The TRILEMMA OF WATER IN THE BRAZILIAN LEGAL EXPERIENCE

BETWEEN COMMODITY, WATER RESOURCES AND NON-PROPERTY COMMONS

Authors

DOI:

https://doi.org/10.11117/rdp.v21i109.7671

Abstract

This article analyzes some concerns about the legal regulation of water in Brazil, based on the existence of a contemporary process of "water enclosure". This process inevitably involves the way in which the Brazilian state regulates the management, use and enjoyment of this essential asset for the material and symbolic reproduction of human and non-human life. In our research, we value both the theoretical-political keys of Latin American thought (especially political ecology and community studies) and historical-dialectical materialism. The research is bibliographical and documentation based. We start from the hypothesis that water, even though it is legally presented as "public-state" in Brazil, is subject to the most essential determinations of the commodity, taking the form of a resource that inverts legal priorities: although human supply should be the priority of management (and in some situations it is), it always has to "fight" with the legal determination of "multiple uses", derived from a process of capitalist rationalization, which makes it difficult - sometimes made impossible - to recognize it as a commons. We therefore propose the urgency of incorporating other experiences of disciplining, managament and use of water in Brazil based on a critical understanding of non-market common goods, which have the analytical capacity to counter the enclosure process.

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Author Biographies

Hugo Belarmino de Morais, Universidade Federal da Paraíba (UFPB). João Pessoa (PB). Brasil

Professor Adjunto I do Departamento de Ciências Jurídicas – Unidade Acadêmica de Santa Rita, da Universidade Federal da Paraíba. Doutor em Ciências Jurídicas e Sociais pelo Programa de Pós-graduação em Sociologia e Direito da Universidade Federal Fluminense. Integrante do Instituto de Pesquisa em Direitos e Movimentos Sociais (IPDMS). Professor do Programa de Pós-graduação em Direitos Humanos, Cidadania e Políticas Públicas (PPGDH-UFPB). Coordenador do Projeto de Pesquisa e Extensão OBUNTU – Observatório Interdisciplinar e Assessoria em Conflitos Territoriais. Líder do Grupo de Pesquisa (CNPQ/UFPB) "Direitos Humanos, decolonialidades e movimentos”. Membro do Observatório Fundiário Fluminense (OBFF – UFF). Advogado Popular.

Naiara Coelho, Universidade Federal de Pernambuco (UFPE). Recife (PE). Brasil.

Doutoranda do Programa de Pós Graduação em Direito pela Universidade Federal de Pernambuco (PPGD/UFPE), bolsista CAPES. Mestra em Direito e Sociologia pela Universidade Federal Fluminense (PPGSD/UFF). Pesquisadora do Grupo de Pesquisa "Direitos Humanos, decolonialidades e movimentos” (CNPQ/UFPB) e do Observatório Interdisciplinar e Assessoria em Conflitos Territoriais (OBUNTU/UFPB). Bacharela em Direito e Advogada.

Published

2024-04-30

How to Cite

Belarmino de Morais, H., & Coelho, N. (2024). The TRILEMMA OF WATER IN THE BRAZILIAN LEGAL EXPERIENCE: BETWEEN COMMODITY, WATER RESOURCES AND NON-PROPERTY COMMONS. Public Law, 21(109). https://doi.org/10.11117/rdp.v21i109.7671

Issue

Section

Terra e propriedade: o público e o privado na experiência jurídica brasileira da Colônia à República