Development and environmental conflict: the formation of the discourse of “empty spaces” in megaprojects on the south coast of Espírito Santo, Brazil

Abstract

During the last decades in Brazil, the developmentalist discourse has promoted several actions that attracted investments for large construction projects. The south coast of the state of Espírito Santo, chosen as the adequate site for investments in transport and logistics infrastructure to support exports and modernize the oil and gas production chain, has been, since the early 2000s, a setting of transformations prompted by the announcement of future installation of ports, thermoelectric plants, construction of roads and railways, among other infrastructures. Such a process does not happen without conflicts. In a recent research focused on environmental conflicts originated from the clash of interests between port investments and fishing communities in the south of the state, it was found that a strategy used by agents to enable “development” was the formation of a discourse that highlights the “empty spaces”. This is a qualitative research based on ethnographic immersion, observations, document analysis and interviews with fishermen, government officials and representatives of the enterprises. This article aims to demonstrate the elements used to form this discourse and its opposite, which includes the spaces’ plenty diversity, expressed by the presence of traditional artisanal fishing communities. Findings show that the development actions, intending to be homogenizing, do not allow the existence of differences in space, what sparks the disputes that occur on the south coast of Espírito Santo, especially concerning the maintenance of the way of life for artisanal fishermen.