Land conflict and the right to territory: the case of caiçaras at Praia Grande da Cajaíba, Paraty-RJ
land conflict; land grabbing; traditional peoples;territorial rights; caiçaras.
Located in the rural area of the municipality of Paraty-RJ, more precisely on the Juatinga Peninsula, Praia Grande da Cajaíba is one of the many caiçara communities in the southern region of Rio de Janeiro. Currently inserted in a region formed by a mosaic of conservation units, the community witnessed the accelerated exodus of its members, as a result of an intense territorial conflict related to the illegal acquisition of land. Of the approximately twenty-five families that owned residences in the community in the mid-2000s, only two still remain in the area and resist attempts to purchase possessions and other expropriation strategies. The present research intends to identify the main actors and agents involved in the territorial dynamics, emphasizing that a deeper understanding of this phenomenon requires going beyond the actions of the dyad “community X grileiro”, but situating the action and social effects of a complex network of actors and institutionalities that affect the caiçara communities such as conservation units, social movements and, especially, entrepreneurs in the sphere of tourism allied to real estate capital and its representatives.