A study on Movimento dos Atingidos por Barragens’ conections during the Rio Grande do Sul floods: new social bases and state heterogeneity

Abstract

The Movement of People Affected by Dams was intensely active during the floods in Rio Grande do Sul in 2023 and 2024, becoming an agent of protection and civil defense. To this end, it built a solidarity kitchen in Canoas (Rio Grande do Sul), which became a tactic for recruiting activists among those affected. This article analyzes how a social movement reacted to a disaster, mobilizing and inserting itself into new territories while establishing links with the affected population. In addition, it addresses the interactions between forms of activism and the notion of state heterogeneity, understood as unstable collectives defined in a relational manner. The methodology is qualitative, based on a field visit in November 2024 with activists from the organization in Canoas and Porto Alegre, when the researchers observed a solidarity kitchen, a distribution center, and held roundtable discussions with affected families who had been recruited. The research techniques were direct observation, open and semi-structured interviews, and document analysis. The discussion of data refers to the organization’s performance during the floods in two dimensions: understanding how its civil protection and defense practices favored the development of rooting strategies, and the agencies built in relation to state actors. It is concluded that Movement of People Affected by Dams built organizational innovations in recruitment during the floods, as well as using cooperative and conflictive repertoires in relation to the state.