Territorialization of capital in Baixo Amazonas: analyze two cases Ford, Cargil and Alcoa

Abstract

This article describes and analyses three experiences of territorialization of big capital in Lower Amazonas, western Pará, which occurred in different historical periods, where it is possible to point to forms of primitive accumulation of capital, and the territorial defense of the populations affected by them. The initial takes place in the first quarter of the 20th century, led by the company Ford, during the Vargas government, during the period of capital crisis, in the 1930s. The others take place in the 2000s, in the context of the advancement of policies considered neoliberal, with the company Cargill as its front line, which is building a port terminal in the city of Santarém, in total indifference to the environmental standards in force in the country. The last one deals with the mineral extraction of the American company Alcoa, in the municipality of Juruti. Land appropriation, expropriation of local populations, centrality of the authoritarian State as a driver of the economy structure the processes. After the introduction, the article invests in the debate on the territory category, then reflects on primitive accumulation, and the following presents the experiences, their developments and the confrontations of the populations affected by the projects.