Sometimes due to excess, sometimes due to scarcity, water is a key part of the life of large cities. Often understood as a natural resource to be explored or preserved and recognized as a fundamental human right by the United Nations (UN), water management was a topic of the International Colloquium World Crisis of Urban Waters and Resilient Cities, held between the 21st and 22nd of November, in the auditorium of the Institute of Philosophy and Human Sciences (IFCH) at Unicamp. The event was organized by Population Studies Center "Elza Berquó" (Nepo), in partnership with the Postgraduate Program in Political Science at the Federal University of São Carlos (UFSCar).
“Urban water is a priority problem on the public agenda today. Cities like São Paulo, Mexico City and some cities in Europe are starting to have serious problems with lack of supply and excess water. We believe it is important to bring this discussion to academic spaces”, pointed out Miguel Hernandez, one of the creators of the Colloquium, who is carrying out post-doctoral research at Nepo.
According to Hernandez, one of the main objectives of the event was bring together researchers from different areas involved with the subject and expand the understanding of the topic from a plurality of perspectives. “We managed to involve fundamental people in the history of water management in Brazil, such as Francisco Lahóz. Also Ricardo Toledo Silva, who currently works in the Government of the State of São Paulo and was involved in many important decisions in the last water crisis, between 2013 and 2015. In addition to the participation of people more involved in issues of risk and the social construction of risks” , reported. According to him, the next stage will also be to bring together actors from organized civil society. “It is important to consider these perspectives to have a new perspective and direct efforts towards solutions from a more integrative perspective, considering technical knowledge, as well as knowledge of the social and communication sphere”.
At the opening table, alongside Norma Felicidade Valencio (UFSCar), Roberto Luiz do Carmo (IFCH) and Ana Paula Fracalanza (USP), Hernandez spoke about the water crisis in Mexico City, drawing parallels with the capital of São Paulo. Fracalanza, in turn, addressed conflicts in water management in the metropolitan region of São Paulo.
Norma Valencio, from the perspective of the sociology of disasters, highlighted the importance of distinguishing between the categories of “event”, “emergency” and “disaster”, as well as the power structures, actors and times involved in each of them. According to her, while events are physical phenomena, originating from nature or technology, and have a restricted time frame; The emergency has an institutional character and is characterized by the time taken by the State to take action. Disasters, in turn, are related to consequent social suffering and are extended in time and space. “Those who have the competence to talk about events are geologists, climatologists, engineers. Disasters are in the field of social science studies,” she explained.
Norma also highlighted the complexity of the relationships involved in extreme situations, highlighting the authoritarian and militarized order built in the relationship with the victims. She also pointed out evidence of the misuse of the legal mechanisms of states of emergency. “When exceptionalism is repeated a lot, it is no longer an exception. 30% of Brazilian municipalities suffer disturbances in the democratic order more than once a year”, she highlighted.
