Hydroelectrics in the Uruguay Basin and the promotion of Regional Development

• Autor(a) principal: Rocha, Humberto
• Data de Publicação: 2020
• Tipo de documento: Artigo
• Idioma: por
• Título da fonte: Redes (Santa Cruz do Sul. Online)
• Texto Completo: https://online.unisc.br/seer/index.php/redes/article/view/9438
• topic: Regional Development. Hydroelectric Plants. Politics. Economy. Environment.; Desarrollo Regional. Plantas Hidroeléctricas. Política. Economía. Ambiente.; Desenvolvimento regional. Hidrelétricas. Política. Economia. Ambiente.

This article aims to present elements for a discussion on the extent to which hydroelectric power plants (HPP) promote development in the regions where they are installed. The study has as its spatio-temporal reference the hydrographic basin of Uruguay, in the south of Brazil, in which the Itá HPP stands out as an object of analysis. Methodologically, the work comprises a systematization of quantitative data compiled with the competent bodies, which is complemented with qualitative analysis based on official documents and academic papers. The work is structured as follows: brief introduction; theoretical-methodological framework highlighting the importance of the confluence of economic, socio-environmental and political elements for analysis; conception of development distinguishing territorial, regional and local notions; complexity of hydroelectric dams as large-scale projects; brief exercise with quantitative data on economic growth and human development; final considerations relativizing quantitative data from qualitative elements. Taken as a whole, the work argues that hydroelectric plants have the capacity to promote regional development insofar as economic, political and socio-environmental elements are considered in a balanced way since the project was conceived.