The Agrarian Question and Water in Brazil(2011-2018 (in Portuguese)

This work analyzes the data published by the Pastoral Land Commission (CPT), in the period 2011-2018, regarding conflicts in the countryside involving the issue of water. The numbers show the conflicts, the types of situations and the families involved; presenting the main hydrographic basins where they occurred. The situations portray the reality of the organized portion of the rural population, which participates in networks of struggle and resistance for the conquest and against the loss of rights. The document treats access to water as a Human Right and considers it a vital asset for all living beings. Another aspect is that the analyzes cannot be restricted to the volumes captured or missing, the loss of quality; As this study shows, it is important to include the land issue, as its resolution is a means of guaranteeing effective access to water. The work is organized into four sessions: the first is on water and the CPT report; the second the work methodology; the third shows the organization of data, the dynamics of conflicts, actors involved, highlights watersheds with the greatest number of conflicts; and the fourth analyzes and discusses the data. The information makes clear the link between environmental and water damage in agricultural, mineral and energy production processes, and reveals the unity between production, land issues and water, as components of the environmental problem. Furthermore, it reaffirms the importance of CPT data for studies related to water, environment and land issues, which deserve to be incorporated into the plans and management of hydrographic basins. However, water management cannot be restricted to conflicts over the appropriation of water in the “formal” or “visible” sector. It is not just the appropriation of water that generates the conflict, but the use and occupation of land and territory, which will influence the quality and volumes available. Faced with climate change, it is necessary to regulate land use and occupation, recognize the right to land and territory, and implement zoning that promotes territorial, environmental and productive planning, which guarantees socioeconomic inclusion based on agroecological production