Práticas de gestão das águas minerais e os movimentos deliberativos da gestão social no Circuito das Águas no sul de Minas Gerais

Abstract

In this thesis we began the investigation by the emergence of deliberative movements around disputes over mineral water. Thereon, we examined social practices over mineral water management in the county of Cambuquira, Minas Gerais, and their articulations on possible formation of a deliberative system. Thus, in the scope of interdisciplinarity of knowledgeinterests, through a theoretical-empirical study that has been developed since June 2016 by the Nucleus of Studies in Public Administration and Social Management (NEAPEGS) and the theoretical framework of Social Management, Deliberative Systems and Social Theory of Discourse, we propose to understand the emergence of deliberative movements from the causal power of social management in the context of conflicts between management practices of mineral water. We bring a broad literature review on Social Management, Deliberative System and Social Theory of Discourse. From an ontological point of view, we adopted a realistic critical approach bearing in mind the study focus from four social events (2001, 2005 and 2017 Notices and 2017 Public Consultation) and three emergency moments (from events/actions to social practices; from practices to deliberative movements; from movements to deliberative systems). Data were collected through participant observation, documentary research and by the DRPE intervention method. The research was built in a participatory and cooperative approach between universities and civil society organizations operating in the Water Circuit. We present results in three articles, namely, Article 1 – “Mineral water from life-world: constitution of the ‘Water Guardians’ in the South of Minas Gerais”, Article 2 – “The causal powers of ‘Water Guardians’ in the Water Circuit of Minas Gerais: the structuring of collective action and its movements” and Article 3 – “Practices of social management of water in the South of Minas: compositions and deviations in formation of a deliberative system”. We conclude that causal power of social management was able to articulate the emergence of deliberative movements in the context of conflicts between different practices of mineral water management. However, from the research focused on Cambuquira we realized that there was no formation of the deliberative system - which continues only as a potential - given the asymmetries, antagonisms and confrontations between management practices and their practitioners. The research also explained that: a) in the context of the problem about mineral water exploration, deliberative movements are emerging entities with causal powers irreducible to individual actors; b) the emergence of deliberative movements is permeated by disputes (fixation of terms, objectives, actions, speeches, representations and meanings) internally and externally to the “Water Guardians”; c) the deliberative movements and practices they perform have potentials not yet realized over the formation of a deliberative system of public decisions; d) social management carries the causal power of articulating transformational facts-values of relations between events, practices and structures; e) mineral water give rise to a diversity of conflicts from which entities, articulations and practices emerge; e) the research indicates the permanence of the conflicts since the understanding among the actors concerned still to be composed.