Ten years of r-existence of the Canavieiras Extractive Reserve (BA): analysis of the conflicts related to the social and political reproduction of their traditional communities

Abstract

Since the late sixties, environmental issues have been gaining new quality as social and popular movements emerged, making it evident that the environmental crisis is a facet of the epistemic and political crisis marked by coloniality of knowledge and power. This article highlights traditional communities from the State of Acre’s movement, under the leadership of Chico Mendes, which left emblematic impacts while fighting for the creation of reserves, which would be correspondent to the land reform for the rubber tappers. After that, the Canavieiras Extractive Reserve – a territory inhabited by traditional extractivist communities (mainly traditional fishermen communities) – located in South Bahia will be described. Because their management is made by a system of many institutions on different scales and levels, fishing communities have to fight constantly for their freedom to reinvent and reaffirm themselves as a traditional population, therefore r-existing.