Banca de QUALIFICAÇÃO: MATHEUS OLIVEIRA MARTINS DA SILVA

Uma banca de QUALIFICAÇÃO de DOUTORADO foi cadastrada pelo programa.
STUDENT : MATHEUS OLIVEIRA MARTINS DA SILVA
DATE: 02/06/2025
TIME: 19:00
LOCAL: Remota
TITLE:

THE BICYCLE AS A STRATEGY FOR THE USE OF TERRITORY FROM THE AMAZONIAN REALITY OF AFUA, ON MARAJO ISLAND

KEY WORDS:

Used Territory. Amazon. Bicycle. Afuá.

PAGES: 190
BIG AREA: Ciências Humanas
AREA: Geografia
SUBÁREA: Geografia Humana
SPECIALTY: Geografia Urbana
SUMMARY:

This thesis investigates the use of the bicycle as a territorial strategy based on the Amazonian reality of the city of Afua, located on Marajo Island, in the state of Para, Brazil. The justification arises from the scarcity of geographical research on the bicycle in peripheral regions of Brazil, particularly in the Amazon, where the bicycle is not only a means of transportation but also a symbol of appropriation and resistance in the face of the expansion of the road-based and capitalist model. The central hypothesis is that, in Afua, the bicycle operates as a tool for structural transformations in the use of territory, serving the logic of capital while simultaneously representing everyday resistance. When isolated from broader structural change, it continues to mask the inequalities inherent to this system. The objective of the research is to understand how the bicycle is incorporated into the urban dynamics of Afua, relating this use to historical processes of appropriation, control, organization, and use of territory. The thesis is grounded in the perspective of historical-dialectical materialism and adopts the category of territorial use, as proposed by Milton Santos. This is a qualitative study based on documentary, bibliographic, and empirical analysis, including direct observation and field interviews. The methodology is structured around three main axes: (1) analysis of urban mobility as an ideological discourse; (2) critical reading of the bicycle as a technical object within the capitalist system; and (3) study of the concrete reality of Afua, where the bicycle acquires multiple meanings. The structure of the thesis is composed of seven chapters. The initial chapters address the author’s academic trajectory, the theoretical-methodological foundations, and a critique of the urban mobility discourse. Subsequently, the discussion turns to the bicycle as a technical element, the complexity of the Amazon as a contested territory, and the socio-spatial formation of Afua. The final chapters explore territorial conflicts and the everyday experiences of the inhabitants, especially regarding the use of territory through the lens of the bicycle.Partial findings indicate that in Afua, the bicycle simultaneously expresses adaptation, popular resistance, and exclusion. While it is present in daily life, its prominence masks transformations in urban infrastructure and the role of the State. The research thus proposes a critical reinterpretation of the bicycle in the Amazonian context, understanding it as a key to comprehending the dialectic between capital, territory, and ways of life in Brazil.

COMMITTEE MEMBERS:
Presidente - ***.978.969-** - NILSON CESAR FRAGA - UFPR
Interno - 396900 - JOSUE DA COSTA SILVA
Interna - 2666681 - MARIA MADALENA DE AGUIAR CAVALCANTE
Externa à Instituição - MARIA ADÉLIA DE SOUZA - USP
Externo à Instituição - FERNANDO LUIZ ARAUJO SOBRINHO - UnB
Externa à Instituição - JANAINA ZITO LOSADA - UFSB