“A gente quer dizer que a gente existe”: a geograficidade dos colonos da Fazenda da Fortaleza de Sant’Anna (Goianá, MG) a partir da relação topofílica com o lugar

Abstract

This work enunciates the love for the place, the bond with the land, the existence of the subjects called colonists, and the emotional ties that connect them to the Fazenda da Fortaleza de Sant’Anna. However, in addition to the love for the place, the fear of losing it will also be presented. This is because, indicating signs of threats in the exercise of their territoriality through the insertion of new territorial agents in the place, the colonists felt the need to announce their existence by saying the phrase that titles this work: we want to say that we exist. In this sense, the investigative efforts of this research followed the direction of understanding the changes in the exercises of territoriality and the senses of a place of the colonists in the Fazenda da Fortaleza de Sant'Anna after the occupation of this territory by the Landless Rural Workers Movement (MST) in 2010. To this end, theoretical-methodological references based on Humanist-Cultural Geography were used so that these approaches could contribute to the understanding of the “being” and “existence” of the settlers of Sant'Anna. In this search, the socio-spatial experiences, the identity and territorial ties of the colonists, and their material and immaterial practices were considered, revealing subjectivities, feelings, and visions regarding their places in Fortaleza de Sant’Anna. It is in this sense that the concepts of place, from the perspective of the Humanist-Cultural approach to Geography, as well as topophilia and geographicity, in the conception of humanist geographers Yi-Fu Tuan and Eric Dardel, were fundamental to understanding the connection of settlers with the land. The concept of territory (and its variations) was also used based on the reflections of Rogério Haesbaert so that it was possible to understand the territoriality exercises of the settlers of Sant’Anna. Methodologically, the research involved a qualitative and exploratory investigation, which is based on two fundamental pillars: documentary survey and field research. This one is through in-depth interviews, and the other one is through research into primary sources about the Farm and the colonists. Because of this, the results of the documentary research will present “how” and “why” the settlers approached the Sant’Anna Fortress to establish their history and geographycity there. And, in the results of the field research, the main notes from the settlers will be presented regarding their places of affection and the changes caused by the process of expropriation and occupation of the Farm by the MST. It can be concluded that the connections that the settlers of Sant’Anna have with these lands are related not only to their past but also to those who preceded them in Sant’Anna. It is also concluded that how the MST promotes the occupation, linked to the attitude of the former owners towards their employees at the time, caused the self-affirmation of identity and the reinforcement of these residents' love for the place in the level of consciousness. Furthermore, this historical and territorial landmark for the settlers brought both positive and negative changes, which are an intrinsic aspect of the entire process of rupture. However, such repercussions, positive or not, demonstrate that they have considerably changed the places of affection of these subjects. The research revealed the emergence of a place of sadness common to all the colonists interviewed and the risk of cultural erasure, thus threatening the perpetuation of the existence of these people.