THE MICROPHYSICS OF THE INSTITUTING POWER AND ITS SPATIALITY

THE PROCESS OF TERRITORIALIZATION OF A SQUATTED BUILDING IN RIO DE JANEIRO

Abstract

This article seeks to shed light on the process of territorialization of the sem-teto movement in the city of Rio de Janeiro, using as a case study the squat building called Quilombo das Guerreiras and as a case of contrast the squat called Chiquinha Gonzaga. Thus, to better understand the process of establishment of a territory, this analysis will begin with the study of the period prior to the occupation of the building, since even before the appropriation of the space, some of the specific characteristics of the territory are already outlined in the form of particular power relations. We will see that the success of the direct action involves, firstly, the delimitation of a boundary that expresses the appropriation, and secondly, the refunctionalisation of the internal spaces and their adjustment to the properties that characterize the territory. However, the stabilization of the territory (with the temporary suspension of the threat of eviction) is not the end of the process of territorialization. The territory is always in the making and it is immanent to power relations. Therefore, it is a process that involves more than the delimitation of borders, as it also has an effect on the “ways of doing” of individuals, which makes these processes even more relevant to the development of tools of struggle and of organization employed by social movements