De repente a roça vai virar cidade: a emancipação político-administrativa de Novo Horizonte do Sul (1986-1993)

Abstract

The political and administrative emancipation of the municipality of Novo Horizonte do Sul, “City of the Brasiguayos” or “Brasiguaio”, as it has come to be known, located in the south-east of the state of Mato Grosso do Sul (Iguatemi micro-region), 326 km from the capital, Campo Grande, is directly linked to the land struggle movement of Brazilians who returned from Paraguay in the 1980s and settled in a camp in the municipality of Mundo Novo, located in the south of the state. After six months camped out, the Braziguayans of Mundo Novo received news of the expropriation of an area destined for them, which was consolidated with Decree No. 91,792 of October 17, 1985. The areas expropriated were 13,621 hectares of the Horizonte farm and 4,840 hectares of the Escondido farm, both in Ivinhema and belonging to Gleba Santa Idalina, owned by Sociedade de Melhoramento e Colonização (SOMECO S/A). This doctoral thesis studies the process of emancipation of the municipality of Novo Horizonte do Sul, taking as its starting point the land and the families settled in the Novo Horizonte Settlement Project. The time frame established begins in 1986, when the families gained possession of the land, and goes through the formation of the settlement's urban center and the political discussions surrounding emancipation, which was consolidated in 1992. The problem stretches back to 1993, when the first municipal administration was established. The idea behind the thesis is that the process of emancipation in Novo Horizonte do Sul goes beyond the narrative built around the protagonism of the settlers, and is part of a process crossed by the political game within a package of emancipations in the state of Mato Grosso do Sul, escaping from the romanticism of the struggle for the collective dream to the political game. The sources that support the work are oral narratives, imagery, journalistic and documentary sources. The research contributes to the historiography of Mato Grosso do Sul and opens up possibilities for reflection on other emancipation processes that have taken place in the state, in addition to issues related to the Brasiguayos and the struggle for land.