CONFLICT AND REGULATION OF WATER IN BRAZIL – THE SALITRE CASE

This paper discusses the political dimension of socio-environmental conflicts involving waters in Brazil, under the context of the current Lei das Águas (Federal Law No. 9.433/97), considering, specifically, how such conflicts are configured in the Salitre River basin, located in the northern part of the state of Bahia, historically characterized by the scarcity of water. The methodology used consisted of a bibliographical analysis, a discussion of secondary data and a direct research with social subjects and representatives of organizations operating in said region. The main conclusion of the study is that, in Brazil, the conflicts around water are usually characterized from a supposedly technical perspective, by the relation between water demand and supply, as well as its regulation, of an explicitly political character, that is to say, which refers to forms of appropriation and power relations that privilege the interests of the big users, the Salitre basin being regarded as typical.