POLITICAL ECOLOGY OF WATER AND HYDROBIOPOLITICS IN THE SEMI-ARID OF BRAZILIAN NORTHEAST: the hierarchy of access between plate cisterns and tank wagons

This article aims to discuss traditional and recent public policies aimed at dealing with the problems of water shortages in the Brazilian Northeast semiarid region, more specifically tank wagons and government programs that invested in the construction of residential cisterns. The theoretical perspective adopted is used to analyse the data collected by direct observation in the area between the states of Pernambuco and Paraiba and conduct interviews with residents of the area to which the transposition of the waters of the São Francisco River was announced as the “solution” to the problems of water sustainability. Among the conclusions, we highlight that the government programs to construct residential cisterns do not solve the water supply problems in the focused region; and the tank wagons are insufficient to meet the demand for water during dry periods in the northeastern semi-arid region, implying expenses that are difficult to be borne by most family farmers interviewed.

Hydrobiopolitics; Water agencies; Cisterns; Tank wagons; Northeast semiarid