THE IDEA OF SERTÃO IN BRAZILIAN SOCIO-TERRITORIAL FORMATION, AND IN THE CONTESTADO WAR REGION

Abstract

The purpose of this paper is to investigate the role played by the idea of Sertão in Brazilian socio-territorial formation, from theoretical to the real world approaches, experienced by Sertanejo populations in the country, emphasizing the Sertanejo region of the Contestado War. The historical-cultural process of Brazilian formation is characterized by a series of relations at the heart of the ideas attributed to Sertão, allowing, through the research of existing conflicts over the centuries, to understand the dynamic composition of the national territory. In this regard, the spatial category of Sertão through geographical perspective proposes a dialectic between the Eurocentric ideals of expansion and domination of the national territory, against the diametrically opposite way adopted by those who were and continue to be expelled from these lands, those who see the Sertão as a synonym of freedom and hope concerning a society that has oppressed them from the beginning. Methodologically, a literature review on Sertão was carried out, through geographical, sociological, historical, and anthropological perspectives. The geographical insertion of the Contestado Sertanejo region was addressed through the wide production of Fraga, who has been studying and geographizing the region since 1994.