Dynamics of land in the province of Tete, Mozambique: from displacement and resettlement - from colonialism to the mining company Vale

Abstract

The history of Mozambique is marked by constant shifting, often forced from their populations. This project, with historical and anthropological pretension, focuses on the social dynamics around the occupation and exploitation of the territory in Mozambique, more precisely in the province of Tete, between the end of the colonial period (1960), through the socialist experiment that followed the independence (1975) until the adoption of neoliberal practices (late 80s) that resulted in significant and growing presence of multinational companies in the country, such as the mining company Vale. The project aims to: 1) identify and analyze the transformation historically territorial, especially shifts in Tete, Mozambique (largest patch of Vale's exploration in Africa), 2) investigate how they relate to the different actors in contemporary terms the question of the use and occupation and exploitation of the territory in mega Moatize coal project: company employees, resettled, the Mozambican government, human rights activists, nongovernmental organizations, and 3) build family trajectories, with some relocated families, whose experiences provide an overview of dynamic printed in the land for decades. This research will be built on two main fronts: from the analysis of documentary sources on shifts in Tete and from the analysis of the practices involved in the performance of Vale, focusing on both resettlements undertaken by the company in 2009 in the town of Moatize. (AU)