisual Documentary as the main witness to the facts, Photodocumentary as photographic narration and empirical investigative research into the cases.
Farmers from the V District of São João da Barra, Since the morning of April 19, 2017, around 100 farmers from the Açu region in the municipality of São João da Barra-RJ, have been fighting to take back their land, which was confiscated by the Sergio Cabral government and Eike Batista’s EBX Group during the camp organized by Asprim in 2017. Pablo Vergara ©.
___ 1. Expropriação
The multimedia investigation focuses on those expropriated and affected by the implementation of CIPA in the municipality of São João da Barra, specifically Água Preta, Campo da Praia and Mato Escuro, where its inhabitants are still resisting the expropriation of their land. In this process, we identified families who have historically lived in the region for three generations, according to the research:
The occupation of the land in the region: More specifically, the occupation of the land where the areas studied are located was mainly by squatters from the district of Pipeiras, the seat of the municipality of São João da Barra and neighboring localities belonging to the municipality of Campos dos Goytacazes, such as Córrego Fundo, Azeitona and Quixaba. (Pires, 2009) Although the occupation of these lands began at the end of the 19th century, the occupation of the areas closest to the Açu Industrial and Port District dates back to the 1920s and 1940s. Initially made up of large tracts of land belonging to a few owners, with the death of some owners, their heirs began a process of parceling out and selling the land in smaller plots in the Açu region. (Pires, 2009) However, despite this subdivision of land, the concentration of land in São João da Barra continued to be accentuated, a fact that Pires (2009) sees as preponderant for the EBX Group's choice of region for the construction of CIPA, in addition to its location.
(Source: https://uenf.br/posgraduacao/politicas-sociais/wp-content/uploads/sites/11/2015/06/FELIPE-MEDEIROS-ALVARENGA.pdf)
Maite is a girl who has been orphaned by her mother. The violence brought by the port also brought alcoholism and drugs. Maite is cared for by another family of small farmers. Pablo Vergara© 2024.
The expropriation of land in the port of Açu took place gradually. Initially, the ELX company, run by tycoon Eike Batista, acquired some symbolic farms in the region, such as the Caruaru farm, which are considerably large within the territory. The CIPA (Açu Industrial Port Complex) project progressed as its legal-administrative status was consolidated. As the political negotiations progressed in conjunction with the main powers of the state, legislative and legal powers, including the actions of the then governor: Sérgio Cabral (imprisoned for corruption), together with local governments, especially the municipality of São João da Barra, they reached what would be the cornerstone of the conflict. The decree that would modify the regulatory plan for the land where the port of Açu would be located to change the land use to industrial was issued on December 31, 2008. “The occupation of the area that would become the CIPA industrial complex used only 13% of what was projected in the last period. A total of 7,036 hectares were sparsely used, with only 940 hectares, or 87% of the expropriated land, remaining abandoned.”
(Source: Costa, Barcelos, Pag 189. Traces, ruins and resistance: a decade of socio-environmental conflict at the Açu Industrial Port Complex (CIPA), São João da Barra, Rio de Janeiro 2018)
Reginaldo looks after the cows. Every day, he enters the land he owns, which was invaded and expropriated by the ELX company, which at the time acquired more than 7,038 hectares of land,Pablo Vergara© 2024. .
As Entrevistas:
The interviews conducted on the subject of land expropriations are relevant according to the degree of state violence exercised. There are two cases of post-expropriation deaths that farmers refer to as “heartbreak”, “dying of heartbreak” after expropriation. These are common events in the region where families have lived on the land for more than 150 years.
A pineapple farmer, on the day of the funeral of his father, Don José Irineu Toledo, his land was violently expropriated. It is one of the most emblematic cases of public-private violence. Adeilson talks about his stress, a painful memory of his father’s death, a deep depression and suffers from “Disgust” according to his own account.
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A small regional farmer, he produces a variety of agricultural crops and has a wealth of folk wisdom and ancestral knowledge of edible and inedible plants.
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A small regional farmer and artisanal fisherwoman, her family was directly affected by the land expropriations, creating “grief” in her relatives, some of whom suffered from severe psychological depression.
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Community and regional leader, small farmer, recently nominated to receive Rio de Janeiro’s highest honor, the Tiradentes Medal. Mrs. Noêmia is a key player in the conflict. She knows all the stories and has been a spokesperson for the small farmers.
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Director of the Fluminense Federal University, researcher of the conflict, with a doctorate in rural and socio-environmental conflict in the port of Açu.
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Professor of sociology at the Universidade Estadual do Norte Fluminense, whose research laboratory has produced a dozen tests on socio-environmental conflicts. One of the researchers who has produced the most material on the conflict, they have an audiovisual archive that has been made available for use. BA and MA in Geography from UFRJ and PhD in Environmental Design and Planning from Virginia Tech. Associate Professor at the Universidade Estadual do Norte Fluminense in Campos dos Goytacazes, RJ, working in the Postgraduate Programs in Social Policies and Ecology and Natural Resources. External Collaborating Researcher at the Center for Ecology, Evolution and Environmental Change at the University of Lisbon.
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___ 2. Salinização
(Source: https://uenf.br/posgraduacao/ecologia-recursosnaturais/wp-content/uploads/sites/7/2013/10/2016-mestrado-UENF-Juliana-Ribeiro-Latini.pdf)
At the end of 2012, researchers from UENF’s Environmental Sciences Laboratory collected water at various points in the 5th District of São João da Barra at the request of farmers who suspected changes in the quality of the water on their properties. The results indicated that the waters of the Quitingute Canal and other bodies of water showed high salinity values, which was linked to the construction of the CIPA landfill. Farmers also reported significant crop losses and linked these to the high salinity of irrigation water.
Several studies have shown that the waters of the Quitingute Canal have indeed been salinized, with conductivity values of up to 42,000 µS/cm between November and December 2012 (IFF, 2013). According to the Rio de Janeiro State Department of the Environment, OSX was fined R$1.3 million, became obliged to financially support the implementation and maintenance of the Açu Lagoon State Park, and was obliged to dredge three silted points in the Quitingute Channel to help speed up the dilution of the salts. In addition to these sanctions, it is likely that new developments will occur in relation to the salinization event that took place in 2012, as the MPF recently opposed OSX’s appeal that restricted the repair of damage to the Quitingute Channel only, demanding that the repair be made taking into account the entire area of the V District of São João da Barra.
Entrevistas:
Farmer directly affected by the salinization of his crops. Resident of the 5th district of São João da Barra.
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Community and regional leader, small farmer, recently nominated to receive Rio de Janeiro’s highest honor, the Tiradentes Medal. Mrs. Noêmia is a key player in the conflict. She knows all the stories and has been a spokesperson for the small farmers.
Listen to the interview:
Director of the Fluminense Federal University, researcher of the conflict, with a doctorate in agrarian and socio-environmental conflict in the port of Açu.
Listen to the interview:
Professor of sociology at the Universidade Estadual do Norte Fluminense, whose research laboratory has produced a dozen tests on socio-environmental conflicts. One of the researchers who has produced the most material on the conflict, they have an audiovisual archive that has been made available for use. BA and MA in Geography from UFRJ and PhD in Environmental Design and Planning from Virginia Tech. Associate Professor at the Universidade Estadual do Norte Fluminense in Campos dos Goytacazes, RJ, working in the Postgraduate Programs in Social Policies and Ecology and Natural Resources. External Collaborating Researcher at the Center for Ecology, Evolution and Environmental Change at the University of Lisbon.
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The locality of Barra do Açu is affected by the coastal advance caused by the intervention of port infrastructures, the Breakwater, a concrete and stone structure that enters the sea, modifying coastal hydro-sedimentation. 2023, Pablo Vergara ©.
___ 3. Erosão
(Source: https://uenf.br/posgraduacao/ecologia-recursosnaturais/wp-content/uploads/sites/7/2013/10/2016-mestrado-UENF-Juliana-Ribeiro-Latini.pdf)
Entrevistas:
An artistic theater group that works with those affected by erosion in the São João da Barra region.
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Professor of Geography at the Fluminense Federal University, specialist in coastal erosion, researcher and investigator of erosion processes in the São João da Barra region.
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A resident of Barra do Açu, hit by erosion.
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Community and regional leader and small farmer, recently nominated to receive Rio de Janeiro’s highest honor, the Tiradentes Medal. Dona Noemia is a crucial player in the conflict. She knows all the stories and has been a spokesperson for the small farmers.
Listen to the interview:
Director of the Fluminense Federal University, researcher of the conflict, with a doctorate in rural and socio-environmental conflict in the port of Açu.
Listen to the interview:
Professor of sociology at the Universidade Estadual do Norte Fluminense, whose research laboratory has produced a dozen tests on socio-environmental conflicts. One of the researchers who has produced the most material on the conflict has an audiovisual archive made available for use. BA and MA in Geography from UFRJ and PhD in Environmental Design and Planning from Virginia Tech. Associate Professor at the Universidade Estadual do Norte Fluminense in Campos dos Goytacazes, RJ, working in the Postgraduate Programs in Social Policies and Ecology and Natural Resources—external Collaborating Researcher at the Center for Ecology, Evolution and Environmental Change at the University of Lisbon.
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___ 4. Impacto Ambiental
In addition to the criticisms already mentioned in relation to the expropriation process, another point of controversy related to the implementation of CIPA concerns the licensing process and the assessments carried out to give the green light to the project. The decision to conduct the licensing of each CIPA project individually was criticized, as this fragmented approach was interpreted as a deliberate strategy by the Rio de Janeiro government to facilitate their approval. Another point of disagreement was the competence attributed to INEA to carry out licensing, since, given the location of the project, IBAMA would be the most appropriate licensing body.
(Source: https://uenf.br/posgraduacao/ecologia-recursosnaturais/wp-content/uploads/sites/7/2013/10/2016-mestrado-UENF-Juliana-Ribeiro-Latini.pdf)
Entrevistas:
He has a degree in History (1973) and a PhD in Social History from the Federal University of Rio de Janeiro (2001). He is currently a retired associate professor at the Fluminense Federal University. He has experience in Social History, with an emphasis on Environmental History. Professor Aristides, I’ve been following the process and the environmental conflict generated by the construction of the Port of Açu.
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Community and regional leader and small farmer, recently nominated to receive Rio de Janeiro’s highest honor, the Tiradentes Medal. Dona Noemia is a crucial player in the conflict. She knows all the stories and has been a spokesperson for the small farmers.
Listen to the interview:
Director of the Fluminense Federal University, researcher of the conflict, with a doctorate in agrarian and socio-environmental conflict in the port of Açu.
Listen to the interview:
Professor of sociology at the Universidade Estadual do Norte Fluminense, whose research laboratory has produced a dozen tests on socio-environmental conflicts. One of the researchers who has produced the most material on the conflict, they have an audiovisual archive that has been made available for use. BA and MA in Geography from UFRJ and PhD in Environmental Design and Planning from Virginia Tech. Associate Professor at the Universidade Estadual do Norte Fluminense in Campos dos Goytacazes, RJ, working in the Postgraduate Programs in Social Policies and Ecology and Natural Resources. External Collaborating Researcher at the Center for Ecology, Evolution and Environmental Change at the University of Lisbon.
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