Água como bem público: uma análise exploratória sob a luz da sociologia pragmatica

Abstract

This undergraduate thesis focuses on studying the mineral water as a public good in light of pragmatic sociology. The water as a public good is seen as a good to be regulated by State. For this approach, the municipality of Cambuquira was used as the research area as well as the process of its constitution to achieve the Blueprint Community label. In order to perform the analysis, the process of labeling the municipality of Cambuquira as a Blueprint Community was described. In the present study, by means of pragmatic sociology, we approached issues of conflict in which a disagreement regarding the conceptualization of water has been identified. On the one hand, water is a public good deserving protection by the State and, on the other hand, water is a hydric resource, consequently, a commodity. That is, in the municipality of Cambuquira, the problematic Brazilian legislation with regard to water can be understood from two different point of views. Thus, the conflict faced is a conceptualization of water as a public good – ruled by the civic world versus a conceptualization of water as a mineral resource, thus a commodity characterized by the mercantile world. Finally, it can be concluded that the actors involved in the process of implementation of the Blueprint Community label respect and value mineral water as a public good, but aiming at expanding participation spaces especially those related to public municipal management.