For a Social History of the Transamazônica (Brazil): The Process of Occupation of its Margins in the 1970s

Abstract

Next, I propose a narrative that begins with the quantitative results of the occupation project along the transamazon highway. The highway served as a major attraction for thousands of people who moved to the Amazon in the 1970s, being the founding basis of a process that changed the belonging of the Amazon territory, creating a new reality in the region. I will present the details of the policy that settled rural workers along the BR-230. We will see the results of directed colonization, highlighting not only the social diversity created by the occupation, but also the capitalist imbalance and the conflicts that are associated with it. Moving towards the conclusion, I go into the possibilities of defining the Transamazon as a major event of the dictatorship. Between past and present, it is only possible to attest to the grandeur of the highway when we recover the consequences of the population occupation of its margins.