Besieged Territories

Examining Psychosocial Harms in Communities Affected by Lithium Mining in the Jequitinhonha Valley

Abstract

The Jequitinhonha Valley, impoverished by colonial expropriation and by unequal exchange with other regions, has seen its role reshaped under the twentieth-century developmentalist paradigm through the establishment of enterprises linked to eucalyptus monoculture, hydroelectric plants, mining, conservation units, and transmission lines. This article seeks to analyze the psychosocial harms associated with lithium mining in the Jequitinhonha territories, drawing on ongoing investigative processes that employ a qualitative methodological approach, including participant observation, document analysis, and dialogues with key informants. Traditional peoples and communities are being exposed to situations of vulnerability, with the production of stereotyped images, prejudice, and false polarizations that trigger psychosocial harms capable of resulting in psychopolitical trauma. Corporate practices, by attacking collective identities, in conjunction with institutional neglect of psychosocial and environmental harms, erode the social and community fabric and weaken prospects for remaining in the territories. The development of psychosocial expert assessments is necessary to safeguard and ensure that collective human rights are brought into the debate.