Company town and labour control in construction of Tucuruí hydroelectric (1974-1984)

Abstract

The Tucuruí hydroelectric dam was built on the Tocantins River in Pará between 1974 and 1984. This article deals with the establishment of the society of the dam through the installation of a company town, to house the various workers involved in this construction. Focusing on the institutional and entrepreneurial point of view, we will deal with the implantation, organization and functioning of this particular space, trying on the one hand to characterize who are the workers who participate in the construction of this dam. And on the other hand, to reflect upon the way in which this type of space controlled by a company participates in the discipline of bodies and workers’ lives inside and outside the construction site, aiming at maximizing productivity. As a space of control, there are inevitably reactions that will also be part of this analysis. This research follows the course of the institutional and technical sources of the construction of dams to try to characterize the implementation and management of a construction site during the military dictatorship

Keywords

• amazon
• company town
• hydroelectricity
• military dictatorship